Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur? This is something I've always been fascinated by. What is it that makes one person a success, and another a failure?
Why is it that when I would attend business courses only a small minority of people took that information and put it into practice and the rest failed? I was never in that minority. Now I know why. It's the habits that one has that determines their success or failure, and the habits are based on one's mind.
Just in case you don't know who Richard Branson is....
He's the owner of Virgin, a global company that started with records and grew it's way up to the airline many people have come to know and love.
I just finished reading his autobiography "Losing My Virginity," and he shares his life journey and how he built up Virgin from humble beginnings to one of the most renowned brands on the planet. As As I was reading and trying to understand his life, there was some very valuable habits I learnt about his character that I identified as patterns of his success. In this article, I will be sharing the most common patterns and my biggest take aways.
Habit 1 - Continuous and quick action
He always kept moving and just taking action. His first Virgin store was born out of pivoting from a mail order record company into a store when there was a postal strike which jeopardised his entire business model.
Instead of being caught in the problem that could have put them out of business, they instead immediately focused on opening a store, even though they'd never done it before! It was a very simple store located above a shoe shop that they had to beg to rent out. A less than ideal location!
As simple as it was, with nothing more than a single couch, some shelves and a till, Branson states that he could trace the origins of that original store, and all the lessons learnt, to their Virgin Megastore's which are in some of the biggest cities in the world.
Habit 2 - Living in the moment
He always lives in the moment. From a young age, his parents drilled into him to take care of today and tomorrow will take care of itself. This is a beautiful principle of living in the moment and of doing what you can with what you have. There's a wonderful element of faith in this too.
"Just live today" has become a mantra of mine, particularly when things get difficult or overwhelming. I simply live today, for 1 hour, for 1 minute, and do what I can.
Habit 3 - Treat people well
Treat people well and they will treat you well. Branson is renowned for his charm, and his staff happiness was always his number 1 priority, and as such, they naturally loved working with and for him.
He also prioritizes customer experience and customer service. A happy customer has a natural loyalty to the brand, and even though this is beneficial to him, it's nevertheless something he naturally does habitually.
Habit 4 - Listen well
He is an avid listener. He's legendary for always carrying around a basic notepad and pen with him and recording all the feedback he gets from staff and clients as a way of improving all of his businesses.
That constant feedback loop of listening to the world is an amazing habit, and of all of his habits, this is the only one I can confidently say has been natural to me.
Habit 5 - Enjoy what you do
He enjoyed what he did and did it for the fun, not because it was a business. Profit was always a motive, sure, but if it wasn't fun, he didn't bother. When it's fun, you are naturally happy, and when you are happy, it permeates to all those around and spreads like wildfire.
He is always willing to expand and try new things, particularly if there was a symbiotic relationship with another of their existing businesses. But most of all, it needs to be fun.
Habit 6 - Trust yourself
He always trusted his gut instinct. As such, he was always able to make decisions very quickly. This also no doubt leads into his ability for quick action. He's not fumbling over the thousands of thoughts in his mind, he decides, and takes action. This simple thought to action process in his mind is something many of us lack.
If you've got too much garbage in your mind and too many limiting beliefs and self doubts, it clouds up your consciousness. It's impossible to make quick and easy decisions in this way. When your mind is clear, and if you've honed that skill, it's almost a superpower. Everyone had the idea for Uber, but the ones who put it into action took home the spoils.
The "secret sauce" to make it work
I am by no means a successful entrepreneur (yet!). But I can say, it's all good and well to learn these things (and trust me, I have tried for YEARS!), but the implementation is the hard part.
But now, I can confidently say that I am well on my way to developing these types of habits. This blog is a testament to that and my gradual change from bad habits to much healthier, good habits. It's my journey towards being able to live out my dreams and help all of Australia and all of the world.
And so for me, the "secret sauce" is the mindset, and more accurately - a CLEAR mind. Without a clear mind, there's no space in the consciousness to allow any good habits to grow and flourish. I have been thoroughly cleaning my mind of the bad habits and negative thinking patterns, and now finally these good habits are beginning to sprout in my mind from the years of planting those seeds.
On top of this, Branson embodied the contemporary spirit of the time and in this way was able to revolutionize the world starting from his record shops. This is why I'm so passionate about cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and the metaverse.
I am seeking to be the proof for having a clear mind and being in tune with the flow of the world - the spirit of the time. Should it be that success finds me in the eyes of society, it will have been 100% thanks to the fact I meditate with the method of clearing the mind.
Conclusion
If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, you could start by implementing some of those habits from his life into your own. If you have these characteristics already from your life it may not be so hard to allow them to blossom. But if you're like me, and you have tried everything but found yourself constantly failing, then I promise you that if you clear your mind first with meditation, all of your dreams will come true.
For me, there was no other way.