Book Review: Losing My Virginity

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This is a really fun read. Prior to reading this book, I was not familiar with how Richard Branson became Richard Branson. I was made aware of the book through one of the podcasts I was listening to. Richard was a guest on the podcast and in a future episode, one of the other guests recommended this book. I was so intrigued by his story that I immediately bought it and I was not disappointed.

Richard Branson is quite the character and has lived a very blasé life. What I mean is that he has worked his butt off, but done it in a very cool calm and collected fashion finding hidden opportunities throughout his career. Branson starting in the publishing business with a magazine called Student and eventually opening Virgin as a mail-order record business. Ultimately turning into a successful label and how that led him into the airline industry. It is all fascinating and Branson seemed to take many leaps of faith throughout his career and life.

 My biggest takeaway though is his attitude and how he approached his personal and business life. He was wildly optimistic and followed his gut no matter where that led him. He found creative ways to overcome credit concerns and business dealings when his local bank wouldn’t extend a line of credit despite a large check due in a couple of days. Same approach with how he limited the initial downside in starting Virgin Atlantic the airline with a creative deal with Boeing. It was all very inspirational and I really appreciated how he approached business differently than how other successful business people approach their stories of success.

While he worked hard it seems in Losing My Virginity that Richard Branson never lost himself. There are honest moments when he discusses how he thought he would die during a crossing of the Atlantic by sea and other misnomers throughout his career. Seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly is an important piece and makes this book all the more valuable to its readers. I recommend reading this if you have ever found Virgin an interesting name for a company and wondered where Richard Branson came from.

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