Richard Branson on the key lesson about fear he learned from Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine
One of billionaire Richard Branson personal life mantra's is George Addair's famous saying, "Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear."
Recently, after watching HBO's documentary "The Defiant Ones," Branson says he was inspired to "make an addition to George's wise advice."
The documentary chronicles the music industry successes of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, and Branson says he was most fascinated by the duo's approach to fear.
"It is down to perseverance, seeing obstacles as opportunities, and embracing fear as a fuel for change," he writes in a recent blog post. "One quote from Jimmy stood out for me: 'Make fear a tailwind instead of a headwind.'"
Branson says the quote emphasizes that you should "let fear give you the momentum to move forward – not hold you back."
He writes that he admires how Dr. Dre and Iovine recovered from different business setbacks and did not allow a fear of failure to prevent them from reaching their goals. Instead, he says, they kept grinding and eventually developed the idea for Beats headphones, which they sold to Apple for $3 billion in 2014.
Their journey, he writes, is proof that "you should never let fear hold you back from achieving your full potential," but rather you should "harness it and channel it into passion."
The 67-year-old Virgin founder says the idea of embracing fear is ultimately what allowed Iovine to take a risk and go from producing songs for Bruce Springsteen, to partnering with rapper Dr. Dre.
"It's amazing," Branson writes, "how often surprising partnerships can yield the most exciting results."
Bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch agrees that "The Defiant Ones" can teach any professional a lot about what it takes to be successful.
"It doesn't matter if you're a music fan or not," she tells CNBC Make It. "Trust me, it's the best four hours you can spend on your career today."
Welch says that Dr. Dre and Iovine's story can teach you how to achieve "what so many people dream of when they dream of their careers: huge impact."
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