The Most Important Thing You Don’t Have on Your Bucket List

I don’t have a bucket list.

I don’t want to climb any god damn mountain or jump out of anything. I’m just not that dude. I really only have two goals in life, and guess what? I’ve already completed both of them. So I guess you could say I HAD a bucket list, but I already finished it. And before forty too. Not bad.

Now, at this point, some of you might be thinking “What about his goal of buying the New York Jets?”

Friends, I don’t care if I buy the Jets. One of those goals I was just talking about is to live the process of buying the New York Jets. And I’ve accomplished that. I’m accomplishing it right now.

That puts me in a good mood.

The truth is, this may actually lead to why I’m so happy. I’ve never been about the end result of a long term investment. I’m all about the climb, and the battle that comes with it.

The second major goal I have? Like I said, done with that one too. I live it every day. It isn’t on the same lofty level as the the NY Jets, but it’s at the core of every business I’ve ever created, and it’s what gets me out of bed every morning. My biggest business aspiration on a day-to-day basis is to continue to gain leverage. Pay it forward. Provide value to the audience. Keep it practical and ambitious. For me, there is nothing like “I’m going to get VaynerMedia to 100 million”. My fundamental play is this: I collect people. I find the individuals I think I can jam with for the next fifteen, twenty, thirty years professionally, and I bring them into my circle. I build them into my next generation of operators. That, to me, is the global strategy.

Let’s back up to that climb I was talking about. Guess who you meet on a climb? People. A lot of people on the same route as you. And what was I just saying about people? People might be the most important thing you don’t have on your bucket list.

The people you surround yourself with need to lift you up. I’m not just talking professionally, but personally as well. Who fascinates you? Who challenges you? Who makes you excited to get started every day? Treat them well, provide them with value, show them why you’re worth keeping around, and you’ll get tremendous return. Invest in people. It may be the most important business investment of your life.