Nov
Screw It, Let’s Do It
A brutally honest book on entrepreneurship by Richard Branson, the eccentric British millionaire. Branson doesn’t seem to care much about protecting his image, since he tells even the most embarrassing stories about himself, including the episode with the tax evasion that led to his arrest.
The book looks very much like a collection of random thoughts and stories, with no storyline. It would have certainly benefited from some editing but, on the other hand, the lack of concern for style or narrative techniques is what makes it authentic.
If you expect to find tips and tricks on how to make your business work or the secret to becoming a millionaire, you’ll be disappointed. You will find though the story of a dyslexic child and his numerous challenges, from his first business idea he puts into practice when he was 9 (which fails because of rabbits), to the magazine he founded when he was a teenager where he sold advertising from a public phone, the Virgin Empire.
How come some failures turn into successes, while others remain just that, failures. What makes the difference between them? The answer lies in how we perceive failure and how we have been taught to deal with it. His mother was a strong willed woman, which inspired Richard to believe he can achieve anything he sets his mind on.
If you are being told too often you are a failure, you have every change on becoming one. If you are told you can do anything, you have every chance of doing it.
My recommendation: read the book. It uses an unpretentious, careless even, language, but it’s honest and motivational.
