Richard Branson

“It's a common misconception that money is every entrepreneur's metric for success. It's not, and nor should it be.”

“A good leader doesn't get stuck behind a desk.”

“My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.”

“One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.”

“I'm not sure how I'd survive without English Breakfast tea. Even in the Caribbean, I must drink 20 cups a day.”

“In business, if you realize you've made a bad decision, you change it.”

“There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions – in a way that serves the world and you.”

“By putting the employee first, the customer effectively comes first by default, and in the end, the shareholder comes first by default as well.”

“To me, business isn't about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It's about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.”

“As a father and now a grandfather to three wonderful grandchildren, I know how magical the first year of a child's life is but also how much hard work it takes. Being able to spend as much time as possible with your loved ones is absolutely vital, especially early on.”

“We need every person on Earth to acknowledge that climate change is real and encourage each other and our leaders to address the challenge.”

“I read everything, but generally more fact than fiction - especially autobiographies and biographies. I've read 'Long Walk to Freedom' by Nelson Mandela at least twice on holiday. Every time, I'm totally awed by his vision, strength and forgiveness. I feel honoured to have got to know him and his wonderful wife Graca over the years.”

“Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.”

“The balloons only have one life and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world.”

“We have teams of people working on electric cars. So you never know - you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business.”

“Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around the world in balloons are effectively flying in experimental craft because these craft cannot be tested.”

“I'm not the sort of person who gives up on things. The first time we crossed the Atlantic in the balloon, it crashed, and we went on and did the Pacific. First time we crossed the Atlantic in a boat, it sank, and we went on and got the record. So, generally speaking, we will pick ourselves up, brush ourselves down, and carry on.”

“Nobody's ever called me Sir Richard. Occasionally in America, I hear people saying Sir Richard and think there's some Shakespearean play taking place. But nowhere else anyway.”

“And obviously, from our own personal point of view, the principal challenge is a personal challenge.”

“I would be lying if I didn't admit sadness that our wonderful airline is merging with another. Because I'm not American, the U.S. Department of Transportation stipulated I take some of my shares in Virgin America as non-voting shares, reducing my influence over any takeover. So there was sadly nothing I could do to stop it.”