Sir Richard Branson has been called all these and many more. So when I got an\u00a0invitation to spend five days with him on his private Caribbean island it was an easy Yes! When I was later asked if I\u2019d interview him for a special Q&A session, I was even more excited (though a little bit nervous too!)<\/p>\n
The Branson brand, just like that of Virgin, stands apart. Yet on meeting the man behind the larger than life media persona, I was struck by\u00a0his humanity and humility. Expecting plenty of ego, I was disarmed by his lack of it. Instead I encountered a man deeply\u00a0passionate about tackling the big challenges of our time \u2013 from climate change to social inequality, all while having a lot of fun on the way. The people on his team at Virgin Unite <\/a>(who had organized the gathering in conjunction with Business Chicks<\/a>) were no less so.<\/p>\n My experience on Necker Island transcended anything connected simply to business or brand building or even the hedonistic pleasures Necker is famed for. Each of the speakers at our morning \u2018think tank\u2019 sessions \u2013 who ranged from retired NASA\u00a0astronaut Captain Mark Kelly to spiritual author Marianne Williamson to WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg – spoke from the heart, without pretension, and with a genuine desire to help.<\/p>\n While I gained a wealth of insights into leadership, entrepreneurship and social enterprise (which I\u2019ll include in future blogs and Forbes columns<\/a>), what was even more valuable was the experience itself – being surrounded by passionate people intent on making a meaningful contribution in the world. If you’d like to see my photo album from my time on Necker, click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Sparks of possibility flew fast and furiously as the forty two of us gathered on Necker – entrepreneurs, business leaders and thought leaders \u2013 and talked about what lights us up and explored how we can better use our unique talents, expertise, and resources to positively impact the world \u2013 to solve bigger problems, ease\u00a0human suffering and disrupt the status quo – and, to use a Branson catchphrase, “to do well by doing good.”<\/p>\n Of course I\u2019m very\u00a0mindful that few people will ever have the opportunity to visit Necker Island. One billion people still live on less than\u00a0$2 a day, and the bulk of the world\u2019s wealth is held by a small elite group of people, many far wealthier than Richard Branson.<\/p>\n Yet that is precisely the point!<\/b><\/p>\n If you are literate enough to be reading this, your ability to affect change is far less dependent on your wealth, status or size of your Twitter following than it is on your belief<\/em>\u00a0about your ability to affect change – starting in your home, family, workplace, community and extending outward. \u00a0And while we may look to politicians and Branson-like power brokers to lead the way, we cannot \u2013 and we must<\/em> not – rely on them to solve our problems for us. Most of all, we must never underestimate the ripple effect we set in motion when we take responsibility for being the change we wish to see in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some call Branson lucky. But while he\u2019s had more hits than misses since dropping out of high school to start a magazine, not every endeavor has taken off (remember Virgin Cola?). During my\u00a0time speaking with and\u00a0interviewing Branson I found a man who is every bit human. What has set\u00a0him on a different trajectory from\u00a0so many others has been the audacity\u00a0of\u00a0his dreams, his willingness to both take bold risks to achieve them, and to seize opportunities that others either didn\u2019t spot or were too complacent or timid to pursue. \u00a0It\u2019s worth remembering that Branson mortgaged his home multiple times in his early days at Virgin Records and nearly died in his attempt to circumnavigate the globe non-stop\u00a0by\u00a0hot air balloon.<\/p>\n At his core, Branson is an entrepreneur who thrives on challenging what\u2019s possible and improving the status quo \u2013 doing things smarter and better\u00a0while\u00a0stirring up the established power structures in the process. \u00a0Now in his mid sixties and in a stage of life where\u00a0many retire to\u00a0the golf course, he\u2019s focusing\u00a0his seemingly boundless energy into\u00a0finding better ways of doing business, improving inequality, and developing renewable energy sources to sustain humanity far into the future.<\/p>\n Sure, Branson knows how to have fun, and he infuses it into everything he\u2019s involved with. (Did I mention that I danced on a bar with him while singing\u00a0back up vocals for Estelle?) But for all the fun, fame and wealth, the measure of his legacy will transcend the 100+ businesses he\u2019s built or the records he’s broken. \u00a0It will be measured by the lives he has lifted. And at risk of sounding clich\u00e9, after my time on Necker Island, he can add one more that list.<\/p>\n Of course we\u2019re not all wired with the appetite for risk and adventure\u00a0as\u00a0Richard Branson. But everyone of us has the opportunity to step up to the plate in our own lives, to disrupt that which needs disrupting and to make the unique contribution that we alone can make. As I say in this short video I filmed on my iPhone (the legacy of another maverick disruptor), our greatest fulfilment doesn\u2019t come from money or status, it comes from making a stand for something that compels us out of comfort and complacency to create a future that not only helps us to live better, but helps to better the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n