Life lessons learnt from billionaires

Quite often, we hear about multi-millionaires and self-made individuals, who worked hard and broke the odds that were against them. But what about billionaires? What separates them from the rest of us and make them ultra-successful beyond their dreams. Well, they all have different journeys and use their ambition to guide their passions further. None of their stories are exactly the same, but quite a few of them have valuable life lessons that overlap over the years.

Richard Branson – Humility, Pride and Empathy

Wouldn’t everyone want a Lamborghini or a house on an Island? Sir Richard Branson disagrees. When he started the Virgin Group, his main focus was on how to best impact people’s lives while still turning a profit, and he did it all with empathy and hard work. What he didn’t focus on was materialistic possessions and the craving for money. In fact, when he first started out, his attitude was “You only live once, and just live life to its full.” He went on multiple adventures, hikes and hot air balloon rides. He wanted to see it all and experience life to its fullest degree. He was the first person that Ex-President Barack Obama went to visit after his presidency and probably the only time when he broke a smile during the last 8 years. Richard Branson has that personality of appreciation for life and a charm that can make anyone happy in his presence. Valued at more than 6B USD, Sir Branson has been a remarkable example to every entrepreneur that working hard doesn’t always mean that you can’t have fun in your life.

Larry Page – Taking risks when no one’s with you

Ever heard of Google? Larry Page was the co-founder of the company, and as an entrepreneur in his late twenties, he didn’t want to go down the traditional route of job and salary. He had an idea, and he wanted to patent it. He knew that the search industry was going to be a big one, especially with Yahoo and AskJeeves coming up during the times. He took some major risks starting out at a young age, and built his team according to his high standards. He wanted to make the best quality product that he could, but also something that could stand the test of time and become marketable. He had an option of selling his invention to an existing search engine company, but he decided to risk it and start it all by himself. Now, he’s the 10^th richest man in the world and valued at about 50B USD. His company is everywhere, including our phones and our payment systems.

Howard Schultz – Bringing something unique

When Starbucks opened 7 outlets, CEO Howard Schultz wanted to ensure that he brought a unique experience to the coffee shop. What he didn’t know, was how exactly to get the European culture of enjoying a hot cup of coffee in a coffee shop, package it, and ship it to the US. He had no idea that Americans preferred their coffees in an easy-to-go manner and not sit around and sip it. It was then he struggled, and through his suffering he realized that he had to listen to the specific needs of the customers. He wanted to create an open boundary of communication between customers and servers, and provide a better experience for them (right from in-store comfort to coffee customization). Starbucks, became the only coffee brand that actually cared about its customers and quickly became an instant classic.

Elon Musk – Hustle hard and make something that’s unthinkable

I think everyone knows all about Elon Musk, but few know about how hard he struggled with the odds were against him. He worked 100 hour weeks, slept on the floor of the Tesla plant, and lost almost all his money that he made from PayPal (120MUSD). He wanted to prove something, that anything was possible if we just make the efforts to make it happen. Now, worth more than 20BUSD, he has the world record for the biggest opening launch of any product in the history of humanity. His Tesla cars are ubiquitous, and SpaceX is all set to commercialize space travel. He’s gone through multiple failed marriages and companies, and all throughout the journey he’s always been hungry to get more. He’s had instances where he wanted to give up and the pillow on his bed would have tears from the previous night, and he’s struggled almost through an entire decade of problems. But finally, after a few contracts worked well for him, and he raised capital from investors outside the US, he was finally able to make his vision real. He finally realized that it wasn’t about offering a great product, he also had to do it cheaper and more efficiently than anyone else in the industry. That’s how he won contracts over NASA, and how he won consumer awards over BMW and Ford. He’s inspired generations after him and he’s one of the most ingenious people that’s walked the planet.

Oprah Winfrey – Breaking boundaries

Oprah started out as a young, poor, African American woman, who was struggling to get by and wanted more from her life. She started out on cable tv shows, and made a mark early on with her heated conversations and ratings-pulling discussions about controversial issues. She’s had various problems throughout her life and challenges that could have stopped any person from pursuing her dreams. At that time, she was the first African American talk show host, and then subsequently became on the best talk shows in the USA. She’s made moves into startup investing, real estate and buying media companies, before launching her own TV Network called the “OWN Network”. She’s empowering women across the world and at every step of the way, she’s challenged the norm and given her best.