- Business is creating something that you believe in.
Most of the best entrepreneurial ideas
come out of frustration.
I think if you can one business well,
you can run any business.
- He's the founder of the Virgin Group
which controls over 400 companies.
The Virgin brand grew rapidly in the 1980s
as he setup the Virgin Atlantic Airline Company.
In 2016, Forbes listed his net worth as
five point two billion dollars.
He's Richard Branson, and here's my take on his
top 10 rules for success, volume two.
Rule number two is my personal favorite
and I'm curious to figure out which one
you guys like the best.
Also guys, as you're watching,
if you hear something that really resonates with you,
please leave it down in the comments below.
Put quotes around it so other people can be inspired
by your sharing.
And also, when you write it down,
you're much more likely to lock it in for yourself too.
Enjoy.
(dramatic crescendo)
(upbeat music)
- I think the important thing to think about business
is that business isn't really business.
Business is creating something that you believe in.
The most successful entrepreneurs are people
like Larry Page and Sergey who had an idea in their garage,
and felt they could create something called Google.
In all of these examples, they are filling a niche
in different areas and just making living, for most people,
a lot more pleasant than it was before.
I think it's mistake when people think of business,
that they're ringing up a till in a shop.
For most entrepreneurs, business is very creative
and a great adventure.
I think if you believe in what you're doing,
many people will tell you why you're mistaken,
why it will never work,
but if you really believe passionately in what you're doing,
just keep going, keep pushing on, keep pushing on
until you either succeed
or at least you realize that it's just not going to happen.
And then if you don't succeed,
pick yourself up and try again.
And ultimately, if you're that determined,
you will succeed in life.
And if you don't, you'll have a lot of fun trying.
I started literally in a really small way.
Like handing out leaflets outside concert halls
and selling music.
Getting the money in from the leaflets
and then sending the music out.
Just one thing led on to another.
So, you don't have to dream big straight away.
Just try to get the nuts and bolts of your business going.
Whatever job you're doing in life,
if you're a switchboard operator,
if you're cleaning the floors of a building,
if you're, I don't know, collecting eggs for an incubator,
or whatever it is,
if you're positive about the job you're doing,
you're going to be a much happier person
and the people around you are going to be a lot happier.
And it's likely that you won't forever be a cleaning lady
because you're smiling, because you're happy,
people will promote you and you'll go on
and do great things in life.
So I think a positive attitude is essential in life,
whatever your position.
- [Interviewer] Looks like you always go
out of your comfort zone, right?
Coming onto an island that was completely deserted,
no fresh water.
You didn't even have the money to buy it.
And now you're sleeping on a tent on the beach
trying to figure out how to get fresh water here.
You do that often, you did it with the airline.
- I was just somebody that experienced the bad experience
of traveling on airlines.
I was actually trying to get to the BVI,
the British Virgin Islands, one day from Puerto Rico
and the same lovely lady was waiting for me.
And I'd been away for three weeks
and American Airlines bumped the flight.
And so I went to the back of the airport,
I hired a plane, I hired a blackboard.
I wrote Virgin Airlines one way $29 to the BVI
and went around all the people who'd been bumped
and I filled my first plane.
And that got me thinking that airlines do bump people.
They don't care about you or me particularly, in the air.
So I then rang up Boeing and said,
"Do you have any secondhand 747s?"
- No kidding?
It was literally that you just sat in the airport
and said, "I'm starting an airline right now
"because I'm frustrated."
- Exactly.
And I think most of the best entrepreneurial ideas
come out of frustration.
I think if you're frustrated about something,
the best way of sorting it out is get out and do it.
And you've got yourself a business.
Life is short, life should be fun, and it should be fun,
and it should be fun, not--
you know if the chairman of the company is having fun,
if you go to a party and I let my hair down,
and I'm the first to be thrown in the swimming pool,
and I'm not just standing in the corner of the room
sipping sherry or something,
then everybody will have a laugh,
and everybody will have fun.
If you're the chairman of the company,
be the first to dance on the table.
Just get everybody else up dancing on the table.
Make sure the party's a laugh.
So play hard, work hard
and follow certain principles in life.
Love people, make sure you make a positive difference
in this world while you're on it.
Over the next five years,
we plan to take on the banking community.
We plan to take on the cosmetics industry.
We plan to take on the clothing industry.
And telecommunications, and one or two other industries,
and see whether we can give them a run for their money
and do it slightly differently than it's been done before.
- Why do you think you can do it?
- Mainly because I think we've got
a fantastic team of people.
We attract good people.
- And their skills are translatable
to whatever the industry is?
It's creativity, it's risk orientation, it's what?
- I think if you can run one business well,
you can run any business.
And if you know that what matters in business
is a good team of people, well motivated team of people,
incentivized well, given a lot of freedom to go out
and prove themselves, you can pretty well achieve anything.
The key to I think being a good business leader
is how good you are with people.
I think if you can genuinely care about people,
and not just your fellow directors,
but the cleaning lady, the switchboard operator,
everybody throughout the company.
if you praise and don't criticize,
people will flourish.
So I think it's really your people skills
that will set you apart.
And I don't think that could be overemphasized.
I think you've just got to, you know,
if I'm on a Virgin plane, I would make sure that
I always have a notebook in my back pocket,
make sure I get out and talk to all the staff.
If they've got issues, make sure I don't just hear the issue
and not write it down.
Make sure those issues get written down.
Talk to the passengers.
If they've got issues,
make sure those issues get written down.
I honestly just don't think about mistakes,
but let me see if I can try.
I just like to if I make a mistake,
I put it behind me and I just move forward.
- That's what I thought.
- But--
- But,
yes there have been musical bands
that I've missed trying to sign like Dire Straits.
There have been companies
that have falling flat on their face,
like Virgin Cola.
You know, but that's just part of, that just part of
being an entrepreneur.
You're going to have these things happening all the time.
So, I don't really see them as mistakes.
They're just, you know, if you're an entrepreneur
some things are not going to go right.
Some things are going to go right.
(bright pop music)
(cheering)
- Tea, coffee, or me?
(laughing)
- Ladies and gentlemen, if I could introduce to you
Air Asia's newest crew Sir Richard Branson.
(cheering and applauding)
(laughing)
- He can't look at me.
They're going to teach me everything to do.
This outfit is not working.
(laughing)
What do you think about the legs?
Come on, they're not bad are they?
Oh Tony.
Stop it. Stop it.
(laughing)
I'm always picking the answer.
(cheering)
- [Tony] Open the door.
(laughing)
- [All] Oh.
(tape rewinding)
Oh.
(laughing)
- We've got to get him out of there.
I didn't say hello.
I've not meant to.
- Hello. - Hello.
- Hi.
- ♫ Happy Birthday to you.
Whoo.
(laughing)
- Hang on a minute.
Okay.
- Thank you very much.
You can put it down please.
- Okay.
(laughing)
Well hi, this is Richie.
I just want to say thank you very much
for flying with us today.
It's been delightful working with all the cabin crew.
And I just want to say thank you very much
for flying Air Asia X
and we hope to see you back again soon.
I don't think I'm going to be allowed
to come back on the plane again (laughs).
But it's been great fun.
Thanks very much for being with us.
Thanks for raising lots and lots and lots
of money for Starlight.
And, yeah, thanks a lot.
See you soon.
Cheers.
(applauding)
- Please give a warm, Malaysian welcome,
to our new flight crew Sir Richard Branson.
(cheering and applauding)
- Welcome. - Thank you.
- Aireen, we won't be hiring him.
(laughing)
- Since I own the company,
Richard will not be hired.
In fact, right now, I'm firing him.
- It's great.
We raised lots of money for the Starlight Foundation.
We had a wonderful flight.
And while I'm here, I'd just like to congratulate
Tony and all the wonderful team at Air Asia and Air Asia X
for the incredible job they've done.
They've transformed traveling out of Malaysia
and around Asia.
And they deserve all the credit for it.
I always wanted to be an FSS,
but it looks like I'm just going to have to
get back to formality.
But anyway, thank you very much for coming out.
Cheers.
(cheering and applauding)
- Thank you guys so much for watching.
I'd love to know, what did you think of this video?
And in general, what do you think of our Volume Two series?
Please leave a comment down below.
I'd also love to know what did you learn from Richard today?
What was your favorite clip and why?
What lesson are you going to immediately apply
to your life or business?
Leave it down in the comments below.
I'm super curious to find out.
Finally, I wanted to give a quick shout out to Shimon.
Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book,
Your One Word.
It really, really, really, really means a lot to me.
And I hope you're enjoying your read.
So thank you guys so much for watching.
I believe in you.
I hope you continue to believe in yourself
and whatever your one word is,
much love.
I'll see you soon.
(dramatic crescendo)
- I think it's sort of foolish to spend your life
not becoming expert at your passions.
If you're passionate about something,
you're going to give it your all.
And, you're going to enjoy learning about it.
Whereas if you have no interest in it,
you're not going to lap it up.
I was flying from the British Virgin Island.
No sorry, from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands.
And I was 28 years old
and I'd been away from home for three weeks.
And I had this gorgeous lady waiting for me.
And American Airlines announced that
they're not going to fly to flight til the next morning.
They didn't have enough passengers.
And I was damned if I was going to wait
til the next morning.
And so I went to the back of the airport
and I borrowed a blackboard.
And I scribbled Virgin Airlines as a joke.
$39 one way to the British Virgin Islands
and went around all the passengers
and I managed to fill up my first flight.
(laughing)
And when I got to the BVI,
the guy on my left turned to me and said,
"Sharpen up the service a bit
"and you could be in the airline business."
And the next day,
anyway the night went well.
(laughing)
The next day--
She's now my wife, 40 years.
Still, 40 years later.
- Thank goodness, she might see this.
- The next day I rang up Boeing and I said,
"I'm thinking of going into the airline business.
"In fact, I've just had my test flight.
"Do you have any second hand 747s for sale?"
The person who took the phone call,
I thought he was going to put the phone down on me,
but he hung on in there.
So he said, "Well, what does your company do?"
And I said, "Well, we're a record company.
"We've got The Rolling Stones, we've got The Sex Pistols."
And he didn't sound very, very--
Then he said, "What's the name of the company?"
And I said, "Virgin."
There was a long pause and he said,
"Well look, we'll send a salesman to see you
but with a name like Virgin,
I just hope your airline goes the whole way."
(laughing)
Things that frustrate you,
and if you think you can do it better,
then you have a business.
Get it going.
So I think
all I can say is don't get down at the moment.
All of us did get down at school.
Look forward to when you leave school
and you can follow your dreams.
Concentrate on things you love.
If you love film, or theater, or arts, you know
put more effort into that.
Rather than the things you don't,
you're not good at.