In 1968, a young man named Richard Branson began an improbable journey. From opening a tiny record store, called Virgin Records, on the second floor of a building in London, Richard went on to become the head of one of the world’s most universally recognized and respected groups of companies. The Virgin name has become a truly global brand and Richard its charismatic public face. His story is awe-inspiring, breathtaking, and often just plain fun. From airlines to mobile phones, round-the-world balloon flights to space travel, a Caribbean island and a South African game reserve, it’s clear that Richard Branson is having the time of his life. Some people say that everything Richard touches turns to gold. But the truth is, behind the fun-loving persona lies a dedicated and dynamic businessman who has sweated buckets for every dollar he’s made. He has taken his share of falls, just like all of us, and picked himself up and gotten right back into the game. And throughout it all—working, succeeding, failing, trying again—Richard Branson has indeed been having fun. He hasn’t done it all alone. He has learned from and been inspired by many remarkable people, from politicians, scientists, writers, and co-workers to his own mother and father. Screw It, Let’s Do It shares some of Richard Branson’s lessons in life and business that range from good, practical advice to more esoteric inspirations—all of which have made the head of Virgin Group what he is today, including:

Just do it—Believe whatever you want to achieve can be achieved.
Have fun—Have a positive outlook, and when something stops being fun, move on.
Be innovative—The system is not sacred:Think creatively.
Have sex appeal—Create excitement in everything you do.
Do some good—Change the world, even in a small way.

It’s hard to read about his journey and not catch his motivational bug and zest for life—to act positively, to change for the better and join him in his enthusiastic and life-affirming visions for the world. Screw It, Let’s Do It also presents Branson’s vision for the future, a future in which we each fully embrace the responsibility to do no harm to our environment, to hold our hands out to those in need, to work in unity for the great and pressing concerns of our time. It’s up to successful companies may like Virgin to lead the way in a more socially responsible—and in fact, wholly revolutionary—approach to business.

Engaging, funny, utterly absorbing, and above all, inspiring, Screw It, Let’s Do It serves as a template for personal and business growth, a guidebook for anyone who wants to grab life by the horns and take a wonderful ride, living—as Richard Branson surely does— life to its very fullest.

About the Author
Sir Richard Branson is founder and chairman of the Virgin Group. In 2006, Branson committed all future profits of Virgin’s transportation interests to renewable energy initiatives; this commitment is expected to add up to $3 billion over the next ten years. Branson lives on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.

Source: Amazon.com

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In this autobiography, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says one of his prime business criteria is “fun.” Fun made Branson a billionaire, and few business memoirs are one-billionth as fun as Branson’s, nor as niftily written. Not only does it relate his side of near-death corporate experiences, it tells how the chairman literally cheated death by gun, shipwreck, and balloon crash.

Branson’s empire–now encompassing interests in an airline, pop music, soda pop, e-commerce, and financial services–began when the dyslexic 16-year-old dropped out of school in 1968 to found the British magazine Student. His headmaster said, “I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.” Briefly imprisoned for dodging customs selling records, Branson got his first million by releasing Tubular Bells, a maverick recording all the stuffy executives rejected. (1998′s Tubular Bells III puts the series’ sales over 20 million.)

Despite wild tales of Branson’s wife-swapping and Keith Richards fleeing naked from Branson’s studio at gunpoint with another man’s woman, the most shocking parts of the memoir concern British Airways’ James Bond-like “dirty tricks” campaign against Virgin Atlantic, resulting in the biggest award for damages in English history.

Though it’s filled with famous names, witty quotes, and pulse-pounding accounts of lunatic balloon adventures, it is as a business thriller that the book really scores. His instinctive bet-the-ranch tactics could cost him all, or earn another billion. Either way, Branson will likely remain the most entertaining entrepreneur in Europe. –Tim Appelo

Source: Amazon.com

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