There are many books out there that try and help people make sense and order of their lives. David Seah has built some fanfare through his system, as has David Allen with his Getting Things Done book. (I guess all David’s are organized) Both of which I’ve tried and haven’t been able to stick to.

The one system that I found really worked for me was writing a task down on a blank business card, stacking them in order of importance and date, then tearing them up and throwing them out when complete.

A couple things I learned from this process were that having record of the things you’ve done is just as important as the things you haven’t done. It’s very frustrating to spend time doing something that you already did and couldn’t remember. Tearing up and throwing out those records isn’t too efficient now that I look at it.

Things can get really messy when you have dozens or hundreds of cards on your desk, especially when you’re looking for a certain card and have to dig through those stacks.

Also, simply writing a task down told myself that I had something to get done and took the responsibility and pressure off of my memory.

I’ve taken those lessons and have found a new system that works even better. Here’s the system that I’ve been using lately and effectively:

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In what were called “the good ‘ol days� you studied one field, entered that industry at the bottom of the ladder, and worked your way to the top over your career. You stayed with the same company for 20, 30, 40 years. You did the same thing everyday for most of your life, but didn’t mind, because that’s what everyone cherished, security.

The times, they are a changin’. Unless you still have a black and white television and spend your evenings jamming with your eight-track, chances are you’re familiar with something called the two year itch.

It’s a term that’s synonymous with the ad industry but is used in every aspect of life. It can be reasoning for why you just got fired, or a slice of hope you can serve to your spouse after telling them you quit your job because “its not fun anymore�.

In many industries two years can be considered a lengthy career. In others it’s still just the beginning of a lifelong investment into one company.

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That question is the easiest way to figure out what your career should be. So I ask all you young go getters, what would you do for free?

(This is the shortest post ever on YGG, so please fill it up with responses)

We only want to see the biggest crashes or the biggest landings. Edgecraft. We don’t want to see how they give the trick a dozen tries and just miss, or how they walk through the line to figure out the run.

It’s the same with business. The public only cares about the big hits and big misses. If you try and fake the tricks everyone will see it and you’ll make a fool of yourself. So it should be all or nothing.

Make your business a triple backflip. And if you fail, it’ll be a helluva mislanding; a story and lesson you’ll have for the rest of your life.

If you bail out on the trick, you’ll safely land on your knees, but no one will ever remember it or watch it on a highlight or bloopers reel.

Starting and running your own business can be one of the most challenging things you’ll do in your life. To survive the startup process and the challenges thereafter, many of us will look to a business partner as a way to distribute the load of work and pressure.

Partners come into play either while the business concept is conceived, they’re an original part of it, or after when it seems another melon’s needed to get that concept off the ground.

Much like marriages, it seems about half of business partnerships fail nowadays. Both of which are based on developing a relationship on the same principles. When money becomes the primary principle in a marriage or business partnership, it’s usually destined for failure.

So what should you be looking for in a potential business partner, if you decide that you really need one? Look for the complete opposite of yourself; someone that is great in areas that you’re not, and vice versa.

But the most important thing you should look for is disagreement. Logical and intelligent disagreement throughout the startup process will result in a refined business that has questioned the norm and already taken its initiation beating.

William Wrigley Jr. felt the same way:

“When two people in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary�

If you have a business partner right now, and it seems like you’re talking into a mirror most of the time, because they agree with every word that comes out of your mouth, do you need them?

Or if you’re running a business by yourself, what does it seem like you don’t have the time to do or don’t know how to do? Those points will be a description of your ideal partner.

Scott Ginsberg is “that guy with the nametag”. For the past six years he’s worn a nametag every single day. For anyone in the St. Louis area, you’ve probably said hello to him.

He found himself in a situation where a drunken friend questioned the sanity of his actions for the past six years. You can read all about that incident here.

And he concluded that entry with a great question, that both explains why he did what he did, and is a punch in the gut for everyone else.

That question was:

“What was the best idea you had in the past year? What did it become?”

Hopefully I under-itali-bold-icized that enough for it to have an effect on you. Repeat that question a few times and see what happens.

That’ll probably be the title of my first book, when I get around to writing it in a few year’s time, (need to live some more stories first). When I get some new business cards printed I’ll probably make my title “President of Consistent Inconsistencies”.

It’s something that you should all aspire to be as well. It’s an attitude and lifestyle of regular hardships and blind actions. Sounds fun doesn’t it?

Being consistently inconsistent means trying new things that make you uncomfortable on a regular basis. Not every few months. But every few actions.

This is a short post, but I thought I’d just share that term with you and let you explore it’s meaning yourself.

Those that fail in business are usually just inconsistently consistent. Try being the opposite.

Swap the word medium for industry, competitors, market, etc… and repeat this quote to yourself before you begin any project.

“Inspiration should never come from your own medium”

Take a listen to two geniuses, Stefan Sagmeister and Joshua Davis as they have a series of discussions about what makes design great, from which this quote came.

When you invest a lot of time and energy into a project you make yourself vulnerable. Vulnerable to sucking. Not you yourself, but your work.

And when you get that “are we done yet� feeling, chances are your work sucks. But don’t worry, there’s an easy way to find out.

1. If your work is visual hold up a picture of it. If it’s descriptive, read aloud what it’s about.

2. Ask yourself, “does this suck?�

3. If you said no, you’ve just lied to yourself.

4. Show your work to a complete stranger and ask them whether or not they like it. Chances are they’ll reassure you how much it sucks.

No need to fret. There’s a simple way to fix your suckiness. I present two examples of viral marketing. If your idea is more like the second example, it sucks. If it’s more like the first, good job kiddo.

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I’m a huge fan of HBO’s hit show Entourage. If you haven’t seen it, shame on you - go watch it! If you have seen it and you didn’t like it, make an appointment, you need to be checked.

I stumbled across an article from Entertainment Weekly where they asked Jeremy Piven (who plays the character of Ari Gold on the show) to channel his character and give some “Gold-en” advice. Yeah, cheesy I know, but I didn’t come up with it.

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