If this is you then keep on reading. 

 

My sister and her partner gifted me a new book for Christmas.

 

I’d never heard of the author before – but my sister insisted I read his book and check out his podcast (apparently she’d been sending me his podcast episodes for months).

 

I could sense her enthusiasm, so I promised her I would prioritise this book next. 

 

I’m glad she gave me a little push. 

 

I was hooked from chapter one. 

 

What I learned in chapter one from this book is what I want to share with you in todays Newsletter. 

 

This idea if understood and applied will help you maximise your earning potential and fill your money buckets. 

 

So what was this book my sister gave me?

 

 

This was a fitting book to receive because I turned 33 on Christmas.

 

Have you read this yet? 

 

It’s written by Steven Bartlett who is an entrepreneur, speaker, investor, author and the host of the chart-topping podcast ‘The Diary of a CEO’.

 

Steven has built several large companies, worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, is a multi-millionaire and has spent over 700 hours interviewing some of the worlds most successful people on his podcast – and he’s only 31 years of age!  

 

It’s fair to say he has some credibility discussing the laws of business and life.

 

Let’s dive in. 

 

Steven has interviewed some of the most successful people in the world. 

 

What did he notice they all had in common? 

 

These five buckets shown below are all full and overflowing – meaning they have the ability to impact massive amounts of people through their work. 

He says “the sum of these five buckets equals the sum of your professional potential.” 

 

These buckets are interconnected – meaning, as you fill up the first bucket, it flows into the next bucket, which then flows into the next one.  

 

Knowledge (bucket 1) when applied becomes a skill (bucket 2).

 

As your skills develop you become more valuable to others which means your network (bucket 3) grows. 

 

As your knowledge, skills and network grows – your resources (bucket 4) grow.  

 

Over time you earn a reputation (bucket 5) as a by-product of your skills, network and resources. 

 

 

 

Have you heard the saying ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’? 

 

Before you begin your career or business journey you must first acquire knowledge. 

 

Knowledge is typically acquired through school and university. 

 

But acquiring knowledge doesn’t end there… especially if you want to maximise your earning potential and have your money buckets overflowing.   

 

Acquiring knowledge is a life-long pursuit. 

 

The legendary Jim Rohn said it best. 

 

“School is to survive, but self-education is to thrive.” 

 

 

When knowledge is applied it becomes a skill.

 

You probably know a few intelligent, ‘book-smart’ people who have great knowledge, but they don’t have much results to show for it.

 

Why is that?

 

Because they’ve never applied their knowledge. 

 

They’ve never put theory into practice to develop a valuable skill set. 

 

Many people love learning and acquiring knowledge (bucket 1) but fail to apply their knowledge and develop a skill (bucket 2).

 

Without skills (bucket 2) – you become seriously limited with creating value for others, becoming influential in your network (bucket 3), acquiring money and resources (bucket 4) and developing a strong reputation (bucket 5). 

 

 

 

I bet you’ve heard this one before…

 

Your Network = Your Net Worth

 

The five buckets principle explains how this works.

 

The knowledge (bucket 1) and skills (bucket 2) you gain give you the ability to grow your network (bucket 3) through the value you create for others. With a bigger and more influential network you have the ability to earn more money (bucket 4) and fill your money buckets (which means a higher Net Worth).

 

Most business owners think they need to spend all their time actively going out and meeting people (networking). This is helpful to an extent.

 

However, I am inclined to lean towards Naval Ravikant’s philosophy on networking which also aligns with Steven Bartlett’s five buckets principle.

 

 

Your resources are your money, your assets and your connections.

 

Most people want more money (bucket 4), but they want to skip the foundational first two essential steps.

 

 

This is because we’ve been programmed to focus on the money (which is a by-product) rather than on what creates the money (knowledge and skills).

 

Most young people (and older people too) choose a career based on how much money they can earn.

 

I was definitely guilty of this thinking when I was younger. 

 

Were you?

 

I used to live in a steel and mining town where it was easy to step right into a 6-figure job by becoming a truck driver or machine operator.

 

Now there’s nothing wrong with driving trucks or operating machinery (if that’s what you enjoy doing). But most people go into this line of work purely for the money.

 

The thing is yes you might earn some good money in this type of role, but you have very little room for future growth because:

 

 

 

 

Your reputation grows as a by-product of your experience, network and skills. 

 

When you have a good reputation – you can achieve BIG things!

 

People throw HUGE amounts of money and support behind people who have a great reputation. 

 

People like:

Their words and actions have the power to move markets. That’s because they’ve developed a great reputation over many decades.

 

Now you and I are most likely never going to get to the level of these three men. 

 

But you can still build a great reputation which will help you build your personal brand, create new opportunities and help you grow your earning potential. 

 

Because when you have a great reputation – people TRUST you. 

 

And trust is one of the highest forms of currency there is.

 

If you want to maximise your earning potential and fill up your money buckets then ensure you fill up your five buckets (in this order):

 

 

Big Love,