It means screw yourself and do whatever you want to do in life. You might feel that about whom am I talking here? This is a title of a book written by an author whom I admire the most. Yes I am talking about Richard Branson. He is the director and owner of the Virgin group. Seeing the achievements of this person, it seems like that if you are making someone your idol in life then this person should also be there in the list. This person is such a live hearted person who lived the life to the fullest. I want to give you five tips about this person which if we apply in our life then will be able to live a life like him. I will not say that you become exactly like Richard Branson, you become whatever you want to but you can have this principles in your life.
1. Screw it, let’s do it
In life, we screw ourselves so much that we do whatever we want to and nothing can be impossible for us. And for that what do we have to do? I will share some examples of Richard Branson’s life and we will get learning from it. When Richard Branson was nine years old, a thought came into his mind that, “Why can’t I do business?” He saw an open space behind his house and sowed 400 seeds there. He wanted to sell the plant which will grow from it. But unfortunately all the plants were eaten by rabbits. And his dream broke into pieces. But screw it, let’s do it, this person did not give up. At the age of 16, he left the school and started a music album and from there his success journey began. We stop in our life after seeing one or two failure but Richard Branson gives learning from his life that screw it till we don’t do it.
2. Opportunity from adversity
We are unable to see any opportunity in our life. But the biggest opportunity for us is how we convert the adversity in to an opportunity. Difficulties are a part of life. It is not possible to live without them. But the thing which we have to learn from Richard Branson is how to convert difficulty into an opportunity. One more incidence of Richard Branson’s life, he went to Puerto Rico Island with his wife and from there he had to travel in flight to another place. And he saw that the flight has been cancelled and the people who all were going by that flight were sad. Some of them were fighting, some were crying. At that time, he saw a plane which was lying on a runway. He made an enquiry for it and asked that, “I want this flight on rent. How much rent do I need to pay if I want to take this flight from one place to another? Airport authorities told him the price and Richard Branson turned the adversity into opportunity and purchased the flight by giving its rent. After which he made a board and declared that in 39$ you will get the service for going to another place. Everyone who were upset before got excited and chose to travel by paying 39$. Next what happened was that the trip got successfully completed and while sitting in the flight Richard Branson thought that, “Why not we open our own airlines so that the difficulty which is being caused for the people will not be there?” And Virgin group started their airline whose name is present in whole world. So Richard Branson tells us that whenever there is an adversity in life, you should see how you can create an opportunity out of it.
3. Maintain trust
Trust is something that keeps a person stable for continuous growth. Richard Branson maintained this trust in his life. During 1980’s, his company was doing very well and had lakhs of employees in his office. At that time many bank asked him to bring out IPO of his company that means to be listed in stock market. He listed his company in the stock market after which he realised that he took a wrong step. When he brought out the IPO, 70,000 people filled the form for it and what happened after that is a team of board of directors was created and whatever decision was finalised by the BOD, used to apply in the Virgin group. Richard Branson saw that the company’s sale was going down. He said that, “I used to apply whatever idea I liked but I am totally disturbed here.” A thought comes in his mind that how to dissolve this? And he sees that if he tries to dissolve this then he might have to bear huge amount of loss. He thinks that many people have invested their lifetime earnings in his company. Be it a small paid man, a homemaker or any retired person, he/she becomes my responsibility. Richard Branson takes this responsibility on himself and return back 18.2 crore pounds to people because he use to do only one thing that is to maintain trust. Today wherever the Virgin group has reached, the root cause of it is they have maintained trust.
4. Honour your words
Richard Branson has kept all the promises which he has made in his life. Once he was watching Formula 1 race with one of his friend who was an executive director of Air Asia airline and they bet car and said that, “This car will win and if not then he will follow his words.” And Richard Branson lost the bet. To honor his words he did something seeing which everyone was shocked. You must be thinking that what would he have done? What if a man who is at such a high level, who has more than 400 companies dresses as an air hostess & serves in a flight? He lost the bet and to honor his word which he gave to his friend, he wore air hostess’s dress, put on the lipstick, carried the bag and served in the flight. It is a fact and it happened for real.
5. I am possible
It is a very important point because if all the above points are there but this point is missing then nothing can be done. It means that nothing is impossible. In Richard Branson’s life, nothing was impossible. He thought of it and made that company. As I said earlier, more than 400 companies were listed on Wikipedia. Such a live hearted person goes to surf, cycling with friends. Live life with live hearted and only one thing that inspires him the most is, “I am possible.” There is nothing impossible in life. Many rockets has gone in space from NASA and ISRO but anyone who has gone into space from a private company with a private jet and in a private flight for the first time is Richard Branson with his friends. Virgin group made their own rocket and went into space. His friend Jeff Bezos went right after nine days into space. This record of going into space from a private company has been given to Richard Branson. And now he is offering other people that they can also travel in space by paying the amount for it. I want that we apply this last principle in our life that, “I will think only that what is possible for me and I will do that only. Instead of thinking that this is not possible or I could not do this.” You take any work or area if Richard Branson can do it then you and I can also do it.
