I enjoy reading autobiographies and upon a recommendation from a friend, I decided to pick up Richard Branson’s autobiography titled Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way. Although Richard is very honest about his life including his younger years in the late sixties and seventies, the title is more a play on words than anything else.
Growing up, Richard was dyslexic and had an incredibly hard time reading, doing math, and understanding basic homework. While in school, the headmaster famously told him, “[Richard], you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.” And go to prison and become a millionaire he did!
While reading the book, I was fascinated by Richard’s perseverance, can-do attitude, overall curiosity, and a bigger than life approach to his extensive business ventures. It was not by chance or accident that Richard became the $4 billion dollar man, but neither was it the result of complete focus on making a profit or disregarding the needs of his employees and customers.
And although there were times when I disagreed with Mr. Branson on certain social and political issues throughout the book, I did find a plethora of exceptional qualities that I believe ultimately led to his career success. Here’s just a few:
- Perseverance
- Nearly died multiple times crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in hot air balloons, attempting to beat the world record
- Did not give up on his business ventures when approached by banks who wanted to call-in their loans during tough economic times
- Learned to focus and concentrate to overcome his dyslexia and shortsightedness
- As one of the top athletes in his school, refocused and repositioned his energy into studying and writing at the local library after injuring his right knee, unable to play sports for the rest of school
- Overcame an attempt to be pushed out of his own magazine by a close friend
- Weathered the onslaught of a negative campaign brought against Virgin Airlines by a competitor airline
- Downplayed rumors of Virgin’s financial problems during the early 1990’s to withstand a barrage of gossip stories and grow his business to an even larger empire
- Action (launch multiple ventures and relentlessly attempt many things)
- Richard’s parents taught him, ‘nothing ventured; nothing gained’
- Launched a Christmas tree growing business
- Bred Budgies (small parrots) to later sell
- Attempted to reorganize the system of meals at his school
- Launched a magazine called Student
- Opened a record and retail shop
- Opened an airline business
- Acquired a license to distribute Sega games
- Started Virgin Trains
- Founded Virgin Galactic, a spaceflight company
- Tenacious Resolve and Vision
- Did not give up on acquiring key slot allocations for Virgin flights
- Was insistent upon paying Janet Jackson (the #1 signer at the time) the highest sum ever paid to an artist – to show the world that Virgin truly was the best company to sign with in the world
- Flew into Iraq to deliver blankets, rice, and medical supplies before Desert Storm
- Worked on overcoming a debt mountain of over £300 million
- Launched Virgin Galactic to fly tourists into space (in progress)
An amazing video about what big dreams and vision can accomplish (Virgin Galactic’s test flights):
Richard Branson is an exceptional example of what a proper attitude, perseverance, hard work, and willingness to try multiple things with a clear purpose and vision can do for your business and career. So how does this all fit into the IT Leadership and Success Program you might ask? As aspiring entrepreneurs and IT Professionals, by simply activating the desire to succeed and achieve extraordinary things, you too can change your life and position yourself to accomplish great things.
Start today by studying a little longer…working a little harder…and dreaming a little higher. In the next few months, I’ll be posting articles, videos, and helpful content that I believe will help you succeed in your quest to become an IT Professional or technology entrepreneur.
