5 lessons from self-made billionaire Richard Branson

To become successful, you must learn from those who’ve been successful before you.

While you may not follow their path exactly, there will always be an opportunity to extract something from their journey and inject it into your own.

One of the men I’ve looked up to is a self-made billionaire with an incredible amount of wisdom to pass on. Here are the 5 most important lessons that anyone can take from him…

Richard Branson is a classic rags-to-riches story. He built an empire himself, and is now worth over $5 Billion. Here are the lessons YOU can learn from him:

• If you don’t enjoy your work, either change what you do or how you do it

This is entirely up to you. Do you like what you do? Do you enjoy working? Are you happy with where your career is taking you?

No? Then it’s now your top priority to do it differently or to change what it is you do entirely. Don’t expect life to change for you – it’s up to you.

• Be kind

Kindness will always come back and reward you. And this means being nice to everyone. Kindness encourages loyalty and cooperation, which is why so many incredibly successful entrepreneurs note their consistent kindness to employees, partners, and anyone else as a main reason for reaching such heights.

• Know your weaknesses

We all have weaknesses. But acknowledging those weaknesses is the only way to overcome them. Ignoring your weaknesses will only make them worse.

But acknowledgement is only the first step. You must also find people to do what you know you’ll never do well.

• Have an undying, bold vision

Branson credits his bold vision for a huge majority of his success. In his eyes, a bold vision makes both you AND the people around you better off. A bold vision creates an environment in which everyone is striving for something great.

• Allow yourself to make mistakes

Making mistakes is absolutely inevitable when you have a bold vision you’re chasing after. The difference between those who achieve success and those who don’t is the acceptance for making mistakes along that journey.

Disallowing yourself from making mistakes will turn you into someone who won’t take a risk, and taking risks is often the only way to true success.