Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life - Sir Richard Branson (I had a DREAM I am LIVING it)

• Have faith in yourself
• Believe that anything can be done 
• Don't let other people put you off 
• Never give up
•  

Richard Branson

Extracted and adapted from www.virgin.com

Richard Branson was born in 1950 and educated at Stowe School.
It was here that he began to set up Student magazine when he was
just 16. By 17 he'd also set up a Student Advisory Centre, which
was a charity to help young people.

In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail
order record retailer, and not long after
he opened a record shop in Oxford
Street, London. During 1972 a recording
studio was built in Oxfordshire, and the
first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded
’Tubular Bells‘, which was released in
1973.

Virgin Atlantic Airways, formed in 1984,
is now the second largest British long
haul international airline service. The
airline has won many major awards,
including Airline of the Year Award
several times.

During 1997 Virgin took over Britain's
two most run-down rail franchises,
CrossCountry and the West Coast Main
Line to form Virgin Trains.
In addition to his own business
activities, Richard is a trustee of several
charities including the Virgin Healthcare
Foundation, a leading healthcare charity
that was responsible for the launch of a
health education campaign relating to
AIDS in 1987.

Richard has been involved in a number of
world record-breaking attempts since
1985. In 1986 his boat, ’Virgin Atlantic
Challenger II‘ crossed the Atlantic Ocean
in the fastest ever recorded time. This was
followed a year later by the epic hot-air
balloon crossing of the same ocean in
’Virgin Atlantic Flyer‘. This was not only
the first hot-air balloon to cross the
Atlantic, but was the largest ever flown. In
January 1991 Richard crossed the Pacific
Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada,
breaking all existing records. Between
1995 and 1998 Richard Branson, Per
Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made a
number of attempts to circumnavigate the
globe by balloon. In late 1998 they made
a record-breaking flight from Morocco to
Hawaii but their dream of a global flight
was shattered by bad weather, and then a
Swiss team successfully circumnavigated
the globe in early 1999.

In December 1999, Richard Branson was
awarded a knighthood in the Queen's
Millennium New Year's Honours List for
’services to entrepreneurship

Global entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has built a business empire and made billions, yet is renowned for his approachability, ability to challenge and succeed against the odds. Screw It, Let's Do It reveals the lessons from life that have helped him through his business and personal life - such as, believe it can be done and that, if others disagree with you, try and try again until you achieve your goal; or that you must love what you do. These and other lessons, with examples of how he learned them and how he's used them, are included in this stirring and candid look at his lessons from an exceptional life, which will inspire you to make a difference in your own life.

Source-www.goodreads.com/book/show/198863.Screw_It_Let_s_Do_It

Read an excerpt from the book

When I first discovered that my nickname among some members of staff at Virgin was 'Dr Yes', I was amused. Obviously, it had come about because my automatic response to a question, a request, or a problem is more likely to be positive than negative. I have always tried to find reasons to do something if it seems like a good idea, than not to do it.

My motto really is: 'Screw it - just do it!' I know many people say 'no', or 'let me think about it', as an almost Pavlovian response when asked a question, whether it's about something small and insignificant or big and revolutionary. Perhaps they are over-cautious, or suspicious of new ideas, or simply need time to think. But that's not my way of going about things. If something is a good idea, my way is to say 'Yes, I'll consider it' - and then to work out how to make it happen. Of course, I don't say yes to everything. But what is worse: making the occasional mistake or having a closed mind and missing opportunities?

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