Book Review: The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life is a modern business and personal development book that blends entrepreneurship, psychology, and self-reflection.

Rather than offering a traditional step by step business playbook, Steven Bartlett presents a collection of mental models and life lessons shaped by his experience building companies and interviewing hundreds of high performers on his podcast. The book is designed to challenge how readers think about success, money, work, and themselves.

Who is Steven Bartlett?

Steven Bartlett is a British entrepreneur, investor, and media personality best known as the co founder of Social Chain, a social media marketing company that grew rapidly in the 2010s. He later became the host of the popular podcast The Diary of a CEO, where he interviews entrepreneurs, athletes, psychologists, and creatives about performance, motivation, and decision making.

Bartlett’s rise was unconventional. He dropped out of university, built businesses at a young age, and openly discusses failures, insecurity, and mental health. That mix of vulnerability and ambition shapes both his public persona and the tone of this book.

Key Lessons From the Book

One of the book’s core themes is that success is driven more by psychology than tactics. Bartlett emphasizes that beliefs, habits, and emotional control often matter more than raw intelligence or credentials.

Readers are encouraged to take responsibility for their outcomes. The book repeatedly stresses that blaming external factors limits growth, while ownership creates leverage. This idea aligns well with personal finance fundamentals, where long term results depend on consistent behavior rather than short term market movements.

Another major takeaway is the importance of long term thinking. Bartlett argues that compounding applies not just to money, but also to skills, reputation, and relationships. Small daily actions, repeated over years, can produce outsized results. This mirrors how disciplined investing in broad market index funds like the S&P 500 works over time.

The book also explores the cost of success. Bartlett is honest about burnout, loneliness, and identity confusion that can come with achievement. For readers who equate financial success with happiness, this perspective can be grounding and realistic.

Criticisms and Limitations

One common criticism is that the book can feel repetitive. Many of the 33 laws overlap conceptually, and some ideas are restated in slightly different forms. Readers familiar with business and self improvement books may find fewer genuinely new insights.

The advice is also largely anecdotal. While the lessons are often sensible, they are based more on personal experience and interviews than on rigorous data or academic research. Readers looking for evidence based frameworks may find parts of the book light on substance.

Finally, the book focuses heavily on mindset and ambition, sometimes underplaying practical constraints like income limits, family obligations, or structural economic challenges. For readers early in their financial journey, this may create unrealistic expectations if not balanced with practical budgeting and investing fundamentals.

Should You Buy It?

This book is best suited for readers interested in entrepreneurship, personal growth, and the psychology of success. It pairs well with classic books on money and business, especially those that emphasize behavior over tactics.

Readers looking for concrete financial advice, budgeting systems, or investing strategies will not find much direct guidance here. However, as a mindset companion to learning about money, it can be valuable. Many financial mistakes stem from emotional decisions, overconfidence, or lack of self awareness, areas the book addresses well.

Final Thoughts

The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life is a reflective and accessible book that focuses on how people think, act, and react on the path to success. It does not replace foundational learning about budgeting, investing, or working with a financial advisor when appropriate. Instead, it complements those tools by addressing the human side of money and ambition.

For readers who enjoy modern business books and want to better understand the psychological forces behind long term success, this book is worth considering. When paired with disciplined saving, frugal living, and consistent investing, its lessons can help reinforce the behaviors that actually drive financial independence over time.