Top 500 Richard Branson Quotes (2023 Update)
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351. “I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”

— Richard Branson

352. “First and foremost, any business proposal I like must sound fun.”

— Richard Branson

353. “It’s never easy to set up any business, but it comes back to determination and drive and the love of what you do!”

— Richard Branson

354. “The jet stream is a very strong force and pushing a balloon into it is like pushing up against a brick wall, but once we got into it, we found that, remarkably, the balloon went whatever speed the wind went.”

— Richard Branson

355. “There’s no better satisfaction than watching the people around you, who have worked day and night to get something right, realising the dream.”

— Richard Branson

356. “Every single astronaut who has come back from space comes back determined to do more to protect it.”

— Richard Branson

357. “You’re guaranteed to miss every shot you don’t take.”

— Richard Branson

358. “My number one rule in business, and in life, is to enjoy what you do. Running a business involves long hours and hard decisions; if you don’t have the passion to keep you going, your business will more than likely fail. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then you shouldn’t be doing it.”

— Richard Branson

359. “Bakers bake bread, accountants manage accounts and entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality.”

— Richard Branson

360. “By working hard, by making the right moves, you can create your own luck, I think. But certainly luck plays a part.”

— Richard Branson

361. “It isn’t effective or productive to force your employees to do anything. Choice empowers people and makes for a more content workforce.”

— Richard Branson

362. “Dreaming is one of humanity’s greatest gifts – it champions aspiration, spurs innovation, leads to change, and propels the world forward.”

— Richard Branson

363. “Fortunately we’re not a public company – we’re a private group of companies, and I can do what I want.”

— Richard Branson

364. “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

365. “I love stirring the pot. I love giving big companies a run for their money – especially if they’re offering expensive, poor-quality products.”

— Richard Branson

366. “I had no plans to be an entrepreneur. I just wanted to be a journalist and write for a magazine. At 15, I just decided to leave school and launch a national student magazine.”

— Richard Branson

367. “London is one of the most exciting cities in the world with so many fantastic pubs and restaurants. I would urge people to get out there and see as much as possible.”

— Richard Branson

368. “At the end, entrepreneurship is not about wearing expensive suits and earning a lot of money. It is all about being true to yourself, to your values in life. Your dreams.”

— Richard Branson

369. “Happiness doesn’t come from making a fortune and owning lots of possessions. ‘Stuff’ doesn’t bring happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matter.”

— Richard Branson

370. “A generation ago, the image was that you had to trample everyone else down to succeed; but I don’t believe that makes good business sense.”

— Richard Branson

371. “I have always believed that the only way to cope with a cash crisis is not to contract but to try to expand out of it.”

— Richard Branson

372. “All of us have just got to find that time to look after our bodies. That helps us make sure that our mind is sharp. I know that when I’m feeling great and really fit, I can get in three or four hours more of really productive work.”

— Richard Branson

373. “If you are glass half empty type of person, maybe you just haven’t been holding the right glass.”

— Richard Branson

374. “I always tell other people to protect against the downside, and not risk roughing on new ventures, but I never stuck to that rule myself.”

— Richard Branson

375. “Look for the best in people to build a fantastic team.”

— Richard Branson

376. “Learning and leadership go together. Too much credit goes to me for what we have achieved at Virgin but the successes happen from working and learning with some of the world’s most inspiring and inspired people.”

— Richard Branson

377. “What does the name Virgin mean? We are a company that likes to take on the giants. In too many businesses, these giants have had things their own way. We are going to have fun competing with them.”

— Richard Branson

378. “So I became a publisher by mistake – well, not quite by mistake, because I wanted to be an editor but I had to make sure the magazine would survive. The point is this: Most businesses fail, so if you’re going to succeed, it has to be about more than making money.”

— Richard Branson

379. “I think business leaders all over the world should not just think of how we can make lots of money, which is fine, but to take some of the problems in the world and get out there and tackle them using business. I think that if businesses do that we can get on top of these problems.”

— Richard Branson

380. “My mother was determined to make us independent. When I was four years old, she stopped the car a few miles from our house and made me find my own way home across the fields. I got hopelessly lost.”

— Richard Branson

381. “I’m sure if Brawn GP keep plying me with champagne and putting gorgeous Virgin girls either side of me, you never know!”

— Richard Branson

382. “To be a real entrepreneur you always have to be looking forward. The moment you rest on your laurels is the moment your competition overtakes you.”

— Richard Branson

383. “It is important in life to turn adversity to success.”

— Richard Branson

384. “Sometimes the riskiest decision you can make is to do nothing.”

— Richard Branson

385. “I think you should do in life what you think you’ll make a real difference at. And generally, as a businessperson, you do things you don’t really have experience in.”

— Richard Branson

386. “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

387. “For a successful entrepreneur it can mean extreme wealth. But with extreme wealth comes extreme responsibility.”

— Richard Branson

388. “As an entrepreneur, you’ve got to protect against the company going bust. And as an adventurer, you’ve got to protect against losing your life. It’s even more important as an adventurer to get it right.”

— Richard Branson

389. “If you can run one company, you can run another. Running companies are about inspiring and driving the best out of people.”

— Richard Branson

390. “An exceptional company is the one that gets all the little details right.”

— Richard Branson

391. “If you can make peoples lives a lot better, you’ve got a really good business.”

— Richard Branson

392. “Don’t wait till you are big before you begin building your brand. Build a brand from scratch alongside your business.”

— Richard Branson

393. “If people are jumping down people’s throats all the time, in the end, they’ll just shrivel up like a flower shrivels up that’s not watered.”

— Richard Branson

394. “Protect your reputation. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.”

— Richard Branson

395. “I just love every minute of my life. I love the variety. Every minute of every day I’m meeting fascinating new people, learning and working with wonderful teams of people creating wonderful things.”

— Richard Branson

396. “I think that marijuana should be legalized. I think the only reason it isn’t legal is because politicians who smoked it when they were young men or young women just don’t have the courage when they become politicians to legalize it.”

— Richard Branson

397. “Whenever I see people getting a bad deal I want to step in and do something about it. Of course, this is not pure altruism – there’s a profit to be made too.”

— Richard Branson

398. “In the beginning it was just about the business – now it’s about the brand.”

— Richard Branson

399. “It’s obviously incredibly important to keep the body fit in order to keep the mind fit, and be able to find time for friends.”

— Richard Branson

400. “Virgin could never have grown into the group of more than 200 companies it is now, were it not for a steady stream of intrapreneurs who looked for and developed opportunities, often leading efforts that went against the grain.”

— Richard Branson