Some ‘golden nuggets’ from Richard Branson's book titled, "Screw it, let's do it"- lessons in life

I’ve just finished reading Richard Branson's (quick read) book titled, "Screw it, let's do it"- lessons in life.  A great little book full of what I call ‘golden nuggets’ of lessons and advice from one of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs.  

Many of us are inspired by Sir Richard and I believe he is the epitome of an entrepreneur who ‘works hard and puts something back’.  Amongst many things he’s involved in, or with, he is Honorary President of the London Entrepreneurial Exchange (www.londonentrepreneurialexchange.com) and is also a Hall of Fame member of the Entrepreneurial Exchange in Scotland (www.entrepreneurial-exchange.co.uk)

Sir Richard summarises his approach to life and business in “Just do it. Think yes, not no. Challenge yourself. Have goals. Have fun. Make a difference. Stand on your own feet. Be loyal. Live life to the full!”

A copy of the book can be found via this link to Amazon.  A highly recommended read! You never know, Sir Richard might just inspire you as he has me and many others!

The ‘golden nuggets’ that I’ve drawn from the book and resonate with are:

A belief in setting goals. 

It's never a bad thing to have a dream but you must be practical about it!

I set goals and then work out how to achieve them.  I want to do well and not half heartedly.

“Just to do it... and never give up”

The best lesson learned was ‘just to do it”

The beginning is the most important part of any journey! "A journey of 1000 miles starts with that first step"

Whatever it is you want to achieve in life, if you don't make the effort, you won’t reach your goal!

You have to believe it can be done

I don't believe that the little word "can't" should stop you.

There are no prizes for being second – "... The Victor takes the spoils!"

I learned to keep trying and to never give up!

Whatever your goal is, you will never succeed, unless you let go of your fears and fly!

Don't waste time – grab your chances!

Have a positive outlook on life

Have a positive outlook on life. When it's not fun, move on!

There are no rules to follow in business. I just work hard and believe I can do it but most of all I try to have fun.

It's not always easy! When you have goals and a positive outlook on life, you have something to aim for. 

Hard work and fun is what life is all about. 

As soon as something stops being fun, I think it's time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy.

Calculate the risks, take them and never regret it!

Calculate the risks and take them. Believe in yourself. Chase your dreams and goals. Have no regrets. Be bold. Keep your word.

You can take care and try to avoid the risks, but you can't protect yourself all the time. I'm sure that luck plays a very large part. It's easy to give up when things are hard but I believe we have to keep chasing our dreams and our goals. Once we decide to do something, we should never look back, never regret it!

I set my goals and stick to them. Success is more than luck. You have to believe in yourself and make it happen. That way others also believe in you.

Be glad when you win. Don't have regrets when you lose. Never looked back. You can't change the past. But try to learn from it.

Whatever your dream is, go for it. Always beware if the risks are too random or too hard to predict, but remember, if you opt for a safe life, you will never know what it's like to win.

Challenge yourself

Aim high! If you challenge yourself, you will grow. Your life will change. Your outlook will be positive. It's not always easy to reach your goals but that's no reason to stop. Never say die. Say to yourself, "I can do it. I'll keep on trying until I win".

Try new things. Always try. Challenge yourself. I like the challenge of looking for new things and new ideas. To me, the search is fun.

You can achieve almost anything – but you have to make the effort.

The writer and mountain climber, James Ullman summed it all up when he said something like, “Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human action. If there is a ocean, we cross it. If there is a disease, we cure it. If there's a wrong, we right it. If there's a record, we break it. And if there's a mountain, we climb it”.

The winner takes all! Chase your dreams!

Love life, live it to the full and do the right thing

Love life and live it to the full. Enjoy the moment. Reflect on your life. Make every second count. Don't have regrets. Regrets weigh you down. They hold you back in the past when you should move on. So, even if sometimes you get things wrong, regrets are wasted and you should move on.

Money is important. But the bottom line is, money is just a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Put family and the team first. Be loyal. Face problems head on. Money is for making things happen. Pick the right people and reward talent.  

One thing I always try to do is keep my word.  Be respectful. Do the right thing. Keep your good name. Be fair in all your dealings. Don't cheat – but aim to win. Never do anything if it means you can't sleep at night.

Change the world, even if in a small way. Try to make a difference and help others. Do no harm. Always think, what you can do to help.

Murray Strachan

Murray works with executives, funders and shareholders to recover & create value!  You can contact Murray via his website www.murraystrachan.co.uk or follow him on twitter @murraystrachan