Enjoy life - you only get one.

And from, you know, small ideas, bigger ideas emerge. So we're starting with suborbital space flights and we'll then go into orbital space flights and, you know, maybe one day we'll send people on a one-way voyage into the depths of space as per the science fiction trips.

I have had a lot of fun pushing the boundaries on my balloon and kitesurf adventures, breaking some world records in the process, and I think this attitude of having fun whilst working hard is one that lends itself very well to successful entrepreneurship.

When people warn me against doing something once my mind is made up, I grow increasingly determined to try it.

Smiling can be a competitive advantage. It makes everyone feel better and every situation brighter.

It's far more difficult being a small-business owner starting a business than it is for me with thousands of people working for us and 400 companies. Building a business from scratch is 24 hours, 7 days a week, divorces, it's difficult to hold your family life together, it's bloody hard work and only one word really matters - and that's surviving.

Most people assume that a record shop's success lies in selling records. In fact, Virgin's success both in mail order and the record shops lay in skill at buying records.