In 1966, a dyslexic sixteen–year–old boy dropped out of school. With the help of a friend, he started a magazine for students and made money by selling advertisements to local businesses. With only a little bit of money to get started, he ran the operation out of the crypt inside a local church.
Four years later, he was looking for ways to grow his small magazine and started selling mail order records to the students who bought the magazine. The records sold well enough that he built his first record store the next year. After two years of selling records, he decided to open his own record label and recording studio.
He rented the recording studio out to local artists, including one named Mike Oldfield. In that small recording studio, Oldfield created his hit song, Tubular Bells, which became the record label’s first release. The song went on to sell over 5 million copies.
Over the next decade, the young boy grew his record label by adding bands like the Sex Pistols, Culture Club, and the Rolling Stones. Along the way, he continued starting companies: an airline business, then trains, then mobile phones, and on and on. Almost 50 years later, there were over 400 companies under his direction.
Today, that young boy who dropped out of school and kept starting things despite his inexperience and lack of knowledge is a billionaire. His name is Sir Richard Branson.
How I Met Sir Richard Branson
Two weeks ago, I walked into a conference room in Moscow, Russia and sat down ten feet from Branson. There were 100 other people around us, but it felt like we were having a conversation in my living room. He was smiling and laughing. His answers seemed unrehearsed and genuine.
At one point, he told the story of how he started Virgin Airlines, a tale that seems to capture his entire approach to business and life. Here’s the version he told us, as best I can remember it:
I was in my late twenties, so I had a business, but nobody knew who I was at the time. I was headed to the Virgin Islands and I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was, umm, determined to get there on time.
At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do.
Then, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote “Virgin Airlines. $29.” on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.
I took this photo right after he told that story. A few moments later I stood shoulder–to–shoulder with him (he’s about six feet tall) and thanked him for sharing some time with us.
Sir Richard Branson in Moscow, Russia. Photo by James Clear.
The Habits of Successful People: What Makes the Difference?
After speaking with our group, Branson sat on a panel with industry experts to talk about the future of business. As everyone around him was filling the air with business buzzwords and talking about complex ideas for mapping out our future, Branson was saying things like: “Screw it, just get on and do it.” Which was closely followed by: “Why can’t we mine asteroids?”
As I looked up at that panel, I realized that the person who sounded the most simplistic was also the only one who was a billionaire. Which prompted me to wonder, “What’s the difference between Branson and everyone else in the room?”
Here’s what I think makes all the difference:
Branson doesn’t merely say things like, “Screw it, just get on and do it.” He actually lives his life that way. He drops out of school and starts a business. He signs the Sex Pistols to his record label when everyone else says they are too controversial. He charters a plane when he doesn’t have the money.
When everyone else balks or comes up with a good reason for why the time isn’t right, Branson gets started.
Start Now
If you want to summarize the habits of successful people into one phrase, it’s this: successful people start before they feel ready.
If there was ever someone who embodied the idea of starting before they felt ready to do so, it’s Branson. The very name of his business empire, Virgin, was chosen because when Branson and his partners started they were “virgins” when it came to business.
Branson has started so many businesses, ventures, charities, and expeditions that it’s simply not possible for him to have felt prepared, qualified, and ready to start all of them. In fact, it’s unlikely that he was qualified or prepared to start any of them. He had never flown a plane and didn’t know anything about the engineering of planes, but he started an airline company anyway.
If you’re working on something important, then you’ll never feel ready. A side effect of doing challenging work is that you’re pulled by excitement and pushed by confusion at the same time.
You’re bound to feel uncertain, unprepared, and unqualified. But let me assure you of this: what you have right now is enough. You can plan, delay, and revise all you want, but trust me, what you have now is enough to start. Who you are right now is good enough to get going.
We all start in the same place: no money, no resources, no contacts, no experience. The difference is that some people — the winners — choose to start anyway.
If you’re having trouble getting started, then read this.
No matter where you are in the world and regardless of what you’re working on, I hope you’ll start before you feel ready.
Thanks for the good advice James!
Thanks Drew. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to share your thoughts any time.
Wow, this article is epic! Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jana. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
I just found this post and it is unbelievably comforting and inspiring to read. As someone who often takes on risks and projects that I shouldn’t be qualified for, it’s nice to receive the validation that I’m not (as a few senior colleagues have implied) merely arrogant for trying. I’ve found a lot of what drives me to do this is a mixture of impatience and a general sense that things could be better than they are now.
What do you think is the best way to quiet that insecurity of feeling unqualified or unsure? Or do you think it helps to have that urgency attached?
Kati — first, thanks for reading. You’re welcome to share your thoughts here anytime.
As for overcoming the feelings of insecurity, uncertainty, and the like … I think it fundamentally comes down to believing in yourself. Everyone faces uncertainty and vulnerability, but sometimes we trust ourselves enough to continue to move forward. I think that’s the key.
p.s. Related note: getting small wins is a great way to improve your confidence and foster the ability to believe in yourself. In other words, there’s no need to be so bold that you bite off more than you can chew. Just continue to push the envelope, even if it’s in a small way, and you’ll start to trust your abilities more and more as you demonstrate the ability to achieve new things.
Good luck. And welcome to the Becoming Better community.
I can’t stop reading your website. I love that concept: successful people start before they think they’re ready. You can plans up to your ears, but it really just comes down to starting.
I just wanted to say I appreciate your content immensely, and look forward to reading more from you!
Have a great day!
Thanks for reading, Mary! I couldn’t be happier to have you here. You’re always welcome to share your thoughts in the comments.
In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep writing helpful articles.
Great post, just the right amount of motivation for writers block days
So James, when did you decide to start?
Wow, I think this post was the push I needed. Thank you!
Awesome. Get started, Gabor.
p.s. Thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to hearing more from you in the future.
Richard’s life is the embodiment of starting without being 100%. I still remember his story about when he decided to go on the balloon across the globe. He didn’t become an expert in it but merely asked the expert he was going with if he had children, and that said all he had to know because he trusted his partner in the venture.
Hi James! Connected with you via Twitter and really LOVED this article! Big fan of Sir Branson and startups so reading this was a lot of fun.
Just wanted to reply to the person above me about the hot air balloon story. Really like that. I’m a single Dad to a beautiful 5 year old. Great question to ask someone you’re trusting your life with.
I felt so much inner resistance (read as fear) reading this topic, that I know its spot on. And yet, I’m extremely motivated at the same time. That push and pull comment is exactly how I’m feeling, times infinity…. I hope when I explode everything goes in the right direction.
My favorite thing I read was on your Twitter… “Good things happen to me for no apparent reason.” I am going to write that down as a positive affirmation.
Thanks for your insights. What an amazing experience to have with Branson.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts James. As much as we might feel that we know these things it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves every now and again. I like the comment about RB asking the ‘balloon expert’ whether he was a parent. I met RB at the London Triathlon in 2011 and he has an enthusiasm and energy that is infectious.
Hey, James
I find your post from another amazing guy Sean Ogle on the twitter. It’s very encouraging and make me think a lot. Recently I read a post with the title “Ready is a myth”, I’d share with you and other guys.
In it, the author says, “you don’t need permission to start, you control the staring line. You don’t have to have it all figured out, you’ll figure it out along the way. Ready is a myth!
Hope you and others will find it useful too.
James!
Fantastic article, I really enjoyed it. We will connect a little later on and I want to refer to this article at that time. I won’t provide any details but it will confirm everything that you have written in our article.
Evelina Mannarino
Host of The Evelina Show
@evamannarino
The most easy solutions for the complicated problems… just the perfect blog I needed on health and fitness.
Sir, you surely know the art of succeeding from inside-out … better than outside-in !
The best advice I’ve ever read in my life. I had always concentrated on planning and planning and planning and in the end get overwhelmed by it and eventually discard whatever I planned to do. Nothing is gonna hold me back again.
Brilliant advice!
Great article!
Thanks Shane! I’ll do my best to keep the good stuff coming your way.
I’ve struggled with the ground work of habit transformation, now I understand why. Thanks James.
p.s Great name.