A Near-Drowning Experience Helped This Kid Become a Self-Made Billionaire

There are countless stories about fights against adversity to rise to the top, but how many are there about fighting against a violent river current just to win 10 shillings from your aunt?

Not many, and that’s what sets Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur with a net worth of $4.6 billion, apart from the rest.

I could write paragraphs on how Branson overcame his reputation of “dyslexic high school dropout”, but the story of forcing himself to learn to swim at only 4 or 5 years old for a small buck is what truly foreshadows the rest of his life, because it’s apparent that he’s just kept going and there’s no sign of stopping anytime soon.

After the failure of a magazine that he launched when he was just 16, Branson founded a the Virgin mail order record company, which quickly lead to an opening of a record store and Branson’s record label, Virgin Records.

Fast forward to today, Branson has his name tied to hundreds of companies after founding the Virgin Group, and he’s done a grand job of being nothing but a major contribution to society through his support for charities.

Here are 2 of the Biggest Things That Drive Branson’s Success

1. Leadership

Branson’s embodiment of leadership is something that every entrepreneur should try to mimic. His charismatic personality combined with his ambition towards future goals is what draws in employees and drives the appeal to be connected with him. Branson centers his leadership around empowering employees, taking risks, and customer satisfaction.

In an interview with Richard Branson published by Forbes, Branson says, “Too much credit goes to me for what we have achieved at Virgin but the successes happen from working and learning with some of the world’s most inspiring and inspired people.”

Richard Branson models what every entrepreneur should strive for in being a leader and having a team. He sees himself on the same level as employees, and views them as working with him rather than for him. He gives more credit to his team than to himself, and he’s selfless enough to recognize that without them, Branson’s rise to the top wouldn’t have been as powerful and rapid.

2. Happiness in the workplace; loving what you do

In the same interview by Forbes, Branson says, “My number one rule in business, and in life, is to enjoy what you do. Running a business involves long hours and hard decisions; if you don’t have the passion to keep you going, your business will more than likely fail. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then you shouldn’t be doing it.”

The way Branson stated it is simple; the key to success is to be passionately involved in every single aspect of what you do.

Another reason why passion is required is because the passionate business mindset, if strong enough, can override the fear-of-failure mindset. If you are passionate enough about what you do, the fear that you will fail is nearly non existent. Richard Branson did not take the business side as seriously as how he felt towards what he did, because he knew that if he were to fail, he would continue because it’s what he loved doing.

In a Tony Robbins article, “Fear of Failure” was listed as the 8th reason for business failure, while “Lack of Passion” was listed as the 11th. The article further states, “By adhering to your passions, you’re able to see your circumstances clearly-the positives and the negatives. With this level of focus, you create an unstoppable drive to accomplish your goals.” 

Aspiring entrepreneurs must deliberately place themselves in the industry that not only benefits their wallets, but also their health and wellness.

Do you have to have a near-death experience to be successful?

While it can be said that the panic-stricken river incident created one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, it can also be said that it’s just a reflection of Branson’s characteristics that drove him to billionaire status.

With that being said, you don’t have to have experienced a trauma-inducing incident when you were younger to be an entrepreneur.

However, you must obtain the principles of leadership, passion, determination, and the willingness to work hard for your dreams that Richard Branson models.

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Links

Discovering Leadership Brilliance: Lessons from Virgin Group's Maverick Trailblazer (untitledleader.com)