David Herz, Coach

One of the people who I follow James Altucher and whose advice I take on certain matters swears by the practice of writing down ten ideas a day. On his facebook group, someone recently posted that her ten ideas accountability group has space for one more. A whole bunch of people applied, and I put my name up too. And then I remembered what Tony said to James in his last podcast: He doesn't leave a good idea on the table. If he is going to go with it, he takes an immediate action. So I did. I started my own Ten Ideas group. Come join us if you'd like to play along.

Ten Ideas to Keep Me Accountable

1. Get a coach
2. Share my promises with people who will hold me to them.
3. Set a stake a la http://www.stickk.com/
4. Get present to a clear Why/something bigger than me that is worthy of myself.
5. Measure the use of my time.
6. Master the art of scheduling.
7. Celebrate my victories/acknowledge what I do get done.
8. Put myself in a position that I have no option but to succeed.
9. Use the group in my seminar/the technology of Landmark to generate possibility and enroll the people around me.
10. Declare that I am the only one who can create the change that I'd like to see in the world.

I am 28 with character and with no degree. I feel I am wasted, but I want to change my present state. I know that it's too late for nothing, but the feeling of guilt is just eating me from the inside and I am single. What should I do to revive myself back to a meaningful life?

Try this:

1. Write down three things every day for which you are grateful.
2. Reach out to one person and thank them for some contribution they have made in your life.
3. Write down ten ideas a day.
4. Get enough sleep every day.
5. Get exercise every day, even if it’s only a twenty minute walk.
6. Become excellent at something, it doesn’t matter what, riding a skateboard, cooking, coding, listening, dancing.
7. Make a difference in someone’s life. Find a senior center near you, and just visit with people. Ask them to tell you about their lives and just listen. Ask them the one thing they would do if they were 28 again, and then go out and do it and tell them about it.

What should I do if my wife doesn't surprise me on my birthday?
I always wanted my wife to surprise me on my birthday but she just wishes me. That's all. Nothing more than that. I just feel bad after reading few answers on Quora about Wife-Husband birthday surprises. What should I do now?
PS: My wife loves me so much!

My first suggestion is to go and tell her. The second is to be surprised by everything that happens:

“I woke up! Wow, how amazing it is to be alive. I have a wife next to me, how cool is that. She loves me. Holy moly, this is going to be a great day.”

This is actually be a great way to go through all of life.

Maybe you should also find pleasant ways to surprise her. Take on finding a way to get that special smile out of her every day, if it's a flower, taking out the garbage before she asks you, helping with something you usually don't do. Maybe she'll get how much fun that can be and start to look for ways to make you smile too.

I'm 38 and single. If my job is making me feel like I'm wasting my life away, I only have $12,000 saved, what should I do?

For some people 12,000 sounds like a fortune. I say it's time for an adventure. Get rid of as much of your stuff as you can, get free of leases and other commitments, then buy a one way ticket anywhere, and then figure it out. Land somewhere you've never been, give yourself a ridiculously small budget, and figure it out. If you're inclined write about it. You might want to read My Life as an Experiment: One Man's Humble Quest to Improve Himself by Living as a Woman, Becoming George Washington, Telling No Lies, and Other Radical Tests. You might also want to start writing down ten ideas a day, a la James Altucher Confidential - Ideas for a World Out of Balance.

Or you might try something radical like bringing excellence and passion to your job. If you don't like it anyway, why not come up with ten ideas a day about how it could be made better, and then go to your boss and present the top ones at the end of the week. If your job really is a waste, come up with ten things you could do that would actually be worth your time and the company's money.

The thing is you could go out on an adventure or take exactly what you have and make an adventure out of that.

Oh and do the The Landmark Forum, an amazing investment in creating the life that suits you.

The guide is on-line. The course will follow soon.