Sixty eight, rich and successful, Richard Branson has taught people the way to live life is either king size or not at all. An owner of 500 companies, with a personal wealth of over $ 5 billion, Branson has given life lessons that are extraordinarily amazing. Here’s looking at some of the things the man behind Virgin Atlantic has told and taught the rest of the world.

1. Your age doesn’t define you 

When Branson left school at the age of 16 to start his first ever magazine, little did he know he had sowed the seeds for a successful life. Over the years, with each of his ventures becoming a bigger and bigger success, Branson realised he had a lot to learn and a long way to grow. Soon enough, he understood age was just a number and to get ahead, one needed to work extremely hard in life.

2. It is important to enjoy every moment of life 

The moment you start enjoying what you do, the results are immediate and instantly seen. Branson loves everything he does and with the success one sees from these ventures, he has clearly applied this principle in life. In fact, when he started Virgin Atlantic, the principle of this company was to make shopping fun and through the years, one can see how closely he has followed this particular theme!

3. Realise you are not doing anything wrong by working for free

Without realising it, when you work for free, you are broadening your horizons to things you did not think were possible. In fact, when Virgin Records started recording music, the first thing they did was to let multi instrumentalist, Mike Oldfield, use their recording studio for free. Soon after his record dropped, Mike became a sensation and Virgin Records became home for all musicians.

4. You learn when you do things 

Without a journalism degree (or any other kind of degree, for that matter,) Branson started his magazine company to a whopping success right just by learning on the job. Learn through the mistakes and grow with them. The more you grow, the more you learn not just from your business, but also from the people around you. However, while it is okay to learn from your mistakes, it is important to know you aren’t making the same ones over and over again.

5. It is okay to take risks 

Never one to wait for things or one who had the patience for things to happen for him, Richard Branson believes in taking risks by the horns and running with them. Make sure you throw yourself deep into the work you do and when you take risks, you know the results are going to be what you want. Incidentally, one of the major risks Branson took ended up in him having to mortgage his house.

An owner of a host of extremely successful companies and a yacht, Richard Branson clearly knows how to live life well. If you have learnt anything else from this great man, comment and let us know.