Back then, she was only wildly famous. As of the March 26 cover of Forbes, Sara is a world wide, first class, beyond a shadow of a doubt, “A” team famous. Forbes has inducted Sara into the billionaires club making her, at 41 (gasp), the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. (Someday we’ll get past the whole business about separating the boys from the girls…)

You ought to read the article because it might teach you why she’s so gutsy. Start your first company the day after graduating high school? Check. Sell office supplies door-to-door on commission? Check. Spend your life savings, $5,000, launching your company? Check. Write your own patent applications? Check.

Sara didn’t have an uninterrupted run of success. There were plenty of hiccups along the way (like failing the LSAT, twice) but she always learned a lesson, applied it and moved further faster.

And that’s the type of advice that can make all of us rich, if not in dollars, in spirit.

Why bother? Why reinforce the cliché — make a resolution and then go ahead and break it? I do it because I know setting goals is the secret to progress.

Resolutions aren’t destinations. They’re starting points. We may never reach our destination or goal, and even if we do, we may discover it isn’t where we really want to be. Goals help us figure out what we think we want, but more importantly, goals help us figure out who we are and what we’re capable of achieving. [more]

How are you doing on your resolutions?  What’s your secret to stay on track?

In New York. Pregnant. Powerless. In pain. And thoroughly pissed off.

In a nutshell, that’s how I became an entrepreneur.

We like to think entrepreneurs are driven by a need to change the world or fulfill some unmet passion. But at the exact moment I decided to start my company, I was a marketing communications manager at a large Silicon Valley company, very pregnant with my second child, and managing a huge product launch in New York. I had worked around the clock for weeks and managed to attract the interest of hundreds of members of the press, analysts and industry luminaries.

Then, two giant “partners” withdrew their public endorsements right before our launch event. With a swollen belly and ankles, no sleep and insufferable pantyhose, I watched the launch fizzle. I had done my job well and exceeded my goals, but in the end, the launch success was not within my control. Could starting my own company really be any worse? [more]

As you probably figured out, I decided that starting my own company was probably the best solution.  And it’s been that way ever since.

I’m still contributing to Inc and am eager to hear your ideas for columns.  Taxes?  Insurance?  Hiring?  Firing?  What’s your pain point?  Spill.

Here’s my favorite reason from the list:

A change of scenery fuels creativity. It’s amazing how a warm tropical breeze can clear the cobwebs from my brain and help me make decisions faster and with greater clarity. Vacation’s also one of the rare times I can read for pleasure, so I always stop at the airport newsstand to pick up a wide variety of books, newspapers and magazines. By the time I come home, I’ve dog-eared plenty of new ideas for my business, recipes for my family and must-see destinations for the future. [more]

From week to week, I’m not sure where what the column is going to be about and I don’t have any long term plans for where’s it’s going. But in this new, crowd-sourced, online, real-time, connected world, I have a simple request:  Give me your ideas. Post them below. Send me an email. Let me know what you’re thinking about and I’ll put it in the queue and give you credit. Okay? Thank you!

I was an engineering major at San Jose State when I first saw a Macintosh computer. At the time, I was enrolled in a FORTRAN computer programming class that required middle-of-the-night trips to the computer lab to catch an open punch-card machine, then standing in line to hand over my rubber-banded stack of cards to a “computer operator.” The DEC computer filled half the sterile room, with a loud droning hum and intermittent card-shuffling sounds. Seriously? Punching in lines of code at 2 am and waiting 20 minutes to find out if I was right or wrong?

It was clear I chose the wrong major.

And then the Macintosh came to Spartan Bookstore. It was putty-colored magic and I wanted it more than anything, but it was far more expensive than I could afford. At our annual New Year’s Day family gathering, I was talking about this newfangled personal computer to my mother and grandmother. My mother rolled her eyes to let me know once again it was out of the question, but my grandmother heard my passion and went to get her checkbook.

She said, “I can give you money after I die or I can give some to you now when you really need it. Take this and go buy your computer.” I nearly cried. I was an early adopter.

Over the years I’ve owned every major model of the Mac: the luggable models, the jewel-toned space pods, the orange clam-shell laptop, the white desk-lamp model, all the way up to my trusty MacBook Air and iPad today.

The simplicity and intuitiveness sparked creativity in ways I never dreamed, including starting my own Mac-only business. I vowed I would NEVER, EVER have to use a Windows PC again and then I made it so at High Tech Connect.

In fact, several years ago I did buy a Dell laptop with Windows. It lasted four days before I shipped it back. It was either that or Child Protective Services would soon take my children for the stream of profanities they were exposed to at home. Not pretty.

Even my husband, a security sales expert for Cisco Systems, has been converted. He’s quite protective about his tools of the trade: MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone. My children have all been forced to use Apple products by their mother, as well.

So when Steve Jobs died, I felt a gaping hole in my heart. This man had me giddy for every press conference, like an impatient kid on Christmas, in awe of his showmanship and breathtaking surprises. I suppose this is what it felt like for my parents when John Lennon died. It was far too soon for this much brilliance to flicker out.

Rest in peace, Steve. I am incredibly grateful to you and my grandma, for bringing joy, creativity and independence to my life and my company.

I’ll share advice with students on how to create a stellar career, truly rise above peers in their profession and get employers to go “gaga” over them.

Perhaps most importantly, I’m offering all attendees of my session a FREE mentor match. I’ll introduce them to a seasoned professional with whom they have common interests and can build a long-term collaborative relationship.

Read more in the press release below.

SJSU Student Organization Conference Release

“Someday we should shoot a little video for YouTube of freelancers scurrying around, frantically creating all the documents and preparing all the listed arrangements, then donning our space suits, screwing on our bubble helmets, and walking down the long corridor into the space center, getting strapped in ready for launch . . . . and waiting, waiting, waiting . . . . until our skin sags, our flesh falls away, and we die there. . .waiting.”

OK, it’s not that bad, but in this business you’ve got to play the numbers game. If you aren’t marketing yourself while doing billable work, one day soon there won’t always be billable work.

Working for yourself is rewarding, but only if you have The Right Stuff.

Hey, I read the news.  I know that the national / world economy is headed to heck on greased skids.  But my clients haven’t received the notice that business is supposed to be bad.  Yes, one particular client, a very large particular client, has been managing its way through some difficult times.  And I know that the unemployment rate is Way Too High.  And I know that between the War and the Economy Obama has almost burned through all his charisma.  But over here?  Our long-term clients are reinvesting in growth.  Our new clients are seeing bright and shiny opportunities.  And our consultants are starting to feel the love again.

I’m a member of a group called Vistage International, a networking / professional development group for CEOs, and one thing I’ve learned from the group is that the successful and heroic leader is the one who can see a way through that no one else can see.  Honestly, some days I’m not sure I can see three months into the future.  But as long as I’m connecting the right consultant with the right opportunity and following through to make sure the match is right — I’m solving the best possible type of problem.

Certainly, my three children may have altered my career from a traditional corporate trajectory, but I think the necessity of flexibility resulted in an even better, more innovative career.

And because I had three children in five year — and I loved what I do — I created a company called High Tech Connect. Over the past 14 years, my business has benefited hundreds of clients and consultants, connecting people who otherwise would not have found each other, generating millions of dollars in business.

Will three (or more) kids kill a career? Only if you think it will. And if you think you can, you can create an even better, more rewarding and prosperous career.