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The Mythical Memoir of Sir Richard Branson
An epic adventure of vision, valour, and victory
Nigel Thomas & Daniel Bell
March 14, 2024
The Mythical Memoir of Sir Richard Branson
An epic adventure of vision, valour, and victory
“You can be a David vs. a Goliath, if you get it right.” – Sir Richard Branson
Do not scratch your eyes.
There are moments in this universe when pure inspiration takes hold - and there are special humans who do special things that change the course of history.
Sir Richard Branson is one of those people.
From driving tanks through Times Square, to riding jet skis in a tuxedo, to flying hot air balloons through the Himalayas.
It’s biblical, it’s incredulous, and often quite frankly preposterous.
But this really did happen.
Like an entrepreneurial gladiator rising in the arena against conventional corporations, Richard Branson tore down the walls of conformity with an undeniable spirit which we’ve never seen before.
His outrageous escapades have made his company Virgin one of the most popular brand names in the world, embracing everything from condoms to an international cruise liner.
He’s a radical free thinker that defied all the odds and silenced all the doubters, as he re-wrote the playbook one magical moment at a time.
Branson now owns or holds interests in more than 400 different companies and recorded a total revenue of £16.6 billion in 2019, but he's not about to stop expanding his extraordinary vision.
His future plans include a shuttle service into space.
Because why the hell not?
After all, "it's virgin territory."
In 2000, the British royal family granted him the title of Sir Richard Branson in recognition of his monumental impact.
You may have heard of his private island where he resides. You may have heard of his unbelievable publicity stunts.
But don't get it twisted – beneath the extravagant exterior is a man giving 100% to break boundaries, fighting for causes that'll make humanity better for generations to come.
If there was ever one person to define entrepreneurship in its full naked entirety, Richard Branson is exactly that.
Today on David to Goliath we’ll take you through:
As you read this story, hold this statement in your heart:
“The brave may not live forever, but the cautious don’t live at all.”
The Makings of a Maverick
Think Branson was born the confident maverick we all know today?
Think again.
He began life as a shy child clinging to the back of his mother's skirt, hesitant to engage with ‘intimidating’ adults.
His mother Eve was concerned his shyness would be problematic and refused to let it become a lifelong anchor.
“She tried to drum it out of me by explaining that shyness is a form of selfishness. She’d tell me that being shy was merely thinking of oneself, rather than wanting to make other people happy.”
This is where his rewiring began.
At the tender age of six, after a routine shopping trip to a nearby village, she stopped the car three miles from home and presented him with a challenge.
“She told me that I’d have to find my own way home by talking to people to ask for directions. By the time I arrived, many hours later, she was very apoplectic – she had not accounted for time to stop to look at bugs and inspect rocks. But it worked.”
Thrusted into the hallowed halls of Stowe boarding school, shyness wasn’t the only obstacle.
Branson grappled with dyslexia, though undiagnosed until his 20s, which cast a shadow over his formal education.
“I once did an IQ test as an eight-year-old. I don’t think I filled in anything,”
However, dyslexia became his superpower.
His mind, wired differently, was a playground for creativity and unconventional problem-solving.
“Engage your emotions at work. Your instincts and emotions are there to help you”
He would sit at the back of the class doing his own thing, escaping the mediocrity of the mundane classroom lectures.
Instead, he got to work planning a magazine.
Getting young people to campaign for a change in the education system to make it more relevant to people, and to shed light on the Vietnamese War, the Biafran War and other injustices happening at the time.
One day the headmaster at Stowe gave him an ultimatum:
“Richard, I know you’re starting this magazine. You’ve either got to leave school and do it or stay at school and do your formal education.”
Branson couldn’t believe his luck.
The opportunity to start the adventure of a lifetime.
An easy choice for the rule-breaking maverick.
And boy was he in for one hell of a ride.
Breaking Free From Conformity
Branson's resourcefulness was evident from the outset.
After quitting school, he moved back to London, and in the midst of the hippie lifestyle of the swinging sixties, he transformed a dingy basement into the epicentre of his creativity.
Armed with a simple business plan scribbled in a school notebook, he and his co-founder went all in on ‘Student’ magazine in 1966.
Branson saw the youth magazines of the day as boring, saying that his ideas were “too ‘revolutionary’ to be aired in them.”
So his rebellious publication was a counter-culture manifesto, challenging the stale norms of the time. With attitude.
A list of names, potential advertisers, and costs were jotted down in this very notebook.
“I became an entrepreneur by mistake. Ever since then I’ve gone into business, not to make money, but because I think I can do it better than it’s been done elsewhere. And, quite often, just out of personal frustration about the way it’s been done by other people.”
Branson was able to attract advertisements from firms wishing to tap into the student market, enabling him to distribute the first 50,000 copies for free.
But despite featuring interviews from the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre, the magazine never made money and the venture seemed doomed for failure.
Until one fateful day where his mother found a necklace on the ground, sold it for £100, and gave the cash to her son and his friend to pay off their magazine’s electricity and postage bills.
“Without it, the business would have collapsed.”
But that was just a stepping stone for what was about to come.
A huge breakthrough from the unlikeliest of sources.
(If you think you need big bucks to get your business started, think again - after all, this is David to Goliath)
Losing His Virginity
Branson was a daring trader in search of ideas that would earn him money.
His new idea, through the magazine, was to undercut high street record shops by selling imports to an eager market keen to save money and to explore new music.
It was the kind of radical, some might say irreverent, disruptive, thinking that would serve him in the future in countless ways.
Yet it was also an idea born out of constraint; he needed funds to prop up his magazine.
I got into business out of accident – not to make money, but out of frustration things weren’t better.
His first thought was to name this new venture ‘Slipped Disc’.
Instead, a girl working with him piped up saying, “I know! What about Virgin? We’re complete virgins at business.”
The stage was set. Virgin was born.
Branson ran ads in the Student magazine and his mail order record business soon became more lucrative than the magazine itself.
They would rock up with a giant lorry at a tiny record shop in Nottingham, shifting thousands of records at a time.
To the point that labels decided to reach out to Virgin Mail Order directly to try and stop the shenanigans.
In January 1971 there was a UK wide postal strike, and in a move typical of Branson, constraint bred invention – so he decided to open a discount record store, above a shoe shop on London’s Oxford Street, undercutting other High Street retailers.
The store reflected the times: beanbags, joss sticks and headphones meant a customer could sprawl out and simply just ‘be’.
It brought a fun twist to retail, earning Virgin a reputation as an industry disruptor.
On one occasion, after a huge order in Belgium, they transported a lorry full of records, but lacked the Carnet to get through customs, and instead had to come home.
This meant they could bypass the tax process and sell the records in their shop.
Although the loophole was quickly uncovered, and Branson was briefly arrested and jailed.
His mother had to re-mortgage her house to help him stay afloat.
Talking about living life on the edge!
He negotiated an out-of-court settlement, agreeing to pay back the taxes over the next three years.
At this point, Branson was receiving tape after tape from independent artists trying to force their work into the industry.
And one specific encounter changed the course of Virgin forever.
Why Originality Always Pays Best
One day in 1973, a shy teenage prodigy rocked up at the shop holding a record that no label was willing to take a bet on, because it was purely instrumental.
This was Mike Oldfield, and the record was Tubular Bells.
Branson of course, seeing opportunities others could not, wasn't about to let this soul-stirring masterpiece be drowned in a sea of blandness.
When labels turned their backs, he put his middle finger up to the face of conformity and started Virgin Records, the label (and studio).
A sanctuary for the rebels.
His vision crystallized into a 17th-century Cotswold stone house named 'The Manor,' located near Oxford.
Acquiring it for £30,000, three months before his 21st birthday, he transformed it into a haven for artistic liberation.
An oasis where music could transcend the rigid confines of traditional studios.
His cousin Simon Draper who had moved to London in 1971 from South Africa had already been made buyer for the Virgin stores, so his instincts were key in finding untapped potential.
And boy did they find a diamond in the rough to kick things off.
Step forward Mike Oldfield and Tubular bells which graced the charts in the UK for over 5 years, sold over 15 million copies worldwide and completely redefined the progressive rock era.
They had agreed to underwrite all the hire costs of the equipment Oldfield needed, including a Mellotron (an electronic keyboard device).
As a new label, they did not have the financial muscle of a major record company and so generally the deals revolved around free studio time and an allowance of £20 a week.
But to Branson and Draper, if any album stood a chance of selling big then it was Tubular Bells.
So they came up with a plan.
Why not invite John Peel, the face of Radio 1 to lunch on his houseboat and give him the chance of hearing Oldfield’s masterpiece in its entirety.
Peel did just that and played all twenty-two minutes on his radio show.
He was so impressed that he wrote about it in the BBC’s magazine, The Listener, saying:
“Without borrowing anything from established classics or descending to the discords, squeals and burps of the determinedly avant-garde, Mike Oldfield has produced music which combines logic with surprise, sunshine with rain…”
The rest is history and the record went viral.
To capitalise on the airplay and words of John Peel, Branson arranged a live performance of Tubular Bells at the Queen Elizabeth Hall featuring a star-studded line up of musicians including Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones.
There was only one problem, Oldfield was scared stiff of appearing live to perform his creation.
It got so bad that Branson had to intervene and he dangled the carrot of his most prestigious asset.
“Mike, if you do the concert my Bentley is yours.”
Everything came together. Sales of Tubular Bells soon passed a million copies and Virgin got a $1 million advance to put the album out in America where it quickly went to No.3.
Then in December 1973, the record featured on the soundtrack of The Exorcist.
Although it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
As 1976 hit, shifts and turns in the industry occurred with new disruptors emerging that were undercutting Virgin with cheap studio time.
But in the name of inspiration and unconventional thinking, Branson, who knew the power of publicity better than most, once again pulled off something extraordinary.
After a tour of Holland, EMI had released the Sex Pistols from their contract.
Branson swooped in. ‘God Save the Queen’ came out a few weeks later; just in time for the Queen’s Jubilee celebration and it rocketed to No.2 on the UK singles’ charts.
Almost overnight Virgin Records became the world's largest independent record label with a stable of stars that included the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, and Phil Collins.
It’s hard to put into words just how ridiculous a feat this was.
All made possible by the unorthodox and crazy vision of the trailblazer Richard Branson.
“I can remember a number of occasions earlier in the history of Virgin when the bank manager came to see me on the Friday and told us he was going to close Virgin down on Monday morning,” Branson says. But the experience did teach him to get creative with the business: “We would spend the whole weekend scrambling around to avoid going bankrupt and somehow would always find a way to keep going.”
With over 50 artists under his belt by 1983, Branson revelled in the chaos, generating over $17 million in sales.
It was a seismic shift in the industry, a middle finger to conformity.
It was not about the money—it was about the challenge.
It was about creating something out of nothing and writing a narrative that people would never forget.
But this was only a taste of what was to come.
Branson once said: “Whatever your goal is you will never succeed unless you let go of your fears and fly”.
Clearly, he took that advice literally.
Because he was about to launch the Virgin Legacy into the sky.
Going Toe-Toe With An Airline Goliath
In 1984, Branson found himself stranded in Puerto Rico airport, his flight was cancelled due to insufficient passengers.
For the majority, a frustrating moment in which they could do nothing but succumb to the disappointment of a commercial airline.
Not for Branson.
He didn’t have a moment to waste.
Armed with a borrowed blackboard and a cheeky sense of humour, he went around the airport offering one-way tickets for a mere $39.
To his surprise, he filled up the plane, although he wasn’t stopping there.
Disappointed by the lack of customer consideration in the airline industry, he dialled Boeing the next day, determined to buy a plane.
His vision: To beat the Goliaths at their own game with an airline that always puts the customer first, where travel becomes an affordable and enjoyable experience.
Delicious food
Films on the backs of seats
And a whole host of glamorous amenities
He consulted Sir Freddie Laker, whose company Laker Airways had been forced out of business by the powerhouse British Airways.
Virgin Airlines’ first plane arrived at Gatwick Airport from the USA on June 18th, 1984.
Decorated in her iconic red and white colours with the famous 'Virgin' logo splashed across the tail, the aircraft, named 'Maiden Voyager,' was revealed to onlooking eyes.
But just 72 hours before take-off, a bird strike left the plane in total disarray.
Black smoke BILLOWING out in all directions.
Virgin Airlines faced a race against time.
Against all odds, Branson rallied his team, secured funds, replaced the damaged engine, and defied sceptics with a near flawless flight.
But starting a transatlantic airline meant going toe-toe against the behemoth British Airways, which had already destroyed those that dared to step forward, including Freddy Laker.
But Branson was cut from a different cloth. He loved nothing more than an impossible challenge and taking on industry Goliaths.
The two airlines would begin a rivalry that would last for decades.
BA employed a whole host of dirty tactics including a smear campaign that convinced Virgin customers that flights were delayed.
Branson was having none of it and filed a lawsuit.
"They would have a team of people behind locked doors at British Airways who would be ringing up our passengers, pretending to be from Virgin Atlantic, telling passengers that Virgin flights were delayed and then switching them on to British Airways."
In January 1993, British Airways agreed to settle the case with $945,000 in damages.
In classic Branson fashion he distributed this to his staff and called it the ‘BA Christmas bonus’.
What a legend!
Throughout the 80s and early 90s, we continued to lead the pack. Sleepy legacy carriers were too slow, or too entrenched in their ways to catch up with us. And even if they did, we’d dream up something even more innovative.
And the antics continued. Every chance to capitalize on a weakness Branson took with open hands.
One morning in 1999, Branson woke to be told that the BA-sponsored London Eye had a technical problem and couldn’t be erected.
To capitalise on this, he stuck an airship above the London Eye with the phrase “BA CAN’T GET IT UP’ in one of his most memorable stunts.
A creative masterstroke that left the world both amused and bewildered.
But running an airline certainly isn’t for the faint hearted.
Virgin’s financial situation became so shaky that Branson's bankers forced him to sell Virgin Records to Thorn-EMI to raise enough cash to keep the airline flying.
A painful sacrifice that granted him full ownership of Virgin Atlantic, but left him vowing never to be at the mercy of lenders ever again.
The Scintillating Stunts of an Entrepreneurial Daredevil
Branson's adventurous spirit knows no bounds, as evidenced by his daring exploits that continually push the limits of convention.
From kitesurfing alongside nude models to jet skiing across Lake Bellagio in a tuxedo, his appetite for thrill-seeking of the highest magnitude is unmatched.
Whether dressing in drag for a charity flight or strutting to the launch of Virgin Brides in full bridal regalia, he has an unquenchable thirst for the spontaneous.
Even bungee jumping from the towering heights of Las Vegas' Palms Hotel Casino for the Virgin America launch, where a collision with the building only added to the spectacle, failed to deter his undeniable spirit.
And who could forget his transformation into a Zulu warrior to celebrate Virgin flights to South Africa?
We’d be here all day if we unpacked all of his daring escapades.
But there was one stunt that trumped them all.
Hot Air Balloons.
In 1987 to bring attention to the daring unconventional branding of Virgin Atlantic he attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon.
A feat no one had successfully done before.
There was a dramatic end to the journey when he and co-flyer Lindstrand had no option but to leap from their balloon into the sea after low clouds forced them to descend short of their Scottish landing site.
Sinking down to the waves and dragging the pair through the water at 100mph.
“When I went over on the Virgin Atlantic Flyer, our airline took a full-page ad which said something like ‘Come on, Richard, there are better ways of crossing the Atlantic.’”
After securing the world record and silencing the doubters, Branson said never again.
But the bug had bitten him, and he attempted something even more ridiculous in 1991.
Becoming the first person ever to cross the Pacific in a hot-air balloon.
Everything went wrong. We lost two-thirds of our fuel. We were only 1,000 miles into the trip, with 7,000 more miles to go. We had to average 180 miles per hour .... I was facing almost certain death …. We could have just slumped on the floor and accepted our fate or try to fly the balloon into the core of the jet stream and find the strongest winds you can find, stay awake for three days, and do everything you can to avoid what, on paper, looked like a sad ending.
At one point, a third of the craft’s propane fuel was accidentally dumped overboard.
The journey then required the balloon to fly into the jet stream, which carries winds of over 200 mph, and no balloon had ever flown over 70.
But once again, they prevailed. Although, he wasn’t finished just yet.
Over the next seven years, he made four attempts at achieving the most difficult ballooning feat ever: circumnavigating the entire globe.
He failed four times, more than once in spectacular style.
One attempt saw them crash-landing in the Sahara and being taken hostage by an Algerian warlord.
“The most sort-of-luxurious kidnapping ever.”
Another occasion found them accidentally crossing the Himalayas over Mount Everest and K2. As they began to come out the other side of the mountains, they encountered the Chinese Air Force, which threatened to shoot them down.
It took a few frantic calls from Branson’s secretary to British diplomats to sort that debacle out.
You literally couldn’t write it.
“I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”
But the fun certainly wasn’t without its dramatic failures. As Branson found out there certainly is a price to pay for boldly stepping out into the unknown and putting your neck on the line time and time again.
The Dark Side of Being Bold
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Business ventures aren’t without failures along the way.
In 1994, Branson thought it would be fun to knock Coca-Cola off their perch, following the success of pulling the tail of BA with Virgin Atlantic, and the big music labels with Virgin Records.
Why would this be any different?
In 1994, the birth of Virgin Cola was marked by fanfare and initial success, outselling both Coke and Pepsi in the UK within the first two years, and landing a major distribution deal with Tesco.
So he started to dream even bigger – why not take Coca-Cola on in their own backyard, the US?
Then came one of the most absurd publicity stunts of all time.
“Before I knew it, I was driving a Sherman tank through Times Square, and firing Virgin Cola bottles at the Coca-Cola sign”.
The stuff of legends.
But unfortunately, Coca-Cola did get the last laugh.
They poured all of their resources into squashing Branson, and no sooner than a day after the Times Square event Virgin Cola was gone from all the shelves.
The lesson learned was stark – purpose and differentiation are paramount.
With Virgin Atlantic, they were just so much better than BA, but the differences between Virgin Cola and Coca-Cola were minute.
“Virgin is all about our people and customer experience – there wasn’t much personal interaction with buying a fizzy drink.”
This eventually led to Virgin Cola collapsing in 2009.
Lesson learned.
“If you are taking on a business far larger than yours, you have to be so much better than them. But with two cans of red cola for example, there wasn’t that much difference in the product.”
What works once may not work again.
But the one lesson they forgot to teach us at school is embracing failure.
Branson embraced failure, he took risks others would not and just kept on getting back up time and time again.
Breaking all the rules and figuring sh*t out along his epic adventure.
These are the kinds of lessons that aren’t taught in classrooms.
They’re taught in the university of life.
So stop worrying about what’s going to happen if you fail.
Start worrying about what won’t happen if you do not.
Transcending Through The Stratosphere - Virgin Galactic
“Life is all about striving and growing. I never want to have made it; I want to continue making it!”
Picture a world where the expanse of space is not a VIP lounge for the elite few.
Picture it as a giant canvas, welcoming anyone with the balls to dream, explore, and redefine the limits of human existence.
As a child, Branson was fascinated by this concept.
“Space has always fascinated me. As a young boy looking up at the stars, I found it impossible to resist thinking what was out there and if I ever would experience space first-hand.”
In 1999, he believed that he could turn this vision into a reality by creating a company that would offer spaceflight experiences to the public.
This passion was not just fuelled by childhood dreams, but also by the desire to push the boundaries of what was possible.
He believed that space tourism could inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to pursue their own dreams of space exploration and innovation.
The Ansari X Prize, worth $10 million, was awarded to SpaceShipOne in 2004.
That was the green light for Virgin Galactic, not just as a thrill-seekers' getaway but as the real deal in making space travel safe and eco-friendly.
“Unless you dream, you're not going to achieve anything.”
To make his dream a reality, Branson knew he needed the best and brightest minds in the industry.
Collaborating with Burt Rutan, Scaled Composites, NASA, and the US Air Force, they forged a path that would carry humanity into the cosmos.
Challenges arose, and in 2014, tragedy struck with a test flight claiming the life of a pilot.
But setbacks didn't derail the mission.
Branson and his team, resilient in their commitment, doubled down, tirelessly working to improve technology and bring the reality of space travel to more people.
Virgin Galactic has already sold tickets to more than 600 customers, including celebrities and wealthy individuals who are eager to experience the thrill of spaceflight.
The company has also signed agreements with several governments and organizations to conduct scientific research and experiments in space.
Their commitment is dragging humanity into a future where space isn't just a backdrop in sci-fi movies.
It’s a playground for those who dare to dream big.
As we orbit through the cosmos of Richard Branson's entrepreneurial odyssey, it's not just the stars that capture his imagination.
“My philosophy is that if I have any money I invest it in new ventures and not have it sitting around.”
He’s etched his spirit across over 400 ventures, each a testament to his audacity and innovative spirit.
Notable ones include:
His foray into railways with Virgin Rail during the privatization of British Rail in the late 1990s.
The launch of Virgin Mobile in 1999, evolving into Virgin Media in 2006.
Partnering with Deepak Chopra and Shekhar Kapur in 2006 to birth Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, to redefine global entertainment with fresh narratives and characters.
Propelling healthcare into the future by launching the Virgin Health Bank in 2007, offering parents a revolutionary chance to preserve their baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells in private and public stem-cell banks.
And the list goes on.
In the tapestry of Branson's business philosophy, fun is the thread that binds it all together.
"Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business. "I am aware that the ideas of business as being fun and creative goes right against the grain of convention, and it’s certainly not how the they teach it at some of those business schools
He champions the art of delegation, acknowledging the need for strong personalities in business, and injecting a rebellious spirit into the conventional narrative.
“I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me.”
He’s reshaped the entire galaxy of entrepreneurship and business.
One daring venture at a time.
Empowering Future Generations
Having dissected the rollercoaster of wins and woes in Sir Richard Branson's wild ride through entrepreneurship, it's time to rip off the corporate curtain and peer into the very soul of the man himself.
At heart, Branson is a philanthropic renegade hell-bent on dragging Virgin into the trenches of a better future for humanity.
His conviction that businesses, government, and the social sector must unite to face the world's challenges head-on is nothing short of revolutionary.
Committing an eye-watering $3 billion, all profits from his travel firms over the next decade are being donated to combat the menacing spectre of global warming.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
His philanthropic roots sprout from the humble "Student Valley Centre" he initiated at 17, through his magazine, providing a platform for unheard voices and community issues.
In a rallying cry for a new world order, the Elders Group he formed with Peter Gabriel, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan among others, labours tirelessly to untangle the web of international conflicts.
But he doesn't stop there. From ground-breaking healthcare models in Africa to nurturing young entrepreneurs in South Africa and Jamaica, to creating pathways for disadvantaged youth in the US and the UK – his impact spans continents.
His charisma even persuaded Elton John to serenade the funeral of Princess Diana, resulting in a staggering $40 million raised for charity.
In 2007, he set up the Virgin Earth Challenge which offers a reward of $25 million to the best commercially viable design for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
In 2008, Branson transformed his private Caribbean island into a crucible of change. Hosting an environmental summit with powerhouses like Tony Blair, Jimmy Wales, and Larry Page, he tackled the hot-button issues of global warming head-on.
What remains is not just a man who defied norms and pushed the boundaries of success.
Sir Richard Branson emerges as a champion for humankind.
Reminding us that true greatness lies not just in personal triumphs, but in the pursuit of a better world for us all.
“Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.”
“If you opt for a safe life, you will never know what it’s like to win”.
And that my friends is a wrap.
The tale of a lifetime that will live on for generations to come.
David to Goliath Action Items
1) Learn To Walk By Constantly Falling: The biggest lesson formal education forgot to teach us is embracing failure. It’s a prerequisite to success and as Branson says: You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over. The best transformations happen at the University of Life. So stop worrying about what’s going to happen if you fail. Start worrying about what won’t happen if you do not.
2) Turn Your Weaknesses Into Your Biggest Strengths: Branson didn’t even know what Gross Margin meant at 50 years old, yet, he is one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 21st century. Ignore the societal boxes the system forces us into and lean into what makes you different. Whether that be Dyslexia, strange obsessions or your unique looks, embrace it and just like Branson turn your once believed weaknesses into your biggest strengths.
3) The Art Of Delegation: Whilst egotistical to some, Sir Richard Branson never fails to shine a light on his teammates. To build great businesses that change the world it requires a small village. Once you’ve understood your weaknesses find others that have strengths in areas you do not. Trust them, empower them and let them become great in their own light. Together, you can conquer the world.
4) Stand Up For What You Believe In: As Churchill said: “You’ve got enemies? Good. It means you stood up for something.” Branson built his brand of standing tall against the naysayers, knocking them down one stunt at a time. The more you push your narrative, the more you will shine a light on the voices holding you back - and there will be plenty. But always remember: It’s better to have haters than not stand up for what you believe in.
5) Live for The Extraordinary: When you’re on your deathbed you will never wish you lived a less epic life. Picture yourself in that rocking chair looking back on your life. It will just be a summary of the most memorable experiences. So dare to be great, take risks others would not and like Branson, embrace the extraordinary. To be exceptional by definition you must be an exception.
Writing this memoir was thrilling, to say the least.
Honestly, I have nothing more to say than embrace the entrepreneurial spirit of a true rule-breaking maverick.
Dare to be great and let this fuel your own epic story.
Keep dreaming like a Giant my friend.
But fight and believe in your dreams like a God damn Underdog baby!
I’ll see you and Mr. Branson at the top.
Yours truly,
-Nigel Thomas