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" I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer. "
Richard Branson
I Can
Done
Business
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" I love Notting Hill and Westbourne Grove - there is so much life and vitality around Portobello and Ladbroke Grove. It has come up a lot since I started Virgin more than 40 years ago, but there is so much character. "
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" My father Ted fought in North Africa, Italy, and Germany during World War II. My grandfather survived the horrors of the trenches in World War I. I truly believe that one of the E.U.'s greatest achievements is that it has kept its members out of conflict in Europe. "
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Father
" When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives. "
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" I think, because I started Virgin when I was a teenager, it has become a part of me, like my family, and I am motivated by ambition for it, almost as if it were a child. "
Richard Branson
I Am
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" Well, we know that people in Australia love the idea of both Impulse and Virgin Blue getting up and adding a bit of competition, and it's fun to be able to deliver it. "
Richard Branson
Love
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" The signing of the Sex Pistols was a turning point for Virgin. It put the company on the map and, over the years, attracted bands such as Genesis, the Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz, and Janet Jackson. It also attracted Culture Club, who were ground-breaking. "
Richard Branson
Club
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" My favorite mode of transport is hot-air ballooning. It's so graceful to be blown by the wind, to go where the wind takes you. "
Richard Branson
Go
Transport
Mode
" On one of my last days at school, the headmaster said I would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. That was quite a startling prediction, but in some respects, he was right on both counts! "
Richard Branson
Prison
End
Right
" I think it's good for a woman to put on a bit of weight when she gets older - it looks better. But a man has to stay balanced. "
Richard Branson
She
Man
Good
" I'm not sure how I'd survive without English Breakfast tea. Even in the Caribbean, I must drink 20 cups a day. "
Richard Branson
Breakfast
Survive
Tea
" And obviously, from our own personal point of view, the principal challenge is a personal challenge. "
Richard Branson
View
Challenge
Our
" From a young age, I learned to focus on the things I was good at and delegate to others what I was not good at. That's how Virgin is run. Fantastic people throughout the Virgin Group run our businesses, allowing me to think creatively and strategically. "
Richard Branson
Me
Good
People
" Treat failure as a lesson on how not to approach achieving a goal, and then use that learning to improve your chances of success when you try again. Failure is only the end if you decide to stop. "
Richard Branson
Success
Treat
Learning
" If you want to be a Millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline. "
Richard Branson
You
Airline
Launch
" If you're embarking around the world in a hot-air balloon, don't forget the toilet paper. "
Richard Branson
You
Forget
Balloon
" Every successful businessman will have experienced set-backs and failures - they're lying if they say they haven't. Virgin has had some tremendously successful businesses and some that have not quite worked out. Virgin Cola springs to mind - the product wasn't distinct enough from Coca-Cola. "
Richard Branson
Lying
Enough
Successful
" I'm a lad of the '60s. I started a magazine to try and end the Vietnam war, but it was a number of years before I had the profile, the financial resources and the time to do more. "
Richard Branson
End
War
Try
" Be willing to use yourself to get out there and put the company on the market. If you have to make a fool of yourself, make a fool of yourself, but make sure that you end up on the front pages, not the back pages. In time, it's possible that your company will stand out from the crowd, and you'll be successful. "
Richard Branson
You
Stand
Fool
" Like getting into a bleeding competition with a blood bank. "
Richard Branson
Bank
Blood
Competition
" As more airlines consolidated and grew larger and more focused on the bottom line, flying in the U.S. became an awful experience. Despite moves to block our airline from flying, Virgin America began service in August 2007 - with the goal of making flying good again. "
Richard Branson
Good
Service
Experience
" Fortunately we're not a public company - we're a private group of companies, and I can do what I want. "
Richard Branson
Public
Company
Group
" At Virgin, we have always backed the power of the entrepreneur and inventor to find solutions to tricky problems. Why should climate change and the battle against carbon be any different? "
Richard Branson
Problems
Find
Change
" A good leader doesn't get stuck behind a desk. "
Richard Branson
Good
Behind
Leader
" Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won't make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa - and it's about getting a balance. "
Richard Branson
Life
Work
Money
" There's no point in starting a business unless you're going to make a dramatic difference to other people's lives. So if you've got an idea that's gonna make a big difference to other people's lives, then just get on and do it. "
Richard Branson
You
Difference
Going
" Space has always fascinated me. As a young boy looking up at the stars, I found it impossible to resist thinking what was out there and if I ever would experience space first-hand. "
Richard Branson
Space
Me
Thinking
" Especially when you're at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they're doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it's the way I choose to bet. "
Richard Branson
Organization
You
Employees
" Overcoming fear is the first step to success for entrepreneurs. The winners all exemplify that, and the hard work and commitment they have shown underlines what is needed to set up a business. "
Richard Branson
Fear
Work
Success
" You should not build your customer service system on the premise that your organisation will never question the whims of your clients. "
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You
Question
Service
" Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. "
Richard Branson
Failure
Learn
Start