Lists are important for Richard Branson since he was 22-years-old.
Do you remember your first to-do list? Here´s Richard Branson’s first one from 1972, at 22-years-old.
A very young Richard Branson recently recovered a list he made of the “things” he had to do in the near future, and if you know something about Sir Branson’s personality, it´s everything you were hoping for.
Mixed with soaring ambitions like learning to fly and particular needs like inviting nicer people back to his house, Richard Branson rescues a piece of paper that embottles the very essence of a man that is now an owner of a multinational corporation that gives home to over 350 companies worldwide, who, apart from being one of the world´s most powerful, rich and renamed CEO´s, discovers a man with big, and sometimes out-of-his-head ideas, a coincidence Sir Branson shares with every last one of us.
The recovered list that is available for visiting on the Virgin website, is a sample that no matter how large our ambitions are, or how big and scary our dreams might seem, we all have to start somewhere, and Richard Branson started his adventure with a mistreated agenda and pen all the while he was planning to buy a Gong album (as you can see in the top side of the picture).
Branson and the importance of lists
On many occasions, Richard Branson has mentioned the importance of lists in his everyday business, as he has stated for Virgin that his ideas take shape and plans start to move forward every time he checks off a duty on any of his lists.
By making lists and understanding that life as an entrepreneur and business leader is busy and rough, Richard Branson has made more than a name for himself, he has turned into the leaderflag of a generation of people who have found through entrepreneurship a very palpable and proven plan towards success and self-realization, following the steps of a man that founded the very core of his life’s work writing down what was most urgent in his everyday life.
It does stand out, however, that his number one goal on that 1972 to-do list was learning to fly, so, in a very clear way, that speaks volumes on what are Sir Richard´s priorities, and that´s something worth learning.
To better understand Richard Branson’s method towards making lists, here are his ten recommendations to follow while embracing list-making as your new day-to-day habit:
1. Write down every single idea you have, no matter how big or small
2. Always carry a notebook
3. Find a list method that works for you. Doodles, bullet-points, charts what suits you best?
4. Make a list of small, manageable tasks to complete every day
5. Mark off every completed task youll find making each tick very satisfying
6. Make your goals measurable so you know if your plans are working
7. Set far off, outlandish goals. What do you want to have achieved by 2020? How about 2050?
8. Include personal goals in your lists, not just business
9. Share your goals with others. You can help motivate each other further
10. Celebrate your successes then make new lists of new goal
