Keep striving

Column

I’m 26 years old and have a university degree and a good job — but lately I’ve become bored. After returning from an unbelievable three-week vacation in New Zealand that involved bungee jumping, skydiving and whitewater rafting, I’ve developed a newfound sense of urgency to break free of my boredom and

pursue my passions, which very much include sports (particularly golf, soccer, tennis and football). The thought of working for someone else just makes me frustrated. I want to think big and have ownership over my life. Do you have any advice?

By Chris McDermott, UK

A. Chris, it’s great to hear that your wild New Zealand adventure has left you with renewed energy. Though I hope your skydiving experience was smoother than mine. I pulled the wrong rip cord while skydiving in 1987 and before I knew it I was falling without a parachute, heading to my death. Luckily my instructor was close enough and skilled enough to catch up to me and pull the emergency chute!

I often cite the benefits of taking time out to travel; I’ve done it regularly throughout my life and each time find myself feeling refreshed and full of ideas. I had my first real adventure as a child when my mum challenged me to find my way home through 3 miles of countryside. Eventually, I found my way back, but only after asking several people for directions.

The experience taught me not to be afraid to ask others for help — a lesson that has served me well as an entrepreneur. Every Virgin business is built on the faith we have in our employees. We trust our team to do their jobs without being micromanaged. Unlimited leave and flexible working arrangements are just two policies that we’ve introduced at Virgin Management to encourage our people to work in the most productive and effective way possible, at the times and places that suit them best.

Adventure is a constant in my life. In 2016, I took time out to swim, run, bike and hike my way from the base of the Matterhorn in Switzerland to the summit of Sicily’s volcanic Mount Etna — my children Holly and Sam at my side — as part of the Virgin Strive Challenge, a fundraising initiative that aims to improve the lives of young people in the UK. The idea for the Strive Challenge (we’ve had more than one) came out of yet another adventure from a few years before: I was climbing Mont Blanc in the French Alps with Sam and my nephew Noah when they dreamed up the concept for an even bigger, more-demanding set of challenges.

Many Virgin businesses have their roots in adventures. Virgin Atlantic was conceived while I was travelling to the British Virgin Islands to meet my girlfriend (now wife) Joan. My plane was cancelled, so I decided to charter my own. I wrote “Virgin Airlines” on a blackboard and went around to all the other passengers on the cancelled flight to see if they wanted to buy a ticket for mine. The plane sold out and the idea for Virgin Atlantic was born.

Chris, you’re absolutely right to want to follow your passions. If you discover what you’re truly passionate about, a rewarding career (and a lot of hard work) won’t be too far away. It’s a lesson I’ve learned from my many years as an entrepreneur. I’ve never had a traditional job, and I’ve certainly never had a boss, but I’ve worked every day for five decades.

From starting Virgin Records so I could fully immerse myself in my love of music, to now launching Virgin Galactic to achieve my lifelong dream of reaching space, Virgin companies have continued to reflect my passions and those of our employees. I advise you to pursue a similar path. If you stay in your “boring” job you’ll likely stagnate and not achieve your potential.

In order to turn your passions into a business it’s crucial to figure out what frustrates you most about the things you love — maybe you have strong opinions about tennis shoes, for example — and then create a solution to that problem. Other people will almost certainly share your frustrations and your solution has the potential to become a valuable business that appeals to a market of people just like you. The first step is to submerge yourself in your passions and make yourself an expert.

However, once you’ve identified your business idea, it’s important to limit your risks by not jumping in too early. It may be wise to hold on to your job for a little while, even after you’ve developed a business plan.

Through our work with Virgin StartUp — our not-for-profit company for entrepreneurs — we provide funding and mentoring to those looking to launch or grow businesses. Our advice to young entrepreneurs is always to test their ideas first before wasting their time and money. We tested the market for Virgin Records by selling albums out of the back of Student magazine, my very first business. When Virgin Records became more popular than the magazine, we decided to focus on music.

Today you can easily create a great-looking website that outlines your idea and offers a way for customers to connect with you directly, and you can do it all for free in little time. You can also attract interest through social media — again for free! All of this means that you can keep trying new ideas until you find one that sticks.

There’s really been no better time to start a business. So why wait?

(Questions from readers will be answered in future columns. Please send them to Richard.Branson@nytimes.com. Please include your name, country, email address and the name of the website or publication where you read the column.)

© 2017 Richard Branson (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate)