The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship for Weirdos, Misfits, and World Dominators

8Create Systems That Work for You

Blogger, entrepreneur, and friend John Saddington recently made a public announcement to his community that he is dealing with autism, specifically Asperger's syndrome. Before I go much further, I should remind readers of the saying: If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism. That is, everyone's different—and John's difference requires an interesting system.

John can remember things much better visually. Visual presentations stay with him much more clearly than audible ones; if John takes a picture, it will stick with him. For example, John would likely forget a grocery list's details, but if he photographs the list, he can navigate the store without a problem. He can remember people, but if he sees their photo, it's like opening up a mental database of what he knows about the person—even if they're just on the phone with him.

Because this is just how John is wired, he's developed a system to handle it best. And as a software entrepreneur, he's also created software to support that system. Pressgram (http://pressgr.am) is a photo-sharing software that lets you take photos on your smartphone and post them to WordPress. (If you're thinking “Like a private Instagram?” the answer is yes, but slightly different.) Pressgram makes a great alternative application where you control a lot more of the details—it allows you to do some very nuanced work.

So before we go on to talk about systems, think about how this story relates ...