What does it mean to be successful?

By Alex Moura
Tech curator, TED

In one of my favorite interviews from TED, Sir Richard Branson speaks on the highs and the lows of his life, sharing his motivations and revealing how he was able to achieve success -- and overcome a near-death situation. There are many breadcrumbs to follow in his conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, but the most impactful for me are his ideas on how to position yourself in life and what to expect from your own ambitions.

“Companies are all about finding the right people, inspiring those people, [and] you know, drawing out the best in people," Branson says. He goes on to explain how he uses this way of thinking in other areas of his life, making sure to surround himself with talented people who excel at building things together. 

"I will want to feel that I've made a difference to other people's lives," Branson says further along in the conversation. "And that may be a selfish thing to think, but it's the way I've been brought up. I think if I'm in a position to radically change other people's lives for the better, I should do so," he says.

To me, this is the most important takeaway of the conversation: that being successful means taking an active role in making other people's lives better.