5 Pieces of Advice for Those Just Starting Out
In a recent
article by Richard Branson, he includes a
letter he received from a 9-year-old girl named Annie. In the letter, Annie
tells Branson she invented an airplane. She included blueprints and told
Branson it would be nice if he took a look at them. She describes how she
decided the name of her airplane, the D-12 Splash. how she included blueprints
for Branson to look at. .
Richard Branson responded with awesome advice
for Annie and young people everywhere.
His advice?
1. Keep dreaming.
Branson writes to Annie, “Don’t ever let
anyone prevent you from dreaming. Imagination is one of our greatest gifts.
Without it we would never make the changes that make the world a better place.”
He has written in the past about dreaming
big. On
his company’s website, Branson states, “If your dreams don’t scare
you, they are too small.” In the same article, he writes, “Those who achieve
great things are the ones willing to be scared but not scared off. If you dream
big and take big risks, impossible becomes just a word.”
2. Write your ideas
down.
In his response to Annie, Branson tells her
he loves her airplane designs, and says, “But more importantly, I love that you
took the time to really think things out and get them on paper. Keep doing
this. As you get older you’ll find it will help you achieve your dreams.” He
explains to Annie how he’s constantly writing down his ideas as they come to
him, and tells her he has carried a notebook with him at all times since
childhood.
This isn’t the first time Branson has
explained his daily habit of writing things down. In
this article, he explains, “If you have a thought but
don’t write it down, by the next morning it may be gone forever. I’ve always
carried notebooks and make daily lists, scribble ideas, and jot down thoughts.”
He described a situation where he had no paper to write down a new thought, so
he wrote it on the only surface he had at the time – his passport. And if
he wouldn’t have had his passport on him, Branson says, “I would have written
on my hand.”
3. It’s important to
innovate.
Innovation is defined by Merriam-Webster as the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or
methods. Branson writes, “Innovation has been the key to many of
humanity’s greatest successes.” He tells Annie he knows innovation is a big
word but she’ll realize how important it is as she gets older.
4. Go for it.
Branson writes, “I also think it’s
wonderful that you are looking at an industry that is largely made up by
males. If you’re thinking about becoming an engineer or a pilot, then my advice
is to go for it. Go out and grab it with both hands. The world needs more
female engineers and pilots, and entrepreneurs. If you put your mind to it, you
can achieve it – you’ve clearly got drive, which is a necessary quality of all
these careers.”
In his book Screw It – Let’s Do It,
he wrote about trusting his ability to do what he sets his mind to. Branson
writes, “I also trust my own instinct and ability
to do almost anything I set my mind to. If an idea or project is good and
worthwhile, if it’s humanly possible I’ll always consider it seriously, even if
I have never done it, or thought about it, before. I will never say, ‘I can’t
do this because I don’t know how to.’ I’ll ask people, look into it, find a
way.”
5. Ask for feedback in business and in life.
In closing, Branson thanked Annie for writing
to him. He tells her, “It’s so important in life and in business to ask for
feedback.”
Learning from advice from successful
people can be incredibly valuable to young people. Hopefully these words
of wisdom from Richard Branson will be as helpful for you as they
have been for me.
KERRY PETSINGER
LIFEHACK
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