SHOOTING for the MOON

How Sir Richard Branson built a world-class empire from the Caribbean to the cosmos

- KEITH GORDON

In a small village in post-war Surrey, England, a young boy found himself enthralled with visions of rocket ships and had “a dream looking up to the stars.” Despite grappling with dyslexia and academic challenges, the child’s imaginative spirit was irrepressible. His headmaster predicted that he’d either end up in prison or become a millionaire. Of course, the headmaster was wrong. The young boy wouldn’t be a mere millionaire, but a billionaire of global renown and impact.

To understand Sir Richard Branson, currently estimated to be worth just shy of $3 billion, one must imagine a lifetime of audacious aspirations and relentless ambition, where the impossible was merely the improbable. From a teenage magazine venture to spearheading adventures in space, his trajectory is emblematic of true entrepreneurship and a willingness to take risks, knowing that falling down isn’t what matters, it’s the getting back on your feet again and refusing to quit that decides the outcome.

In fact, he has spoken on the topic of risk, saying “I suppose the secret to bouncing back is not only to be unafraid of failures but to use them as motivational and learning tools... There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you don’t make the same ones over and over again.”