Today , I ’ m going to be interviewing one of the top business geniuses on the planet , also an incredibly cool guy , Sir Richard Branson .
JOE POLISH
INTERVIEWS THE FOUNDER OF THE VIRGIN
EMPIRE SIR RICHARD BRANSON
If you don ’ t already know who Sir Richard Branson is , he ’ s ballooned across the Atlantic ; he ’ s signed the Sex Pistols , Janet Jackson , Boy George and all kinds of famous musicians ; he has been knighted by the Queen of England . His company Virgin is home to more than 350 companies , from gyms , gambling houses and bridal boutiques to fleets of planes , trains and limousines . He even owns his own Caribbean island , Necker Island . Now , Richard Branson is moving onward and upward into space tourism . His company Virgin Galactic is slated to start carrying passengers into the thermosphere in 2018 , at a whopping $ 200,000 a ticket , which is probably a good deal for space travel . Anyway , Branson also has a philanthropic streak . He ’ s pledged the next 10 years of profits from his transportation empire , an amount that ’ s expected to reach $ 3-billion , to the development of renewable alternatives to carbon fuels . Then , there ’ s his Virgin Earth Challenge , which offers a $ 25-million prize to the first person to come up with an economically viable solution to the greenhouse gas problem . He ’ s risked his life numerous times . He ’ s done all kinds of crazy things . In spite of that , he ’ s been enormously successful . His company has revenues of $ 25-billion a year . He has over 50,000 employees ; he knows a lot of people and knows a lot of stuff about running a business . So , join me as I interview Sir Richard Branson , and we ’ re going to talk about success and contribution , and how you can have the same sort of things in your own entrepreneurial venture .
Joe : Before I get started , Richard , I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do this interview with me . Where are you at , right now ? Are you on Necker Island ? Richard : I ’ m very fortunate in Necker Island Joe : You have such a huge reputation . A lot of people focus on you and who you are as a very successful individual . So before we get started , since the theme of this interview is to be around success and contribution , what is Sir Richard Branson ’ s definition of success ? Richard : As a businessperson , success is creating something that I can be proud of . It is creating something that the people around me could be proud of , creating something that really makes a difference , that maybe shakes up whole industries and actually results in people ’ s lives never being quite the same again , and hopefully , for the better . I want to get out there and create things that make a real difference . Joe : Gotcha . Now , just curious , as a billionaire do you feel successful on most days ? How do you actually feel , as a person ? Richard : I ’ ve obviously been born fortunate . I love people . I enjoy every single minute of my life . It ’ s not all roses . There are ups and downs . But I ’ m an eternal optimist . I always look for the best in everything . As a result , I think I get the best . No complaints at all , basically . Joe : What does a successful day look like to you ? I ’ m just absolutely curious about how do you spend most of your days ? I think it would be valuable for our readers to know and perhaps use you as a model in their own lives ? Richard : My life is incredibly varied , which makes it extremely interesting . In the last 10 days , I ’ ve been to I think 12 different countries ; everything from Africa with the elders through to Amsterdam for an environmental conference , through Canada ,
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