Good Leaders: Is it Time for Your Bucket List?

On Father’s Day weekend in 1999, I made the commitment to become an author. I created an outline and wrote the first 2000 words while flying from Minneapolis to London to visit my sister Liesl. When that first book, Inspire, Persuade, Lead was published, I decided that writing a Best-Seller book someday was on my Bucket List.

Truthfully, I didn’t even know what a Bucket List was! That’s because the term “Bucket List” didn’t even exist until an author named Patrick Carlisle in 2004, labeled his list of things to do before he “kicked the bucket.” Then, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson made the term popular when they appeared in the movie called The Bucket List in 2007.

A Book About Leadership

Today, we are celebrating my next attempt at hitting the Best-Seller list with The Bucket List Book. Two weeks ago Friday, at the Good Leadership Breakfast, we gave a free copy of the book to every guest in the audience. “This is a great little book,” is the most common response we’ve gotten so far. Along with “this is a great time in my life to read this book.” The last comment is coming from people as young as 21 and as old as 78.

The catalyst for this book was my relationship with Mark Bergman – my friend and philanthropic partner at the Good Leadership Breakfast. Together we have raised more than $200,000 for local charities by using his invention – the HANDy Paint Pail – as “The Bucket of Good Will.”

What does a Bucket List have to do with Good Leadership?

Having a Bucket List is a practical exercise in aspirational thinking. Leaders need to be aspirational – they need to see and feel “What’s possible?” in their work. That’s why people follow. “What an outstanding read!” commented Jennifer Myster, a hospital president. “This book showed me that a Bucket List is more than a tool to describe my wild and crazy adventure dreams. It’s a place to sketch out my leadership aspirations, life goals, AND adventures…Chapter 7 on aspirational leadership and a Bucket List is a must read for all leaders seeking to bring out the best in others.”

You can register here to receive free samples. And you can pre-order your copies of The Bucket List Book. We are taking bundle orders for the book launch party on June 23, hosted by Kevin Warren at the headquarters of the Minnesota Vikings.

So…Is it time for you to build your Bucket List?

Next week I will share the summary of the Bucket List research we completed with the help of our friend Jeri Meola, CEO of SMS research.