About the book
A balloon flight over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, the start of an attempt to circle the globe, opens Richard Branson's autobiography. Across 28 chapters, written with help from Edward Whitley, the British businessman covers his first 43 years, ending in January 1993 after Virgin Atlantic won its court case against British Airways. The account takes in his ventures in music and airlines alongside his adventures. An epilogue moves on to later projects, among them Virgin Cola, the financial services firm Virgin Direct and his charitable bid to run the National Lottery in the United Kingdom. An updated edition added his views on how the September 11 attacks affected his business, especially his airline.
Robin Sharma urged would-be entrepreneurs to read it, calling it highly inspiring, and Yaro Starak, founder of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com, said it had a big effect on his thinking in the late 1990s.
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This book has 11 recommendations
Robin Sharma (Founder/Sharma Leadership International)
I encourage you to read his autobiography “Losing My Virginity” as well as his book “Business Stripped Bare” if you haven’t gone through them yet. Uber-inspiring. For people who want to become Remarkable Entrepreneurs – and express their absolute best.
Recommended by Mădălina Uceanu (Managing Partner/CareerAdvisor)
Source: Career coach Mădălina Uceanu shares with us her favorite books
Recommended by Robert Hajnal (Founder/Trail Running Academy)
Source: Interview With an Ultrarunner: Robert Hajnal Sharing his Favourite Books
Michael Hebenstreit (Founder/MH Themes)
If you want to become an entrepreneur and succeed in a competitive environment, then there are some evergreen books as well, for example: Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson.
Gunhee Park (Co-Founder/Populum)
The books that have had the most influence for me are business biographies/autobiographies. My favorites have been Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson, How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis (the book isn’t as shallow as the title makes it seems), and Made in America by Sam Walton. Reading the stories of these business pioneers has had a big motivation on me to step out of my comfort zone and strive to make an impact.
Neal O'Gorman (Serial Entrepreneur)
Richard Branson's, Losing my Virginity - a nice casual read which gives you an idea as to how his mind works and how 'faking it' can work well.
Recommended by Aaron Watson (CEO/PiperCreative)
Source: Aaron Watson, CEO at PiperCreative, Shares His 'Why' For Reading
Yaro Starak (Founder/Entrepreneurs-Journey.com)
Richard Branson, another guy with his second bio came out just recently, sort of like the part II of his life, the next 20 years. I grabbed that because his bio… I should actually go back and answer your first and second question about biggest impact and “Losing My Virginity” by Richard Branson was a huge one back in the late 90s for me, more about big thinking. The guy is crazy and I would never even consider replicating his lifestyle or life choices, but in terms of big thinking business, he doesn’t go small, he goes big with everything he does so I love to read his stories. And he can get into multiple industries, he can get into planes, he can get into health clubs, he can get into music, he gets into space. He doesn’t do anything by ___________ so I really enjoyed his second (part II) biography which I think is called “Finding My Virginity”. Great audiobook! Richard read it out too so a lot of fun.
Foti Panagio (Founder/GrowthMentor)
Honestly, it’s not really as simple as following a career path, at least not anymore. I’d recommend instead reading books on innovation and leadership because that can give you the confidence you need to blaze your own trail and to take your career as it comes. I’d suggest that a good background reading list would include [...] Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson.
Holger Seim (CEO/Blinkist)
When it comes to biographies I particularly like Losing My Virginity.
Daniel Buttner (CEO & Co-Founder/Lofelt)
There are a couple of books that inspired me or gave ignition to a new thought process. In terms of biographies, I liked Richard Branson - Losing my Virginity.
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Robin Sharma, Mădălina Uceanu, Robert Hajnal, Michael Hebenstreit, Gunhee Park, Neal O'Gorman, Aaron Watson, Yaro Starak, Foti Panagio, Holger Seim, Daniel Buttner
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Often recommended alongside
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (3 shared recommenders)
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu (3 shared recommenders)
- The Lean Startup by Eric Ries (2 shared recommenders)
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (2 shared recommenders)
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters (2 shared recommenders)
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter (2 shared recommenders)
Appears in collections
- 13 Best Business Biographies That Will Show You the Struggles of World’s Biggest Entrepreneurs
- Best Motivational Books: Because We All Need Motivation Sometimes
Sources
- What I Learned from Richard Branson…
- Career coach Mădălina Uceanu shares with us her favorite books
- Interview With an Ultrarunner: Robert Hajnal Sharing his Favourite Books
- Michael Hebenstreit, Founder of MH Themes & Former Stock Broker, on his Favorite Books
- Gunhee Park (Populum co-founder) interview
- Book-talk with Neal O'Gorman, Serial Entrepreneur
- Aaron Watson, CEO at PiperCreative, Shares His 'Why' For Reading
- Yaro Starak, Founder of Entrepreneurs-Journey.com: ’’There’s no such thing as failure, there’s only stepping stones to success’’
- Foti Panagio, Founder of GrowthMentor.io, on How One Book Gave Him the Ammunition he Needed
- Holger Seim, Blinkist CEO, on Building a Reading Habit by Seeking out Books That Pull You In
- Interview with Daniel Buttner, CEO & Co-Founder of Lofelt: Favorite Books & Reading Habits


