Money is a basic resource. Highly liquid: you can save it and trade time for it, multiplying one into the other. Like many people, I try to build up my financial capital — setting money aside, investing. Sometimes I’ve lost, sometimes I’ve gained. But one day I found myself in a situation where I had the money, yet there was no way to solve the problem with money alone. That’s when I realized that financial capital by itself is not enough.

Social capital is connections, relationships, trust. My networking, in other words. For example: once at our agency we were stuck on a project — I had no idea where to find the right specialist. But I had connections. A couple of calls to friends — and within three days I had a solution.

Social capital helps where money is powerless. It’s not about “pulling strings,” but about the power of interactions — knowing whom to approach, and having people willing and happy to help you (sometimes for payment, sometimes “because I owed you,” and sometimes “for the future”).

This is knowledge and skills. Without them, even a fortune can melt away like ice in the sun. For instance, I spent years learning how to understand markets, read reports, spot trends — and I still actively practice trendwatching. This allows me to make informed decisions. Intellectual capital is what stays with you even if everything else is taken away.

You might wonder — what does culture have to do with it? Imagine you attend a dinner with influential people, and the conversation turns to art, books, or philosophy. Impressionists, or Socrates’ influence on philosophy. If you know nothing about these topics, even money won’t save you — you’ll simply be left out of the dialogue. Cultural capital is the ability to understand the context and fit in anywhere.

This is the ability to manage yourself and build relationships. People are drawn to those who give them a sense of confidence and comfort. I once had a colleague who lost his temper in a meeting and yelled at everyone. In the end, his contract fell through — even though he was right. All because his emotional capital was at zero.

Capital is not only about money. It’s everything that makes your life complete and helps you reach your goals. Building your future requires several “foundations” at once. That’s the only way to be sure that even if one resource is lost, the others will support you.