7 Life Lessons You Can Steal From the Most Famous Virgin (Sir Richard Branson)
Richard Branson has a lot to teach about business, life and adventure. Live like this to add excitement to your life!
“Screw it, let’s do it!”
Richard Branson is living by this motto. This has generally been his mentality when it comes to approaching business and life.
This mindset has led him to start over 400 businesses.
How many of those businesses can you name?
I’m guessing no more than 4, and yet, this man is a billionaire. A billionaire who has flown around the air in a balloon and risked his life numerous times.
“Screw it, let’s do it” has also led him to live a life of adventure.
The combination of business smarts and adventure is exactly why Richard Branson can teach us what it means to live life to the fullest!
“My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.” - Richard Branson
1. Screw it, let’s do it
Richard Branson famously started his airline after his flight in the Caribbean got cancelled. He rented a plane, walked the airport with a blackboard, and tallied who was willing to buy seats on his newly charted flight.
He quickly realized that there were a lot of issues with airlines.
They weren’t fun
They were overpriced
They overbooked flights
He also realized that his background in entertainment made him uniquely qualified to entertain passengers.
So he said, “screw it, let’s do it” and started an airline.
This same mentality has led him to start over 400 businesses. Many of those failed, but the few that succeeded made him a billionaire.
Sometimes the best way to find out if something works is not to plan day and night, but just to give it a shot.
“Screw it, let’s do it” can be a great mindset, especially when you are young and have less to lose.
“Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.” - Richard Branson
2. Make decisions quickly
Although Richard Branson said “screw it, let’s do it”, he also calculated his risks.
The reason he was able to calculate risks while still having his adventurous mindset is that he practiced making decisions quickly.
That ability is gold.
You don’t want to waste too much time sitting around, but you don’t want to simply say yes to everything.
I’ve mentioned before, that the ability to make decisions is one of the best skills you can have.
Your life is a compilation of decisions, and the better you are at making those decisions, the better your life will become.
As an entrepreneur, you are faced with many important decisions daily.
Practice making them quickly and effectively and you’ll be unstoppable.
This may lead to more failures to begin with, hence Richard Branson’s many failed businesses, but in the long run it pays off.
3. Great stunts get great publicity
Reaching many people is important for your business to succeed. Sometimes you have to do some crazy stuff to get your business on the “front page”.
Richard Branson knew that very well and was a master of the art.
He attempted to go around the world in a balloon 4 times and nearly died several times while doing it.
But, flying around the world in a balloon meant that everyone heard his name and all about his businesses.
And he had more!
When he launched Virgin Cola in the US, he drove a tank into Times Square to show that he was waging war against Coke and Pepsi on their home turf.
These types of stunts don’t always work, but they’ll get you free press.
The dollar amount to get the same press would be in the millions otherwise!
Talk about value!
“A good leader doesn’t get stuck behind a desk!” - Richard Branson
4. Don’t give up
Sir Richard Branson has been incredibly close to complete failure numerous times.
One of the most famous examples is when he was launching Virgin Airways.
A flock of birds had flown into the engine of his plane (what terrible luck).
On top of that, he couldn’t get money to fix his plane or certify it and his whole company almost went under!
He ended up finding a clever way to restructure his companies, sweet-talked to some bankers, and somehow made it work.
Most people would have given up, but not Richard.
That’s not all though.
Remember he has started over 400 businesses! Most of those are no longer around.
Virgin Cola
Virgin Cars
Virgin Brides
And more!
He could have stopped trying after any of those failed, but guess what…
He didn’t give up.
That’s why he’s a billionaire.
“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Edison
5. Follow your dreams
Prior to Richard Branson’s success, no one would have guessed he would become a billionaire.
His headmaster famously told him that he would end up a millionaire or in jail.
Oddly enough… he did both.
Richard was essentially a hippy kid.
He experimented with drugs and ran a magazine.
Later he launched his record label which released hippy music. But, that’s when he started seeing success. That was him following his dreams, his passions.
Following his dreams is why he kept giving new businesses a shot, it’s why he has been able to operate for so long at such a high energy.
Continually following his dreams is a big reason why even at 73 years old, he’s still doing crazy stunts.
6. Age is just a number
Few people display this as well as Sir Richard Branson.
Aside from his crazy balloon rides around the world, he is also leading Virgin Galactic, his space travel company.
He ended up jumping on board for the first full-crew flight in 2021.
His hobbies are out there too. He regularly kite surfs and swims around his island (I would never).
How many people do you know that run marathons, followed by long bike rides and swims?
Richard Branson and his kids plan annual trips like this.
This was his trip in 2018:
3.3km swim to Sicily
2500km bike ride
10km hike through Switzerland
Quite the challenge for someone who was 68 to do…
Age is just a number!
7. Have fun
Life can be stressful, and business even more so. If you can find a way to have fun in life, you are very fortunate.
Richard Branson is the perfect example of someone who just has fun.
He has a private island where he has parties, swims and hangs out on his yacht.
It’s not only in his spare time that he has fun though. He also has fun with his businesses.
“Fun is one of the most important — and underrated — ingredients in any successful venture” - Richard Branson
He has shown that fun can lead to success with numerous of his ventures.
Richard literally said he thought it would be fun to start an airline company.
The idea of having fun with work is embedded in the Virgin Group’s company culture and is one of the reasons people love the brand, and love working there.
Life can be stressful. You may as well try to have fun with it.
“If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.” - Richard Branson
Closing remarks
Richard Branson became one of the world’s most famous billionaires not necessarily because of his financial success, but because he does not hide who he is.
He openly has fun, doesn’t take himself too seriously and lives life with a unique passion.
These are characteristics that make him incredibly admirable, and someone we can look up to whether we are trying to be billionaires or just trying to love life.
Thanks for reading