Richard Branson: My childhood | Forward Progress

0:00Hey, it's Thursday, which means we're coming at you with a short, feel-good story from a past guest. Hope you enjoyed the clip. This week, Sir Richard Branson.

0:13In a story that's since become famous, you're four years old, near your grandparents' house, and your mom pushes you out of the car a mile away. Why? Well, I suspect I was being a bit of a brat in the back of the car, But she also was the kind of mother that felt that we needed to stand on our own two feet. And so she would do things which most likely she would get arrested for today. And I got lost in the fields and ended up being rescued by a farmer. She did claim she was honking her horn as it started to get dark. I think I was trying to get my own back on her as a bit as well. Even at four, I was thinking, damn you, I'm going to make you sweat.

0:58How did you convince your parents to let you leave school at 16? It took three walks around the lawn. So the first walk, my dad understandably said, you know, you should really try to finish your education. The second way around the garden, when I said I really had decided I wanted to leave, he started to mellow. and on the third walk around the garden, you say, well, look, I didn't know what I wanted to do when I was 21, leaving college, and at least you know what you want to do. Go and give it a go, and if it doesn't work out, we'll try to get you a formal education again. And they were very loving, very understanding parents, and it was great to have their support.

1:47I think it helped that I was so hopeless at school, so I suspect they also felt there was nothing much to lose by me doing something different. How much do you think your mom being an entrepreneur helped get you interested in business? Maybe it did. I mean, she always was trying things. She never was successful at trying things but she was always trying new things and I'm sure that some of that must have rubbed off for me. What role would you say each of them played in your lives over the years? My mother was more disciplinary. My dad was more overtly loving, loving father. So I'll give you an example.

2:31We lived next to a sweet shop. And my dad used to leave his loose change in the top drawer in his bedroom. And myself, my sister, one day when I was about six or seven and she was about four or five, We climbed onto a chair and we took some money out of his top drawer. We went to the sweet shop next door and we bought this enormous pile of sweeties. And Mrs Avonle rang up my dad and said, I think you ought to come to the sweet shop. So he turned up and she said, I think that maybe your children have borrowed some money from you. And he looked at us and he looked at Mrs Avonle and he just turned on her and said, how dare you accuse my children of stealing.

3:16He then left the sweets on the counter, took us by our hands and walked us home. Never said anything and we never stole from him again. It was a very good lesson. On another occasion, my mother asked him to spank me and he took me into the next door room and he just clapped his hands very loudly and told me to cry and he gave me a bit of water and I went running out and pretending to cry. So both of them were very loving anyway. That's it for now. But if you're hungry for more in-depth interviews, head over to youtube.com slash Graham Bensinger. You can dive into our deep library, which includes more than 2000 clips spanning 12 plus years.

4:03Thanks again for listening.