Welcome to my book—my brand new book—which I am most certain will change the way you approach life because you asked. Now, I have written other books on this topic but this book is completely new—new techniques, steps, mantras, and stories, and best of all it has more than 175 different ways, with sample dialogues, to make your ask. Whatever you need to ask for, this book will show you how to do it and even supply the words to use. I've saved the best for last in the final chapter—the hardest asks you will ever make—and they may surprise you!

I was driven to write this book, and honestly it took me far less time to write than I had anticipated. Every day someone would ask me, How do I get: a doctor to give me more options for my condition? my children to get off their cell phones and help around the house? my significant other to agree to retire at the same time? my boss to give me the promotion I deserve? my friends to spend the money and come to my destination wedding? my cousin to invest in my new company? my co-workers to support my charity event? that vacation package upgrade without spending more money? Well, the answers to ALL these questions are right here in this book because I cover it all and in every category—business, philanthropy, and everyday needs. THE ASK will not only show you how to ask, but it will also show you how you can make an exceptional ask every time. You will have no fear, no hesitation, and no guessing how you should make your ask. THE ASK will give you all the organization, structure, and focus you need to make any ask.

Many people have asked me how I reached this point and combine all my experiences as a journalist, attorney, fundraiser, speaker, and author, and roll that into becoming the CEO and founder of THE ASK. So I thought I'd share a very entertaining story of my journey and the path to THE ASK.

It was my last year of law school, right before graduation, when friends and even my mother said “Why don't you go see this woman, Peggy? She will tell you about your past and predict what you will do in the future.” In other words, a psychic. Everyone was raving about Peggy so I thought, “Why not? I have nothing to lose.” I had my job all set, clerking for an appellate judge for two years, and then I would go on to a fabulous, high-paying job at a select law firm.

So off I go to see Peggy. I played it very cool, not saying a word and trying not to reveal anything that would tip her off about me. I was wearing basic brown and no jewelry. The first thing Peggy did was “read my aura,” where she could see the dominant colors surrounding me. She said “You are surrounded by bright yellow, which means you have abundant energy.” She got that one right. I've been known to exhaust and outlast my friends and family with unbridled energy in any event, any conversation, anywhere, and at any time! Next she said, “And you have brilliant green around you, meaning you will be surrounded by money all your life.” Well, rock and roll! That was exactly what I needed to hear. After all, I had mega law school loans to pay off, starting in three months.

She then started reading my cards and what she said next devastated me. She said, “Whatever you have been studying or whatever you are doing now or will do in the next two years you will not be doing the rest of your life.” I'm sure I did not contain my surprised look, or my dilated eyes, or my gasp. All I could think was, “I'm about to graduate law school, I've invested three long years of my life and I'm not going to be practicing law?”

She continued to flip more cards one by one and then defiantly put her right index finger on one card and said, “See there? It is the Scales of Justice.” Well, now I felt better. We were getting back on track to law. Maybe I would be a Supreme Court Justice. That sounded good to me I could definitely live with that idea. I began to think this whole ordeal may not be so bad.

“The Scales of Justice is in between the Ten of Cups card, representing family, and the Ten of Pentacles card, representing wealth,” Peggy said. “This means your life's work will be helping families be more balanced, and probably about money.”

I don't have a finance degree and, in fact, I took one micro economics class in college and almost failed it. My life has been dedicated to words, not numbers. I'm just a journalist on her way to help a judge write his law opinions. I'm sunk.

The very last thing Peggy said to me was “From everything I see, you are the real Don Quixote. You know, the character in Miguel de Cervantes' novel who traveled on his horse from village to village in search of people in need. Like Don Quixote, you are a questor. But instead, you will be traveling from city to city and your quest will be to help people. I see so many families that need your help, and they have so many money worries.”

That was in 1983. I walked away thinking, “Well, that was entertaining at best,” and went about my path. I did clerk for the appellate judge and then went on to practice civil litigation for the State Attorney General's Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for seven years. Maybe Peggy got the timeline wrong. But in the middle of my sixth year at the Attorney General's Office I was getting absolute burnout. I had dozens of cases assigned to me and the reward for winning a case was getting a brand new one. My “unbridled energy” had left me and I was exhausted. At the time, I was very active with the Philadelphia Bar Association and they had a foundation that raised and distributed money to community legal services such as Women Against Abuse, Juvenile Law Center, and Legal Clinic for the Disabled. They asked me to be the director of development to help them raise money and distribute funds to these legal community organizations. This is how I transitioned from law to philanthropy. So there I was, raising money for families in need of legal services. Peggy's words surfaced, families, money, me?

And so the journey unfolds. I spent the next two decades raising millions of dollars for nonprofits such as the Deborah Heart and Lung Hospital (from grateful patients), Temple University, and Pace University (from alumni, and their families). Afterwards, I started my own consulting business with amazing groups like the American Heart Association, the Central Park Conservancy, Planned Parenthood, and Operation Homefront, working with these organizations to raise unprecedented amounts of money.

While I am happily raising money, I discovered that asking for money came very easily to me but was torturous, painful, and uncomfortable to many. I developed a whole new organization, structure, and focus on how to ask for money and wrote two books on THE ASK. I started speaking internationally on THE ASK traveling to Russia, Australia, Italy, Mexico, and the Netherlands, and teaching it at several Ivy League universities and at international conferences, helping not only nonprofits but also businesses and individuals on how to ask for money, the right way with amazing results. Don Quixote indeed, except I travel by train, plane, or rental car.

Throughout this entire journey, I had the privilege of working with people to fulfill their philanthropic dreams; to start or escalate their businesses; to ask for a raise, a promotion, a new job title; or simply to ask for what they need and deserve in their personal or professional life. But before I could get them these results, I discovered that many people had crazy definitions and relationships with money that were taking a toll on their personal and professional lives and their health.

All these experiences brought me to this point in time that drove me to write this brand new book on THE ASK. As you will see, every decision you make in life involves money. How and even if you ask depends on your attitudes, beliefs, and values about money. In the past, I did focus much of my time, my practice, and my passion to help people raise money but I found that while THE ASK can help you ask for money, it does much more than get you the money you want. THE ASK is empowerment on every level. It empowers you to break out and away from everything that has held you back from asking for whatever you need and deserve. THE ASK, this book, will change your life because you are in the driver's seat and you can get what you want and deserve—because you made that exceptional ask. THE ASK is your life's manual that will free you to have anything you can dream.