Just Imagine… You and Sir Richard Branson on a Flight Together!
Sounds implausible? Well it actually happened to Jason Murphy who found himself sitting in seat 1A, the most sought after seat on the plane.
Little did Jason know at the time, when shortly after being upgraded to his new seat, he’d be asked to move over and give it up for an unnamed VIP. But as you’ll read in Jason’s own words, it was none other than entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson who took his place.
Jason, who is originally from the UK, was soon to start a business in Australia. And in Richard Branson had the perfect traveling companion who was able to give Jason plenty of invaluable advice and encouragement as he embarked upon his new venture.
Below is Jason’s own version of what happened on that unforgettable flight.
This is the story as I remember it….
After many years working in the UK in the direct selling industry, I looked at a failed business in Australia. It was not the business which had failed, but in my opinion, it was the people who had failed the business. They just didn’t have the right mindset at the top level.
I was travelling around Australia looking to inspire the people of this failed business to re-launch with a new focus, and was heading to Adelaide. Being quite tall, I asked for a seat with extra leg room and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they had such a seat, and was consequently allocated seat 1A.
I’d only just sat down when the air-hostess approached me and told me there had been a mistake and asked if I could move seats. No one was sitting in seat 1C, so I enquired if it would be OK to move up. She said it would, so I moved along two seats, and thankfully still had the extra legroom. I remember, just as the flight was almost ready to take off, feeling a little smug, thinking that I’d got the whole three seats to myself.
At the last second, just before the air hostess closed the door, a man walked on the plane, and sat himself down where I’d just been sitting in seat 1A. At that time, I hadn’t quite recognised who he was and I remember thinking to myself, what makes you so special that I have to give up my seat. It was only when I looked up that I realised that it was none other than Sir Richard Branson, a major shareholder in 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.
I’ll remember this chance encounter as one of the most inspirational and pivitol events in my life. From this day forward, I decided that whoever I meet with, I would treat them with the same respect the Richard Branson had given me. Regardless of whether you are the rubish collector or the Chairman of the Board company, everybody in the company needs to know that THEY are all 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)
We have now started a similar company in New Zealand, and are also looking at other overseas markets.
The story of Jason Murphy and his encounter with Sir Richard Branson was the inspiration for the best selling business book, Millionaire Upgrade: Lessons in Success from Those Who Travel at the Sharp end of the Plane.
This book tells the story of Tom, a frustrated employee who gets upgraded on a plane and finds himself sitting next to Michael, a self-made millionaire entrepreneur. During the course of the flight, Michael shares with Tom his own secrets for business success. Millionaire Upgrade has been translated into over 10 languages, and is a regular Amazon top seller.
Now is the only time that is important. Many people get caught up in their day to day lives and focus on the future which can bring about anxiety or stress. Stress can cause many problems such as concentration issues,...