“Screw it. Let’s do it.”

Richard Branson

During my stay on Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson was kind enough to sit down with me and share some of his expertise. Richard hardly need an introduction. He is a world famous entrepreneur, a devoted humanitarian, and truly an all round amazing human being. He is extremely successful on a business level but also on a social level as well.
It always such a pleasure spending time with him on Necker Island.

There is a lot to learn from Richard Branson, so I decided to ask a question that was focused on his outlook towards life which I thought would be helpful to anyone that reads this.

KEIR: Richard – with all the wisdom you have today, drawing from the time and experiences you spent on this planet, what are the most valuable lessons that you can share with a group of 20-30 year-old men and women? (Also note this will help anyone at any age but at the time I was in my early twenties when I had this interview with him)

1. MOST IMPORTANT

“The most important thing in life is: How you deal with people and how you treat people. Ask yourself – do you praise instead of criticize people? When I was growing up, If I ever criticized people, my parents would have me look in the mirror and self-reflect. Often the criticism we have of others are what are true about ourselves.”

2. RESPONSIBILITY

“We live in this beautiful world! If you are in a position to do something, then protect the environment. You must leave the world in a better place then when you found it. It is worth spending the effort on.”

3. TRAVEL

“Go to an African village and give back on the investment of travel. Put the travel before formal education. Meet people and learn. Learn about the world through travel and get great ideas. I think about the happiness on an African kids’ face running around, although she’s without water. You being to realize that those kids are just as happy as kids in rich families in developed nations. Travel opened my eyes to what needs to be done.”
It opened my eyes to help campaigns for AIDS. Through traveling, I learned about Malaria and the problems that our world oceans face- such as protecting the sharks. These causes contain conflicts, and sometimes that means people shy away from them, but I try to tackle them, and regardless of the outcome, learn something valuable each time.”

4. RELATIONSHIPS

“If you are fortunate to have the right relationship, if you get through your downs, your relationship can come out the stronger for it. Whether marriage is the correct formula in this day and age, I do not know. I believe in a “Friends for Life” contract that be renewed every 10 years. Not for rich people but for everyone. If you find you have grown apart… you do not destroy your relationships with the kids and so on. No hassle with divorce, you just renew the contract.”

5. HEALTH

“Your body is all you got. You definitely should party but its important to look after your body in between. Three easy to follow rules:
1. Do not smoke
2. Find an hour a day to work out
3. Party hard and play hard.”

6. POSITIVITY

“The world is getting better. There are less wars and less conflict. More people are coming out of poverty. The population will go down. If you want to become a scientist or a doctor.. you need an education. If you want to be an entrepreneur… just do it! Try to create something and if you fall get back up again. Live life to its fullest and have a blast!”

7. PERSONAL MOTTO

“If you are good with people, then they will be good to you!”

“Life is a hell of a lot more fun if you say yes rather than no.”

Richard Branson

I really hope you enjoyed this interview! I am so thankful for the time I have spent with Richard Branson over the past years. I have learned so much and will continuously be inspired by the legacy he has built in such a short amount of time. He is a true legend!

Whatever it is you have been holding off – screw it, just do it. Life is short! Say yes more than no and live life to its fullest! Be good to yourself and those around you! ROCK ON!