Billionaire tycoon Richard Branson shares his top advice on becoming successful: 'We have only one...'

Richard Branson said he finds it 'quite insulting' when he is introduced as 'the billionaire' and not as the co-founder of the Virgin Group.

“Maybe in America, ‘billionaire’ is a sign of success, but that rankles me,” British business magnate Richard Branson has said. “I think that your reputation is what you create.” He has, in fact, stated that he doesn’t want to be defined by his money.

Moreover, he told CNBC Make It, he finds it “quite insulting” when he is introduced as “the billionaire Richard Branson,” rather than as the co-founder of Virgin Group. The reason: Nobody should view their net worth as an ultimate measure of success, and it’s “very sad” when making money is the sole focus of a person’s life, he told the publication.

But even though Branson said that money has never been his main motivating force, he has often found financial success.

His top advice for being successful: seek out opportunities you find interesting and exciting. It’s a recipe for greater happiness, and you’re more likely to end up successful than if you’re only thinking about the bottom line, he said.

“We only have one life,” Branson added. “We spend a lot of time at work and it’d be sad if we’re only doing it for our paychecks.”

His sentiments found an echo in the words of another billionaire Mark Cuban.

“Success isn’t necessarily how much money you have,” the Shark Tank judge said at a podcast last year. “Success is just setting a goal and being able to wake up every morning feeling really good about what you’ve accomplished.”

He added that his career path was dictated more by a desire to control his own time than any financial aspirations.

“Time is the one asset you can never get back. You can never truly own [it],” he was quoted by CNBC Make It as saying. “I wanted to be ... in a position where I get to call my own shots (and) spend time the way I wanted to spend time. That was always my motivating factor.”