布兰森爵士.doc

       时代造就了名人，名人铸造了时代。007电台的最新节目《名人》带您走进一个真实的名人世界，感受他们的成功、失败、欢笑、痛苦……让您真正了解一代巨星们的“星”路历程及其光环背后鲜为人知的隐秘故事。

           Welcome to 007's Famous Persons sensational(美妙的，非常好的) new feature. In today's program I would like to introduce you to my favourite person and idol the Englishman Sir Richard Branson(理查德•布兰森爵士). Sir Richard was recently voted Businessman of the decade ahead of Bill Gates who came second; this award was awarded to him by the captains(统帅、领导) of industry from around the world for his outstanding achievements and recognition(褒奖；表扬) for his role he has played in the business world.
         What he achieved is nothing short of a miracle(奇迹).
 Chairman and CEO of an empire(帝国) stretching across the globe(地球) to the four corners of the earth, 345 companies from Virgin Airlines(维珍航空) to Virgin Cola(维珍可乐), an entrepreneur(企业家) of unequalled(无与伦比的) proportion, a risk taker, a maverick(独来独往者), no challenge too big, but also a kind and honourable true BRITISH GENTLEMAN(英国爵士) who sets a shining example to everybody setting a living example of a man who believes in himself and cares for all his
employees, who in turn is admired and respected by showing him such loyalty rarely seen in this day and age.
            He's tough(强硬地, 顽强地), shrewd(精明) and not afraid of anything. This spirit has set him aside from all his competitors(对手；敌手；竞争者) and his favourite saying is--to go where no man has been before. Knighted(封(某人)为爵士) by the Queen of England for his services to his country and a family man through and through, he does not smoke or drink but loves to enjoy life. Proudly hanging on my wall is a personal letter and a signed photograph that inspires me every day of my life, hopefully his story will inspire you too. So let's have a look together at this most unique man.

           Richard Branson is the most exciting and personable businessman alive since 1980. He has achieved what most young professionals could only dream of: incredible wealth, fame, and acknowledgment, all the while still managing to have a good time along the way. Richard Branson is a flamboyant(过人勇气的或精力旺盛的) British billionaire(亿万富翁) that has built his company (Virgin) into one of the world's biggest brands. He's brash(性急的，傲慢的) and isn't afraid to take risks!
          There are few businessmen who have been as successful as British tycoon(企业界大亨) Richard Branson. He is the founder(创始人, 奠基人) of the Virgin Music label, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and Virgin Cola. He has unorthodox(非正统的; 异端的) methods when it comes to doing business, but they work. And chances are that no

one has had as much fun on the road to becoming a billionaire than Branson did. 
           Richard has an uncanny(神秘的，不可思议的) ability to convince anyone of his ambitions(野心) and ideals. His charm with the ladies is equally legendary. He is the head of his multi-billion dollar corporation as well as its charismatic(超凡魅力的) spokesperson. The beard and hair evoke(使人想起)
a lion-like image. His business acumen(敏锐, 聪明) seems to mirror(反映, 映出) that of a lion and his relentless(不断稳定的，不松懈的) pursuit(追求) of ambition has made him the "King of the Jungle(丛林，密林)" in England. The fact that he has his own island in the Caribbean(加勒比海) certainly adds to his manliness(刚毅) factor.
           Richard Branson has rock star fame. His endless stream of famous friends, connections(关系), his enormous wealth and alluring charm have made him a huge target for women everywhere. For a businessman, when is a career considered accomplished? Making $100 million, $1 billion, or changing the world? Well, Richard Branson has done all of those things, and there is not much more left to achieve. 
           Sir Richard Branson is the daredevil (铤而走险的人)of British business, the kind of man who'll risk everything -- including his life -- just to prove a point.
Now he's about to descend on(突击) Australia, promising a better deal for air travellers and a shake-up(骚动, 剧变) of the airline industry. He's chairman of the Virgin Empire, which comprises around 200 companies, and some say is worth more than $160 billion. He walks a tightrope(极其危险的道路或处境) between success and
failure, but says, "I'm one of the few entrepreneurs who have managed to get to 50 and not have a company go bankrupt(破产)."
            Any man that writes a book called Losing My Virginity, is ranked among the 10 best businessmen of England, has a net worth of $10.7 billion, and is close friends with Janet Jackson(摇滚天后珍妮•杰克逊，迈克尔•杰克逊的妹妹) The Rolling Stones (“滚石”乐队)all while running a huge company, is as cool as they come in 007 eyes. Aside from the day he put on a bridal dress(新娘的礼服) to launch his new company Virgin Bridal, Branson is the epiphany(出现) of elegant business wear. 

Biography
           Born in 1950, Richard Branson grew up in a traditional family and received his education at Stowe School, where he established a national magazine entitled Student at the age of sixteen. He started a Student Advisory Centre at 17, aiming to help young people. At twenty years old, he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer(邮购唱片零售商人) and a short while later; he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London. 
          In 1972, a recording studio(录音室) was built in Oxfordshire(牛津郡) where the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield(迈克•欧菲尔德), recorded "Tubular Bells"(《管钟》), later released in 1973. The first album of Virgin Records went on to sell more than five million copies. At the age of 27, Richard signed The Sex Pistols(“性手枪“乐团) to the Virgin Records label after the group was turned down(拒绝) by 

every label in Great Britain. 
           Over the years, he signed many superstar names including Steve Winwood, Paula Abdul, Belinda Carlisle, Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, The Human League, Bryan Ferry, Culture Club, Janet Jackson, and The Rolling Stones. As is evident, Branson managed to turn the Virgin Music Group into a giant success. In 1992, the Virgin Music Group--record
labels, music publishing and recording studios -- was sold to EMI(百代唱片公司) in a $1 billion US deal(交易). 
           The interests of Virgin Group have since expanded into international "Megastore" music retailing, books and software publishing, film and video editing facilities, and clubs and hotels throughout 100 companies in 15 countries. 
            Virgin Atlantic Airways, started in 1984, is now the second largest British long haul international airline(国际长途航线) and operates a fleet of(一大批) Boeing 747 aircrafts to New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, Dallas, and Tokyo. The airline was founded on the concept of offering competitive and high quality first class and economy services. The airline holds many major airline awards and recently earned "Airline of the Year Award" for the third consecutive year. 
           Branson is a trustee(理事) of several charities(慈善团体), including The Healthcare Foundation(健康保健基金会), aiming to limit tobacco advertisements and sponsorships(赞助者的地位) in sports. 
           Since 1985, Richard has actively engaged in his vocations(才能, 行业, 职业) and been involved in a number of record-breaking land and air speed and distance attempts. In 1986, his boat, "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II," rekindled(重新点燃) the spirit of the Blue Riband by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest recorded time ever. 

          One year later, the hot air balloon called the "Virgin Atlantic Flyer" was the first hot air balloon ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Richard is currently in the midst of preparations to attempt a world-record setting, round-the-world hot air balloon crossing. Richard lives in London and Oxfordshire and is married with two children. 
          In his brief leisure hours, Richard plays tennis, ski-ing(滑雪) and chess, and occasional water sports in the warm blue seas around Necker Island(尼克岛，布兰森的私人岛屿).
          You may have seen it. There's the grin (not smile), the goatee(山羊胡子) beard he's worn since decades before everyone else did, the still-leonine head of hair that even at age 54 gives him the appearance of always plowing through the wind like a man on some very sweet ship. 
           He's short, but people say you don't notice it because he never stands in one place long enough for the necessary comparisons. He's one of those fearless, 

twinkling guys you hear about who's always certain that the next thing -- the very next -- well, that will be something else, and that'll be the best. Branson for better or worse is personified. Everything about him seems propelled. That figure he cuts is anything but irrelevant(缺乏时代性的, 落后于潮流的). The more you look, the more you realize it might be the most important of several important things about him. 
           How many of us know about Virgin's limousine(豪华轿车) companies and wine business and trains, and its enterprises that rent bikes, make cosmetics(化妆品), operate bridal shops (Virgin Brides), run health clubs, sell holidays, offer balloon flights, and market lingerie(女用内衣) (Virgin Ware--"sleek, smooth, and sexy underwear")? 
           Branson shrugs, "The conventional wisdom is you should specialize in(擅长于, 专攻) what you know and never stray(迷路, 偏离) from that, but no other brand has become a way-of-life brand the way Virgin has. And it wasn't us setting out to become a way-of-life brand, it was me continually being interested in learning new things. " 
           His notebook as ever alongside because he never uses a computer. "I keep my notebook in my pocket all the time," he says, "and I really do listen to what people say, even when we're out in a club at 3 a.m. and someone's passing on an idea in a drunken slur(含糊发音，不清楚地发音). Good ideas come from people everywhere, not in the boardroom(会议室)."

Here are excerpts from what he says about success:
•  "The world is a massively more hospitable place for entrepreneurs than it was 20 years ago. In most industries it is virtually possible to think of the world as one country. All our expansion plans are overseas: China, India.... We're really not interested in a new thing unless it can become global."
•  "Even the smallest, youngest companies should not be frightened to go overseas. The opportunities in the world are immense(极广大的, 无边的) -- China has a growth rate of 9% to 10% a year, and you should go there and participate in it and enjoy it. Enjoy it."
•  "Lavish praise on people and people will flourish(活跃); criticize people and they'll shrivel up(失去活力)." 
•  "Give people a second chance if they screw up(鼓起(勇气)，振作). Even people who have stolen from us 

have become, when given a second chance, incredibly loyal and valued employees. I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't been given second chances."
• "If you can run one business well you can run any business. There just needs to be a crying-out need for you to enter the marketplace. The time to go into a business is when it's abysmally run by other people." 
• "Most of our businesses do succeed, but if something completely fails, then as long as we bow out(由...退出,从容引退) gracefully and pay off all our debts, and nobody gets hurt, then I don't think people disrespect Virgin for trying. The public appreciates someone having a go; it appreciates the attempt. Who's been a success in life who hasn't failed?"
•  "It's important for the company's sake that the chairman not get bored." 
    •"My general philosophy in life is you never really go wrong saying yes." 
    •"I want Virgin to be as well known around the world as Coca-Cola." 

           When is Branson working? When is he not? It all appears so seamless and so authentically pleasing. Unlike many of our most vaunted(自夸) and imitated(假冒的) entrepreneurs, Branson forever strikes one as not compulsive or haunted or even, strangely enough, driven -- though no one ever questions his drive. No, instead he just keeps
looking like he's on the prow(船首, 舰首) of that sweet boat, grinning because he knows a secret, happy because he doesn't know exactly what's next but is absolutely sure that it won't be dull and will quite possibly be a good deal better even than that. Quite a life isn't it?