Friday June 21

All the way back in February, we had silent reading and everyone on the Pixel Dreams team was assigned a book to read and do a review on. Our good friend and Friducation videographer, Daniel, was reading “Screw it Lets Do It” by Richard Branson.

Here are some of the key take aways from the book as told by Dan:

Motto: Never do anything if you can’t sleep at night

Virgin Records

• Virgin Records became a place where all the cool kids hung out, but did you know before they had stores they started selling records in a shoe store?
• First Virgin Record store in 1973
• Virgin was one of the first record stores where you could listen to the record before buying it

When Virgin Records began signing artists, they signed artists like

• Culture Club
• Sex Pistols
• Sting
• Phil Collins

First album released was “Tubular Bells” which was also used as the opening theme in The Exorcist

Richard Branson even had attempt at producing a track called “Baa Baa Black Sheep” by the Singing Sheep

Business Lessons

• Be fair in all your dealings. Don’t cheat, aim to win.
• Create excitement in everything you do
• Promotion, publicity, madcap exploits, you have to get noticed
• Modern entrepreneurs takes failure in stride and moves on
• If you have a good idea, grab it, and develop it fast
• Think long term
• Keep trying, never give up
  It took Branson 3 x to get his Blue Riband boat record
• Just do it, prepare well, have faith in yourself, help each other
• When it’s not fun, move on
• “Live life to the full. Enjoy every minute of it. Love and look after Mom”
• Be bold, but don’t gamble
• Continuously challenge ourselves
• Think for yourself, get things done
• Delegation, pick the right people and leave them to it

Fun Facts about Richard Branson

• Work out best ideas in head, then writes them down
• If I have fun, the money will come
• If something stops being fun, I ask “why?”
  If I can’t fix it, I stop doing it
• Very first business enterprises of moneymaking schemes were not successes
• Rarely uses modern gadgets like e-mail or mobile phones
• Master Cat Napper (sleep 1-2 hours at a time)
• Always picks up the phone when it rings
• What does Richard Branson believe in above all else? FAMILY
• Mama’s advice, “You’ve got to invest money to make money.”
• Dropped out of school at 16 yrs to start “Student Magazine” in 1967 (First issue in 68′)
• Richard Branson holds 3 world records
  – 1986 Blue Riband Boat Record – fastest to cross the Atlantic in a boat (3000 miles, 3 days 8 hours 31 minutes)
  – 1987 First to cross Atlantic in Hot Air Balloon (with Per Lindstrand)
  – 1990 First to cross the Pacific Ocean 8000 miles of open sea in Hot Air Balloon (with Per Lindstrand)

Key Lessons

• Just do it
• Think ‘Yes’ not ‘No’
• Challenge yourself
• Have goals
• Have fun
• Make a difference
• Stand on your own two feet
• Be loyal
• Live life to the full
• Nothing ventured, nothing gain

All of the Virgin Logos