THE DREAM IN ACTION

This week I’ve been listening to Richard Branson’s: Business Stripped Bare (on audio book), for the second time. It’s a book that, at first, does not seem immediately applicable for someone who is not already running a successful business or conglomerate like Branson’s Virgin, but after paying closer attention to the themes and advice in the book I’ve realized it’s incredibly appropriate and actionable.

There are 7 main themes in the book that Branson goes into depth on. He settled upon these themes after digging through years of his personal “lessons learned” journal and collecting the highlights. The themes are (my thoughts in italics):

1. People – the absolute core of any business or organization
2. Brands & Marketing – Virgin isn’t focused on any industry but succeeds because of the brand
3. Delivery (Execution) – Without delivery on a ‘promise’ you won’t have customers
4. Mistakes and Setbacks – Have them often and maximize the value of them (learn from them)
5. Innovation – Technology innovations will never stop so advance with them
6. Entrepreneurship – The value of entrepreneurs to society and adding excitement to a career
7. The Higher Responsibility of Business – Taking care of the environment and giving back to society

I decided that this post on Branson’s themes of business would be appropriate as the first post since the “re-branding” of THE DREAM IN ACTION since he epitomized the notion. He started his entrepreneurial ventures young (age 16) with a magazine called Student and has had many mistakes and great successes, and has genuinely lived his dreams as a reality. In the interview below he stated that he literally wouldn’t change a thing about the path he took to where he is today. Being able to look back at your life and say that regardless of success or failure you literally wouldn’t change the path you took is at the heart of the dream in action. If you’re doing what you love, it almost doesn’t matter the outcome, you’re embracing the process.

On this site, in an effort to refocus, the categories for post are going to change. I’m going to use Branson’s 7 focus areas (and add a few more) as categories going forward. It will keep solid themes and remind us that these are the areas to continue our learning in order to live our dreams.

Richard is a true, example of THE DREAM IN ACTION. It’s obvious he’s happy and enjoys what he does. He’s worked hard and succeeded greater than most could imagine. But that’s the goal, isn’t it.

The video below is an interview between Ariana Huffington and Richard Branson for a Digg Dialogg.