Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop.
Richard BransonRead
When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn't take no for an answer. I remember banging on James Baldwin's door to ask for an interview when he came to England. Then I got Jean-Paul Sartre's home phone number and asked him to contribute. If I'd been 30, he might have said no, but I was a 15-year-old with passion and he was charmed. Making money was always just a side product of having a good time and creating things nobody'd seen before.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Persistence and passion can lead to unexpected success, especially when we are youthful and bold.
In this quote, Richard Branson reflects on his early entrepreneurial experience at the age of 15, highlighting how his determination and youthful enthusiasm allowed him to achieve success against the odds. He emphasizes that his drive to create unique ventures was more important than financial gain, illustrating the value of creativity and passion in achieving one's goals.
Themes
SuccessPersistenceEntrepreneurshipPassionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote to inspire young entrepreneurs at a school event.
More from Richard Branson
All quotes →It's a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur's metric for success. It's not, and nor should it be.
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Values cannot be speedily forgotten if it is inconvenient or commercially expedient. Values have to have meaning and longevity; otherwise they are valueless. You cannot embrace innovation up to a point or only sometimes. Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking cords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful.
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Please don’t get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup.
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What's the most critical factor in any business decision you'll ever have to make? Basically, it boils down to this question: If this all crashes, will it bring the whole house tumbling down like a pack of cards? One business matra remains embedded in my brain - protect the downside.
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