Being prepared to try anything once is not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes a lack of common sense in that area results in being unable to try anything ever again thereafter.

Of course common sense can help, but Sir Richard shows that pluck that Brits were known for in days of yore. I mean, sure, they knew it'd be damned difficult to reach the pole, but why not try? They take on the powerhouse of Australia every few years in cricket, and always go into it with high hopes. Recently, Australia wins nearly all of them, but of course they still try. Shoot, even back in the industrial revolution there was that uniquely British spirit. Who ever thought that a steam engine could have enough power to move itself? Even when the first few could, they were mere amusement park rides, easily outpaced by a buggy. It took a few dedicated and non-risk-averse investors to create the railway, and it wasn't a poor idea.

Based on the definition of a "cowboy" in the first paragraph above, I'm proud to say I, too, am a cowboy.

Branson is my favorite billionaire. Trump is an arogant, self-righteous bore. The other billionaires strike me as the proverbial 'bean counters", they're bookkeepers who got lucky.

I like Sir Richard for another reason: He's a fellow Brit (although I'm a proud American citizen since the early 1970's); we're not all like Prince Charlie! The British (Trading) Empire was created by men and women like Branson. The Empire ended up in the grip of bookkeepers and people who worshipped the status quo.

To: One Doc,

I agree with your theory. There are risks, physical and financial that are worth the chance, but there's a fine line between risk and stupidity. When I take a risk it's calculated. I don't jump off the cliff and wonder if I'll learn to fly on the way down. I, too, will try anything once but I plan first. (well, 99% of the time). Branson's friend, Steve Fossett, was a constant "first-time risk taker", but he always planned and had a plan. Which makes his tragic loss all the more a mystery.

Risk-takers have a psychology all their own.

By the way, in an episode of "The Rebel Billionaire", Branson did criticize an "apprentice" for choosing to take a risk that would have been foolish and perhaps caused him to lose his life.

Branson is, indeed, a grand and glorious cowboy. And, just as he exemplifies the notion that one need not be American to be a cowboy, he also shows that one need no longer be an American to live the American Dream.

Whether you are a big-scale entrepreneur like Branson or a small-scale one like my colleague who quit his day-job in an office to open his own New York Pizza Tours company (he has a passion for pizza), this is the classic example of the American Dream in action. It has nothing to do with white picket fences or Mafia lifestyles as the media would have you believe. It's all about choosing your own destiny. And what could be more cowboyish than that?

In the old world, if a cobbler's wife complained, "Why are you a cobbler? Why aren't you a duke?" His response would be, "You married the son of a cobbler. If you had married the son of a duke, you would be a duchess." But, now that the American Dream has taken the world by storm, we have no such excuse. Branson wasn't satisfied as the son of a cobbler, so he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and transformed himself into a duke. I know many people who have done the same on scales both big and small.

And didn't the greatest cowboy of the last century go by the nickname, 'Duke'?

Liliane Bettencourt is my favorite billionaire. Her Bettencourt Schueller Foundation supports medical, cultural and humanitarian endeavors in France and developing countries. And she's a class act. Prince Charles is another class act, as he does as much philanthropic work as many other billionaires, but without the need to call attention to himself. The Prince's Trust is one of the best managed, most accomplished charities. His Duchy Originals organic food and drink venture produces natural and healthy foods using sound husbandry which helps to regenerate and protect the countryside. I'd rather see people using their money for ventures like these than spending millions to float a balloon around the world.

I believe that Sir Branson has more than earned the right to be classified a true cowboy by way of his nature, as well as his deeds, which all speak for themselves.
I also believe in the philosophy that one should never gamble what one may not afford to lose. Although he certainly seems to have it all, my wish for him would be that he does allow himself the time to just be in now and appreciate it.

One person I always think of in the context of cowboy is Chuck Yeager. Perhaps that's a discussion for another day.

Onc Doc, I would classify your noble examples as being "unsung heroes". They just do it because it's a good thing to do.

Richard Branson is today's generation role model of "who I want to be, when I grow up." Just as John Wayne was to yesterday's generation playing cowboys and Indiana’s in the back yard at grandma's house with the neighborhood kids!
Kids today need something like Mr. Branson to hang on to in their dreams... a self made billionaire and he has fun! what more could a kid want? To me I admire his ability to turn anything that he finds enjoyable as another way to make a buck... what if all of us did this? What all of us lived our lives like this? Branson brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, “the sky is the limit" with him it is above and beyond. He may not be the original cowboy roaming the dusty prairie lands towards the undiscovered west... but like every cowboy, he makes his own rules and his are directed towards the undiscovered skies, the vast prairie of space!

There is another component to the personalities of those that make a big splash. They have good, common, business sense. You can have all the wonderful ideas in the world but without the ability to sit down and figure out a reliable business model to make it work, it is all for naught. This does not mean an MBA necessarily, because we can all name friends that have the right initials after their name, but still don't have the good sense to make in the real world. It takes just common sense and an ability to use a calculator to realize that dream. Last night on 60 Minutes, there was an interview with Bon Jovi. There is another success story. Never did they address just why the group has been so financially successful and still able to invest in so many charitable causes. It was hinted at when they interviewed the other band members. They said that Bon Jovi is in charge and he makes all the business decisions and they are simply his employees. They know he has the innate ability to steer them correctly and they have to good sense to let him have free rein.

My husband, even though he can't think of anything more romantic to give me for my birthday than a rototiller, left an academic position and started his own consulting firm. The second year, he paid in Fed taxes what his gross income had been in academics. And he has never had a business course. He simply has the ability to budget and do some simple math. He is in the process of publishing a book right now and has a meeting with the publisher tomorrow where he will explain just where their figuring is incorrect as to how much they will make on the printing and sale of 2000 copies. That is what it takes and that is why so many have a lot of great ideas to push the envelope but go belly-up trying.

My favorite billionaire:

One who is between the ages of 95-105, with one foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave who likes curvy blondes and who loves to spend money without caution. Platonic terms apply! ANS may have been drugged out but she had the right idea. I am all for intellectual stimulation and moral values...but hey...I call it like I see it. Branson is too young for me...Oprah is the wrong gender...and Buffett is too damn cheap (he eats at McDonalds with a free pass card).

Prior applicants need not apply!

I think Richard Branson is definately a "cowboy" entrepreneur. But I also think he's a horrible business model... let me explain.
Branson is the poster boy for the multiple-stream of income folks. Whenever you hear of someone beating the drum of multiple-streaming, Branson's name is sure to come up as an example of how to create loads of money by hopping from one business interest to another.

And I think that's a horrible business model for anyone to try to emulate.

Why?

Because most people do not have the attention span to manage one business to profitability before they hop right into another. Most will be lucky to make a few dollars before they start to lose their focus and begin dreaming of starting another project.

The fact is starting and managing a successful business takes a tremendous amount of work... not too mention so good old fashioned luck like Branson had--especially in the beginning phases. Most people don't have the resources or staff to do the amount of work it takes. Branson had a few lucky breaks there too.

Even in the most successful start-ups it will take at least a couple years to get a business to the point of being not just profitable (which can happen much sooner than a couple years) but self-running also. The "4-hour work week" business doesn't happen overnight. The seventy to eighty hour work weeks take a toll on personal relationships and families, and lots of times, they can get lost in the dream.

But time after time we hear about people trying to get multiple projects off of the ground-- all at the same time. And I just think that it rarely can be done. Are their exceptions? Absolutely. But I think those exceptions are very rare indeed. Most do not have the focus nor the resources to be actively launching several business ideas at the same time-- and most will cause their own failure.

The other thing that struck me about the Branson story is that if I recall correctly he really didn't have the resources he needed to succeed until he won the British Airways lawsuit. And I would hate to pin my future business success on my ability to win a lawsuit.

My family and I tried to start a small internet business. We were successful to a point, and that point was when the business interfered with the families, it fell to the wayside. I'm grateful that we have a strong family connection. We decided to sell what we put into the business and get out, less headache, but alass, much less money.

To MACKDADDY1:

Hear hear, Ditto!

Mark Zuckerberg is my fav billionaire!

Branson got his seed money from the British Airway lawsuit? So what! He saw the reality of the situation and created an opportunity. He made his own "luck". There is no such thing as "luck". (That could be a possible topic for another day). It's often just plain hard work or seeing an opportunity and siezing it. The Romans called it "carpe diem". If you can do it with panache and a sense of fun, great.

I have nothing against the rich or anyone who would give their money or time to worthy causes. I give to about three favorite charities. The amounts are what I can afford. The reason is compassion or "sympathy" if you take Adam Smith at his word in "The Theory of Moral Sentiments. I don't like any publicity. I do it annonymously. It's not about me....it's about those that can be helped.
But if you want the recognition, that'as okay, too.

What I don't like is when someone tells me I should do it because I have to "give back". Why? I didn't steal the money! I don't have to give anything back! I always take care of myself and my family first. I've even helped my ex not because i care but because she's the mother of our children.

To: DreadPirateRoberts,

Isn't wonderful we live in a country where we don't have to be the son of a cobbler unless we want to? We can start a Pizza tour business!

To: South-Side John,

Chuck Yeager gave my children a ride in one of his airplanes many many years ago. He is a gentleman-cowboy with the "right-stuff"!

To: Spinner,

Your husband is to be congratulated and honored for leaving behind the comfort zone of academia to take a chance as a consultant. Period!

To: MACKDADDY1,

If you want to be a duchess marry the the duke. If you want to be a cobbler's wife marry the cobbler's son. This is good advise. I'm hoping there's a daughter of one of the Rothschilde's who'd like to get married. She can be young, my age , or old (very old is okay, one foot in the grave and one foot on the banana peel old is even better). Well, that dream just ended....it's back to work for me.

Actually, my late father was a doctor, my mother was a psychiatric nurse......I was not encouraged (or discouraged) by my father to be a doctor. My parents told me to become who I wanted to be. Perhaps my father didn't really want to be a doctor, so never pushed me. I chose not to be "the cobbler's son".

DreadPirate & ExPat, speaking of pizza, what a wonderful delivery system for many of the herbs, spices and veggies we discussed yesterday. Just some more food for thought . . . can you tell I'm really hungry...

LaDonna,

So many people don't love what they're doing. I love what I do and have a passion for it. It shows, I think, it other parts of my life. I'm happier, I'm more at ease.

Yes, you should love the one you're with! I see friends and acquaintences who really don't love the one they're with. If you don't love the one you're with, you're showing disrespect to the other. You're really dishonest. Dishonest with them and yourself. It's the same as going out on a date. If you don't give your date 100%, why are you with them? I see men in restaurants with women and they (the men) are looking at other women, not really listening to their date, and I'm sure they're dumbfounded as to why the women don't take them up on a second date.

Being romantic is about being attententive. It's about the other, not about you.

To ExPat:

If I'm born a cobbler's son, there's not much for it. But that DOESN'T mean I have to become a cobbler! My father was a lawyer and everyone in my home town assumed I would be a lawyer too (especially with my fondness for a good argument). But he and I both knew that no two men in our family had had the same profession as far back as any of us could remember. You might say our family had a "tradition of originality" if that isn't too much of a contradiction. I never considered being a lawyer. But I will always be a lawyer's son.

While you are right that it is wonderful that we live in a country where we can choose our own destiny, it seems (and Branson is a good example of this) that this country no longer has a corner on that market. And that's a good thing. We don't want to be the only one; we want to be the trail blazer. The prototype. I hope for the day when the American Dream becomes the world's dream. It started here but it must not end here.

Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

To: DreadPirateRoberts,

I won't give you an argument on that point. I think it would be the ultimate success for the American way of life for our dream to be the world's dream.

You're right about the "lawyer's son", I guess I'm still the "doctor's son". If I'd had brothers and sisters I would probably've been the "black sheep" of the family. My mother tells me that after I watched my first Errol Flynn movie, they knew I was not going to be a doctor..........

To ExPat:

Remember, in "Captain Blood", Errol Flynn WAS a doctor. But your mother's point was sound.

My favorite American actor, Kirk Douglas, entitled his autobiography, "The Ragman's Son".