Screw It Let’s Do It by Sir Richard Branson

In the opening pages of Screw It, Let’s Do It,

Sir Richard Branson lists his main values as:

• Having faith in yourself;

• Believing that anything can be done;

• Living life to the fullest; and

• Never giving up.

In Screw It Let’s Do It, Sir Richard Branson walks us through his early childhood, leading up to the time he eventually became a multimillionaire.  He shares the most important lessons learnt along the way, and how these lessons shaped his philosophy.

Unsurprisingly, Sir Richard Branson believes in working hard as well as playing hard.  He says, “Work when you work and really play when you play”.

He believes in dreaming big, but admits that dreams will never come true… unless you make them happen.  His advice is that you can do anything you want in life if you apply yourself and don’t go in half-heartedly.  “The beginning is the most important, yet most challenging, part of any project,” he says.  He goes on to recommend that you, “Find more reasons to do something than not to do them.  If what you’re trying to do is in line with your passions, you will have no problem starting from the bottom and working your way up.”

The first chapter of Screw It, Let’s Do It is titled “Just Do It!”  In it though, Sir Richard Branson advises you to prepare thoroughly if you want to excel at anything.  The more prepared you are, the less likely you are to be afraid of taking the first step.

Sir Richard Branson is a major advocate of following your passions and having fun in your work, very much like the great Steve Jobs, who said he asks himself every morning, “If today was my last day, would I want to do what I’m about to do?” Branson says if something stops being fun, he stops doing it.  Life is too short to be unhappy.

He says to be bold, but not to gamble.  He says to take calculated risks, but not to gamble on things you cannot control.  Develop confidence.  Develop the ability to think for yourself.  Don’t become a sheep who just follows the crowd. Be brave, set milestones to work towards and keep smashing those targets.  Don’t sit back too long and bask in the glory of your success once you start getting positive results.  Set new goals and start working towards achieving them.

There are many examples in Screw It Let’s Do It where Sir Richard Branson shares his life experiences and some moments that took his breath away.  He reveals a story about a bet he took as a 9 year old kid: His family was on vacation, and his aunt bet him that he wouldn’t have learnt to swim by the time the vacation was over.  He was about to lose the bet, as they were already on their back home.  And then while they were driving next to a stream he asked his father to pull over, he ran directly into the river and started paddling like crazy.  Alas, he was swimming.  He had won the bet - right at the last minute.

This, to me, is an illustration of why you should never give up, and why you should always be on the lookout for opportunities that abound all around us.

Sir Richard Branson shares several stories about near-death experiences he’s had on hot air balloons.  He shares stories about he how discovered Necker Island - by mistake, and made a decision - on the spot - to buy it.

Screw It, Let’s Do It contains many useful business and leadership lessons.  There’s one story in particular about how Virgin Airlines was formed.  He writes about the risks he took when he started the airline.  He writes about business relationships that went sour as the airline was experiencing massive financial losses, what he had to do to overcome all those setbacks, and some of the major lessons he learnt along the way.

There are several anecdotes about how to build a team as well as the importance of mentorship: Never assume that you know everything - ask for support when the going gets tough.

An important lesson I took from the book is about keeping your head.  Branson Writes, “Some you win and some you lose. 

Be glad when you win.  Don’t have regrets when you lose. 

Never look back.  You can’t change the past – try to learn from it.”

These are profound words. 

He goes on to write, “whatever your dream is, go for it. 

Always beware if the risks are too random or unpredictable. 

But remember, if you opt for a safe life,

you will never know what it’s like to win.”

Boom! In your face!

If you don’t challenge yourself you will never grow.

If you decide to take up the challenge though, you must go all in. 

Average is unacceptable.  Don’t give up. 

It’s not over until you win!

My main take away from Screw It, Let’s Do It

is that you can achieve anything if you believe it.

Set bold and daring goals and go all in until you get what you want.

Assess the risks – prepare yourself – and choose to win. 

Live in the moment – have fun – do great work

and the money will come.

You can achieve whatever you want.

Together, anything is possible.

It’s not a walk in the park.

But whatever it takes, Screw It, Let’s Do It!