Dropout to Knight

5.6K followers

5 years ago

A friend of mine posted this picture on FB today.

This is just one of Richard Branson’s quotes.

Most people know who Richard Branson is but in case you do not, his full name is Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson. He’s from England and founder of Virgin Group Ltd which consists of many companies.

What some do not know (and I find interesting) is that he was a school dropout yet at 16 yet started his first business venture. His second business venture (at age 19 mind you) was a mail order company called Virgin Mail Order Records. He chose the name “Virgin” because he considered himself inexperienced in business. Gee, at 19 - go figure. lol

Well, as they say, the rest is history. He has more money than many of us will ever see but the thing I like about him is his “can do” spirit. He does not just create motivational quotes, he LIVES them. He believes you should JUST DO IT.

Believe that it can be done
Have goals
Be bold but don’t be foolish
Live life to the fullest
Never give up
Have faith in yourself and
Help each other

People call him “Dr Yes” because he does’nt say no. Even if he doesn’t know how, he will give it a try. While that sounds a little scary to me, he must be doing something right and we can all learn from him. His theory is that if you don’t have the right experience to achieve your goal; find a way to get that experience. What an awesome spirit.

Another thing I find interesting about him is that he said he never went into business to make money (really?). A quote from him:

“I never went into business to make money - but I have found that, if I have fun, the money will come. I often ask myself, is my work fun and does it make me happy? I believe that the answer to that matters more than fame or fortune. If something stops being fun, I ask why? If I can't fix it, I stop doing it.”

When you think about that, he does have a good point. If you’re doing something that your heart isn’t in or struggle with, you definitely won’t be having fun and if you’re not enjoying what you do, it will show in the quality of your work. This can seep into your health and family life as well.

He encourages people to go AFTER what they want. Quote:

“IF YOU WANT MILK, don’t sit on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up you.”

I love that. You want it, go get it! Chase that dream/goal you have!

On March 30, 2000, Charles, the Prince of Wales knighted Sir Richard Branson for his services to entrepreneurship.

Most of us have at least finished school and many of us have adavanced degrees. Most of us don't aspire to be knighted (although it would be nice to be Queen for just one day). However, we CAN take advice out of this man's playbook and achieve our goals. We HAVE been given an amazing oppotunity and better yet, training is available. We have NO EXCUSE!!!

So, what ARE your goals?

The first month of the year isn't over yet. There is still time to determine what you want to do in 2019 then JUST DO IT!

~Debbi