Imagine Being Upgraded and Sitting Next to Sir Richard Branson!
By Richard Parkes Cordock | August 5th, 2008Fact is often stranger than fiction, and what happened to Jason Murphy as he found himself sitting in seat 1A, the most desirable seat on any plane, could well be the work of fiction, only it isn’t!
What Jason didn’t know when he sat down, was that after taking his seat he’d soon be asked to give it up for another passenger. But as you’ll read in this short article, that passenger was none other than the world famous billionaire-entrepreneur, Richard Branson.
During the course of the flight, Jason (who was about to start a new business in Australia) had the perfect traveling companion and business mentor who could give him invaluable advice and encouragement.
Below is Jason’s own version of what happened on that unforgettable flight.
This is the story as I recall it…
I had looked at a failed business in Australia after spending many years working in the UK. I totally believed that it was not the business that had failed, but the people who had failed the business. They simply did not have the right ‘mindset’ at the top level.
I was in Australia traveling around, looking to inspire the people of this failed business, and restart it with a new focus. On this particular flight, I was traveling to Adelaide. I’m quite tall (over 6 ft), so I asked at the check-in desk if they could give me a seat with extra leg room. I was delighted when they allocated me seat 1A.
As soon as I’d sat down, I was approached and told there had been a mistake and could I move seats. I asked if seat 1C was available and was told this would be OK. I shifted up 2 seats, keeping my extra leg room in tact. As the flight was almost ready to take off, I had that smug feeling of ‘looks like I have got myself a treble seat!’
Just as the stewardess was about to close the door, a guy jumped on the plane and plonked himself in seat 1A! My immediate thought was ‘what makes you so special?’, but when I looked up I realised that what made him so special was that he was Richard Branson, a part owner of the airline!
It took me a moment or two to gather my thoughts, and my mind raced as I considered what I should talk to him about, if indeed he’d even want to be disturbed on this flight and speak to anybody at all, let alone me!
Australians are not renowned for overly appreciating ‘poms’, but to my total amazement the Australians on the plane clapped and cheered Richard Branson?s arrival.
It soon became evident to me why. Richard was confident, warm, cheerful and genuinely interested in my future business plans and goals. He and I chatted away like we had known each other for many years, and I’ll never forget the respect he showed me.
This chance meeting has proved to be one of the greatest inspirations of my life. I decided from that day forward, I was going to treat everybody with the same respect, whether I was dealing with a refuse collector, or the MD of a multinational company. Everybody in the company needs to know that ‘THEY’ are important.
On the back of this ‘mindset’ we have taken a failed business to a business that is currently on track to invoice some $25m (?10 million). Our new business is called ‘Penny Miller Pty Ltd’ and sells household products throughout Australia. (We changed the trade name from Betterware Australia)
Only in the last month we launched a similar business in New Zealand, and are currently looking to expand into other international markets.
Business author, Richard Parkes Cordock, a distant relative of Jasons, took inspiration from this tale to write the best selling book, Millionaire Upgrade: Lessons in Success From Those Who Travel at the Sharp end of the Plane.
In the book, you hear the story of Tom McMillan, a frustrated employee in the software industry who is upgraded on a flight to seat 1B. Sitting in seat 1A is Michael Redford, a self-made millionaire entrepreneur, and throughtout the the flight, Michael shares with Tom his own philispohy for success. Millionaire Upgrade is an Amazon top seller and is available in over 10 languages.
Tags: Entrepreneurs
August 6th, 2008 at 3:29 am
[...] Imagine Being Upgraded and Sitting Next to Sir Richard Branson! Own Home Business How Debt Consolidation Betters Tough Debts Importance Of Currency…. During the course of the flight, Jason (who was about to start a new business in Australia) had the perfect traveling companion and business mentor who could give him invaluable advice…. This is the story as I recall it I had looked at a failed business in Australia after spending many years working in the UK. I totally believed that it was not the business that had failed [...]