Losing innocence. Autobiography. Richard Branson

Foreword
They were crazy. Rebels of the spirit and troublemakers, they did not fit into the usual. They did not recognize the rules, they were disgusted with stability. You can disagree with them, criticize them harshly, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they changed the world.
From Apple's "Think different" commercial.

Two exciting week-ends are waiting for you with a book by Richard Branson. I am glad that the book has been translated into Russian, and I am convinced that it is timely and will be in demand in Russia, with its unique market opportunities. After all, here (no matter how paradoxical it sounds) you can apply the ideas of this great guru, revolutionary and "troublemaker."
Unfortunately, this was only possible in developed countries in the 1970s. I think that today even Branson's genius will not be enough to change trends, and the situation with Virgin Cola described in the book proves this. Globalization, which I hate, and the process of takeovers of large companies by even larger ones does not give young people the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial talent. They are forced to wear ties and white shirts, becoming "cogs" of a total system called "Corporation", where every kind of self is suppressed.
You can call Branson's risky ventures crazy, but this will not stop him - he will have even more excitement, because he is one of those who tempt fate and break barriers. If you look closely, flying in a balloon is an illustration of Branson's fate - a daring stunt that can turn into a dizzying success or complete collapse. when they talk about you, it's when they don't talk about you."

Make mistakes, after all, and Branson is no exception. Getting involved in unpredictable and risky business, he put a lot at stake, it happened that he ended up in complete shit (in deep shit), but he always found the strength in himself to rise again. That is why the book carries so much optimism and gives such a powerful positive impulse that it seems as if you are growing wings. "Rules are there to be broken" - these words can be the epigraph to Branson's autobiography.
To be honest, before reading this book, I did not know the details of his life, but I was struck by the similarity of our views, ideas and attitudes. I also had a chain of stores "Technoshock", a record company "ShockRecords" (we found and were the first to record the groups "Bricks" and "Leningrad" - why not Sex Pistols?). The same incredible struggle was with creditors and banks: I had to sell this business because of debts. Then the successful Darya and its sale to Abramovich to finance the new Tinkoff project and the hope of buying out the Darya in the future ...
I do not want to cling to someone else's glory. Branson is unique! Possessing tenacious business acumen and a free flight of dreams, not constrained by rules, he easily and naturally proves to us that there is no limit. People like him can change the world!
Read the "rebel bible", admire and follow the example!
As long as such people are born, life is not boring.
Oleg Tinkov

Dedicated to Alex Richie and his family
My special thanks go to Edward Wheatley for his assistance in working on this project. Edward spent two years in my company, practically lived with me, sorted through the notebooks that I kept for 25 years, and brought them to life.
***
Being one step away from death over the Atlas Mountains, I thought that I must now write a book in case the guardian angel leaves me.
I also realized that my children Hall and Sam, who are still young, may never know what I did or why I did it.
So this biography is for Sam and Holly, and it's the best thing I've done in the last eighteen years (although it's not entirely my fault). But especially for their mother, my wife Joan, who has been by my side through all my ups and downs.

I also wrote this book to show how we made Virgin what it is today. As with balloon flights, all these years the main thing was to survive. If you read between the lines carefully, you will understand, I hope, what our vision is and what we are striving for.
Some people say that this vision breaks all the rules and is too colorful; others that Virgin is destined to become one of the leading brands of the new century; still others, having analyzed it to the last detail, write academic works about it.
As for me and our wonderful team, we just continue what we started, getting a complete buzz from it all.
Prologue. Make up your mind and do it.

Tuesday. January 7, 1997 Morocco

5.thirty
I woke up before Joan and sat up in bed. From Marrakech came the rising and falling voices of the muezzins calling people to prayer through loudspeakers. I thought about Holly and Sam, so I tore a page out of my notebook and wrote them a letter in case I didn't come back.

“Dear Holly and Sam, sometimes life can feel unreal. Today you are alive, healthy and happy, but tomorrow you are not.

As you both know, I have always strived to live my best. This means that in 46 years I was lucky to live the lives of many people. I loved every minute of being and especially cherished every second spent with you and mom.

I know that many people think that this last venture of ours is stupid. I made sure it wasn't. All the experience we have gained in the Atlantic and Pacific travel will ensure the safety of the flight, and the risk does not exceed the tolerable. Maybe we didn't foresee something.

However, I don't regret anything, except that I can't help Joan get you back on your feet. By the age of 12 and 15, your characters are already defined. We are both so proud of you. It is impossible for Joan and I to imagine more adorable children than you. Both of you are kind, tactful, cheerful (even smart.). What more could we wish for?

Be strong. I know it won't be easy. But together we lived a wonderful life, and all its moments will forever remain with you.

May your life be complete. Enjoy every minute of it. Love and care for your mother as if she were the two of us.

I love you dad."

I folded the letter into quarters and put it in my pocket. Fully dressed and ready, I lay down next to Joan and hugged her. I felt agitated and nervous, but she was warm and sleepy in my arms. Holly and Sam came into the room and squeezed between us. Then Sam and his cousins ​​went to the launch site to see the balloon in which I hoped to travel around the world soon. Joan and Holly were with me while I was talking to meteorologist Martin. He said that the moment for the flight is very favorable, as the weather conditions are the best in the last five years. Then I called Tim Evans, our doctor. He had just been with our third pilot, Rory McCarthy, and the news was disappointing: Rory did not can fly. He has a mild form of pneumonia, but if he stays in the gondola for three weeks, he could get much worse. I immediately called Rory and expressed my sympathy to him.

“See you at the restaurant,” I said. - Let's have breakfast together.

6.20

When Rory and I met at the hotel restaurant, it was deserted. The journalists who had followed the launch preparations for the previous twenty-four hours had already left for the launch site.

We hugged. Both were crying. For me, Rory was not only a close friend and the third member of the balloon flight crew, but also a business partner. Just накануне отъезда в Morocco он выкупил долю акций нашей новой звукозаписывающей компании V2 и инвестировал в Virgin Clothes и новую косметическую компанию Virgin Vie.

"I can't deal with letting you down," Rory said. “I never get sick, never.

- Calm down. It must be taken for granted, I assured him. “We have Alex, who is half the weight of you. With him on board, we will fly much further.

“Now seriously,” said Rory, “if you don’t come back, I’ll continue flying where you left off.”

- Oh, thanks! I said, laughing nervously.

Alex Ritchie was already at the launch site to test the gondola's quick release mechanisms with Per Lindstrand, the veteran hot air balloonist who introduced me to the sport. Alex is a great engineer. It is he who owns the development of our gondola. Before that, no one had yet been able to create a system for the flight of a balloon at the heights of jet aircraft. Despite the fact that it was to him that we owed the designs of the nacelles for our flights over the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, I did not know him very well, but it was too late to find out anything about him now. He had no flying experience, and yet he made the bold decision to go with us. If all goes well, we'll have three weeks to get to know each other. As deep as anyone would like.

Unlike Per and my balloon flights over the Atlantic and the Pacific, this time we decided not to heat the air until it was needed. The balloon had an inner shell with helium, which was supposed to lift it. Per's plan was to heat the air around this shell during the night, which would allow