How does the dyslexic son of a ballet dancer go from penniless squatter to billionaire space-tourism visionary? The story of Sir Richard Branson’s life is the story of a man who has been called to break boundaries and overturn expectations since day one. And we can see this with a look at some of his specific Human Design Gates and Channels.
The Main Ingredients for an Iconoclastic Leader
When we glance at his Human Design Gates and Channels, we quickly see some of the main ingredients for an iconoclastic leader. For instance, in his Channel 17-62, we see that he is a skilled organizer with natural leadership qualities. And through his defined Channel 7-31 (activated by Pluto in Gate 7, in 3rd and 5th lines), we see a great acuity for avoiding others’ expectations, and delivering powerful results in apparently chaotic circumstances.
And this plays itself out in his life over and over again.
A Natural Born Entrepreneur
Raised by a lawyer and former ballet dancer, Branson’s early upbringing seems relatively unremarkable. However, when examined closely, one can see that the seeds of his entrepreneurial spirit were firmly planted early on. Aside from being a ballet dancer and flight attendant, Branson’s mother was also something of an entrepreneur. She found modest success in building and selling wooden tissue boxes and trash bins.
By all accounts, Branson was a terrible student in school—largely due to the fact that he is severely dyslexic. In fact, his academic performance was so poor that his school’s headmaster predicted (quite presciently in retrospect) that Branson would either end up in prison or become a millionaire.
Three Human Design Gates “hanging” from his defined Self Center (Gates 15,2 and 46), show us that he has the ability to take on any challenge or offer. And his Venus in Gate 12 with the 3rd Line, indicates an ability to make a comeback from any misfortune. So no matter what happens, Branson’s Design tells us that he simply will not give up.
Early Experiments in Success
After leaving school, Branson immediately struck out on his own entrepreneurial journey. While living in a squat in London, he briefly ran a business selling Christmas trees before giving that up to start his own magazine. This magazine, Student, which would prove to be the foundation of his empire-to-come.
The magazine focused primarily on music, and eventually came to serve as the marketing engine behind the mail-order record business. His mail-order record business soon grew into a brick and mortar record shop, and just one year later Branson founded Virgin Records.
Much like its founder, Virgin Records was groundbreaking in that it took big risks that ultimately paid off. Signing controversial groups (e.g. the Sex Pistols) and taking chances on avant-garde musical acts, Virgin cultivated a reputation for being on the cultural cutting edge. This, combined with the massive revenues generated by his more tried-and-true artists (e.g. The Rolling Stones), allowed Branson to expand. And expand he did. Rapidly.
Unstoppable Expansion
Just 10 years after starting Virgin, Branson was running a commercial airline, a freight airline, and a travel agency. Shortly after, he would start Virgin Express, Virgin Mobile, and Virgin Trains. And all while keeping his eye on even more distant shores.
Long obsessed with the idea of space-tourism, Branson launched Virgin Galactic in 2004. His mission is to bring everyday passengers up into suborbital space.
Virgin now has its hands in everything from music, to hotels, to healthcare clinics. From selling a handmade magazine out of a crypt, to overseeing a multi-billion-dollar global empire, to jetting off into outer space, Branson has always reached for the stars. And I wouldn’t bet against him getting there someday soon.
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