Carolyn Gable, author of Everything I Know as a CEO I Learned as a Waitress, is president and chief executive officer of New Age Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing, Inc., a $28 million third-party logistics company that goes beyond basic transportation services.

After struggling for 12 years as a waitress, Ms. Gable, a determined single mother of two children at the time, walked into an employment office without a college education or prior professional experience and asked for a job in sales. While she didn't immediately get what she wanted, she did get a job as a customer service representative at a freight company. After a year of dedicating herself to learning the industry, she was promoted to a sales position. Gable founded her own company, New Age Transportation, out of her townhouse in 1989. She started with just one employee, operating off of commissions for arranging freight shipments. In 1999, Gable expanded her freight business to include warehousing. The same year, she landed an account with the director of transportation at Time Warner Cable. Today, New Age Transportation has over 70 employees and is a thriving business with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small, local businesses.

“The day we were born, we were given our own unique toolbox,” Carolyn says. “When you open that toolbox, you'll see all the gifts you've been given. All of our gifts are different. . . .You don't need the toolbox when everything is working great, but when something goes wrong, you have to go to the toolbox.” Carolyn also has described the power of prayer in her life: “The power of prayer has always helped me get through difficult times in my life, when it feels like you're in a black forest. I think we've all been there, metaphorically and in real life. There's been somewhere pitch black and you can't see your hand in front of you. Through prayer, it gets lighter and it's okay. . . . In the darkest of times is where the miracle is going to happen.”

Ms. Gable has had numerous television appearances, and she has been the cover story or featured extensively in business and women’s magazines. In addition to receiving several leading entrepreneurial awards, she was honored by President George W. Bush with the Daily Points of Light Award.

Ms. Gable has made it a point to give back as her professional fortunes increased. In 2001, she started "Expect A Miracle" Foundation, which provides working single parents with funds to enroll their children in extracurricular activities. A single mother, Gable started the foundation to help give children the opportunities they often miss from being in a one-parent family. Since its inception, "Expect A Miracle" Foundation has reached more than 2,000 children nationwide giving them access to music and dance lessons, sports, and school tutoring as well as other child-related programs.

Carolyn continues to find ways to spread love, wisdom and inspiration through daily small acts -- from her lakefront home's inspirational fence designed to awaken and inspire passers-by, to her inspiration of The Believe Project by her local newspaper through her desire to give away $100 every day to people who promised to use that money to help others. She has also provided life coaching services and has organized women’s retreats. She is the single mother of seven children ranging from ages 10 to 35 and lives in Kildeer, Illinois.