Billionaire Branson is a college dropout; lived in a houseboat during early years

Branson was just 16 when he first found success. He launched a magazine named 'Student' in the year 1966. And, by 22 he had founded Virgin Records. Branson was born in Blackheath, London. His mother was a former ballet dancer and air hostess, and father was a barrister. Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School, a prep school in Surrey, before briefly attending Cliff View House School in Sussex. The successful entrepreneur had dyslexia and a was poor in academics. On his last day at school, his principal told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire, and the rest as they say is history.

This is probably one of the best business lessons one can imbibe from Richard Branson. Did you know that his magazine led him to sell records. And, the record store forged the path for him to start his own record label. What followed next is something that you cannot imagine. His record label led him to buy a recording studio and a night club. The business magnate basically built on a network of businesses that reinforced each other and only strengthened them further. In 1970, he started selling records by mail-order, opened his first record shop on Oxford Street in 1971. The Virgin Recording Studio became a reality in 1972, and the Virgin Record label in 1973.

(In Pic: In this file photo taken on February 07, 2019 Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson speaks during a ceremony to award test pilots Mark 'Forger' Stucky and Frederick 'CJ' Sturckow their FAA commercial astronaut wings during a ceremony at the Department of Transportation in Washington, DC.)

Before hitting the success button with his magazine 'Student', Branson had two failed business attempts at growing Christmas tress and sell budgerigars. But, that did not deter him from trying again and he's never looked back ever since the launch of the magazine, 'Student'. Branson went on to build the Virgin empire. The tycoon swears by a quote by himself, "The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all!” Branson says, "my mother taught me that I should not focus on past regrets, so with regards to business I don’t. My teams and I do not allow mistakes or failures to deter us. In fact, even when something goes wrong, we continue to search for new opportunities”.

(In Pic: Sir Richard Branson attends the 'Venezuela Aid Live' concert near the Tienditas cross-border bridge between Colombia and Venezuela, in Cucuta, Colombia.)

Richard Branson who is at the head of The Virgin Group has the ability to foresee the future, which is the true sign of an entrepreneur par excellence. HE thought of space travel way before many of his competitors decided to pursue it commercially. Virgin Galactic is one among the many other examples where Richard Branson foresaw an emerging market. Recently, the baron decided that Virgin Holidays will not sell tickets to attractions with captive whales and dolphins. In 2014, Branson had announced the Virgin Pledge which was all about protecting planet Earth and working towards a greener and cleaner future.

(Image: Instagram/Richard Branson)

The Virgin boss is not a big fan of the smartphone. He feels most millennials waste way too much time on the device, taking away from their precious time. He also believes in maintaining a work-life balance. While most of us fall in the rut of the vicious email cycle of 'see, reply & repeat', Branson asserts that one needs to use technology judiciously and not be addicted to it. And, if you ever forget cracking the code to this balance, remember what he has to say, "Don't become a slave to technology - manage your phone, don't let it manage you."

(In Pic: Richard Branson, John Major, Norma Major and David Beckham in the Royal Box before the semi-final match between Ukraine's Elina Svitolina and Romania's Simona Halep.)