The Five Buckets of Life (2024)

I was scrolling through some thought leadership content on YouTube last Friday evening. The weather had been dreary. Either that or it wore this face that threatened rain at the slightest gathering of clouds. So, I was locked up indoors and needed something to pass the time. I chanced upon this interesting interview between a gentleman who resembled Simon Sinek and an intriguing British entrepreneur. This is how fate introduced me to Steve Bartlett and his ideas on entrepreneurship and life in general.

I found his thoughts to be quite profound. I went further to get his latest book, "The Diary of a CEO," which he describes as "an unfiltered journey into the remarkable stories of the people who have defined culture, achieved greatness, and created stories worth studying." I am yet to finish the book, but among the powerful ideas that have jumped at me so far is the concept of the five buckets of life.

These buckets are knowledge, skills, network, resources, and reputation. A mnemonic to help you remember the 'bucket list' is "Keep Sharing, Never Regret It." Knowledge is what you know; skills are what you can do; network is who you know; resources are what you have, and reputation is what the world thinks of you.

The first two buckets, your knowledge and skills, are about you. The next two, network and resources, involve you and others. The last one, reputation, is about others' opinion of you. To a very large extent, you have full control over the first two buckets. Don't keep them empty. And when they are full, don't kick them over.