Gooood Morning Everybody!   How are you feeling?    If you are up to the task, I will take you through this special short bus class to building a blog for money.   By following my advice you will be well on your way to clicks by the DOZENS. 

Your only main criteria is to be in the UN category.  Undecided, Unsettled, Unclassified, Unreal making you Unbelievable. Unloving, Unorthodox, Under pressure, Unsocial, untrained. Unprofessional.

Under the weather, Unintentional.


It seems neither I, nor my BLOG can be categorized. This is bad for marketing.  If I somehow become a real brand, then this is suddenly a good thing.   

I may be coming down with Bloggers flu. It is brought about by bouts of crippling honesty that lead to everyone thinking the posts are about them. In my reality everything is always about me, not you.


Unforgettable. Unstoppable ?

 I have only just BegUN.
  
Have a great weekend

Mark Burkenbine

Another one in the books....They can't all be winners.  

A Life Worth Living

     A life is worth living.  A simple sentence.   Words.  Words would seem to be the main way we communicate.   I would argue there are better ways, but that's for another rant.

     I started this blog because I have witnessed some very simple, very primal things recently. Moments of triumph.  Some of these things were not possible just a few short years ago.  It made me reflect on my life, and my lack of life.  My failures to others and myself.

I have a history of wanting to do 'things' but stopping at certain levels. Caving in to the life situation around me instead of persevering forward.   Big dreams, no follow through.  Big beliefs...many of those beliefs are not exactly 'mainstream'.  Sometimes I rock the boat, sometimes I flip it over.

     Some of these beliefs are treated as delusional.    It's the old ' but it's done this way' syndrome.  Anything different than how the masses have been taught to see it, or those in power have been taught to see it, is historically shot down. Sometimes the person with the opinion/vision is literally shot down.

     One of my opinions is that we as a species do NOT go backwards. Previous generations do not raise the young with a vision of the future but with a tainted fondness of the past. A past they have been taught was Utopia.    We have seen many children classified as having no attention span.  Many have the opinion that the next generation and so on is getting , well, not smarter.  I actually used to believe that. 

Then I realized from my own experiences that this is not possible.  We are the master species of a planet filled with perils that can, could have and maybe should have wiped us out. We beat every possible problem that has ever come against us. and we get stronger and smarter.   That is what we are. 

     The children are not having attention problems. We teach them too slowly and in a language they don't understand.  Kids can program your television remote by age 4, but they can't handle a history exam?  Their brains are actually processing so quickly, our words are like an old dot matrix printer to them.   They are living more inside there own head because the older methods of communicating knowledge to them are ,what should be, discontinued models. We may have more reason to worry for the ones we think are learning 'properly'.    We talk too much and we are talking down to what is most definitely going to be the Apple Newton of generations to come. I won't link to it, but Forbes has a very nice article on that device.

     We , as a species, evolve.   We are not capable of going backward. The new models are definitely capable of producing a far superior human than the Grand Delusion of the not so virtuous 1950s.

     As a species, if we are scared of  change and scared of the future, we are afraid of our own kids. That, as the saying goes, is a major personal problem.    At this point it also may be valid.

     Hope you enjoy the blog...I do.  It's about finishing a thought and not being afraid of anything. A life worth LIVING.

Thank you,      Mark Burkenbine

Update and repost.     Thank you for your support.

Normally, there would be no new posting on a Thursday, but today we get to 2000 hits. I know in a world of 180 MILLION blogs this is a small number. In a world where Google (did you see the shameless google link) gets a million people to apply for work, 2000 hits in 3 weeks is nothing. I am a gnat on google's ass at this point. In a week where a paralyzed woman gets her business degree and gets in a car and drives after 20 years...2000 hits is stunningly meaningless. ( Day 27 -- 3000 hits)

We started this at zero, with free software and equipment around the house. There are many additions coming to the site.    Thank you for your time and patience. The hit count is meaningful in that, at least someone is paying attention. This site is about creating a solid process to build the other projects on, and still have some fun.

I mean....WOOHOOO.   Release the white doves as I enter the room.  2000 hits. 2000 hits. Everybody chant ATB ATB.

Have a good afternoon---Mark

     Getting over yesterdays brief and needed sappy interlude ( Congratulations Amy) and getting on with MY "reality"....Classic Repost Thursday continues with  Drink Water/ The Fitness Campaign Pitch.   It's the tragic story of a middle aged man trying to break into the world of professional writing....To get paid for being himself, because he sucks at being someone else. Trying to be able to support his loved ones.   I know you all want these same things, but hey, It's my blog.

Today, I provide the whine for your cheese. I hope you enjoy this rerun of

 Drink Water

     The scene is an ocean beach, a tropical paradise. A beautiful woman looks at the camera and says "water makes me clean. "  Fade out and back, she says "water makes me wet."  Narrator says " How can something so pure be so-"...cut to the woman drinking water. It drips down her chin and chest and she says in a sultry voice "tasteless" .  Narrator says, "Water- It's tasteless. '"

     Attack with an ad campaign like that and it will raise the price of water. Kids will grow up skinny and healthy. But- workers will need more bathroom breaks...and the planet will go dry. Wars may start.


If you need an out of the box view on an ad campaign -
maybe some creative writing-
If you just can't figure out why your business isn't performing-
Need any fresh ideas?-


Give   All Things Burkenbine  a shot at it.

ATB  creative consultants utilize the "will criticize  for money" diet program. Meaning I will tell you how I see it, not what you want to hear...and I may not be eating if I don't get paid.

All Things Burkenbine  " will Blog for money"


Have a good one---Mark Burkenbine

" Amy.....I know you have a degree now, your driving, you rule the damn world, but c'mon. Can you fix me a damn sammich. This blogging thing is exhausting"

     GOOOOOD morning everybody. Coming to you live during the morning drive. Bright and early on a Thurday morning. The birds are chirping and I will be damned if the grass isn't always greener over there.
     I don't know about all of you, but I think this is the first day of the rest of my life.  Hope traffic is smooth and the coffee is strong.

Here is last  weeks TOP FIVE hits:

Coming in at Numero Uno

Resume and skills Part 1

At Dos is     Congratulations Amy    -- and it probably shouldn't count , cause it is number 1 to me and I don't care if anyone else reads it.

Tres     is  Guess That Disability.

Cuatro/Quatro...I only know how to spell this cause of my razor and a 40 year old memory of Sesame Street....
At Cuatro is     Resume Skills Part 2

Rounding out the top 5 (Cinco) is  Welcome to the Internet Time Suck.  

This week I am presenting the Classic Repost Thursday in the Morning Drive Top 5, with a repost of an authors favorite in the afternoon.  All the new posts are getting far more hits than some of the earlier posts.  I am either a better writer than I was 3 weeks ago, or our popularity if growing. Both are possible.  
  If you like anything about All Things Burkenbine(Mark Burkenbine) please share it on Facebook , Email, or any other social media sites.  I am definitely not against advertising and marketing,      If you don't like this blog.... Relax. Enjoy a hot cup of coffee and some pie. The beautiful thing about free speech is the offended party can always "change the channel".

Have an absolutely wonderful day and don't let anyone spoil it for you.(  Morning Drive speak for 'don't take any crap off anybody')

Thank you for your time

Mark Burkenbine

Dennis--Do I need you as a punctuation, edito?r

I debated over whether I should put the following information on this blog. I do have rules over my content.  The main rule is that the BLOG is about me me me.  It's not because I want it to be , I just don't want to embarrass anyone else or get sued. There is a safety involved in just talking about myself and my ideas. I am afraid of very little at my age and condition.   It wasn't too many years ago that I was afraid of absolutely everything.....   Failure mostly. Death.  My mom died at 48 and that number is coming up pretty soon for me.   Afraid of another horrible relationship that would just destroy me again.   Everytime something  traumatic would happen in my life, and/or I would do something stupid, I curled up in a ball and thought I would die.  Then it got worse.  It really can always get worse if you let it. or....

You can decide to ride life instead of it riding you.   You can make good decisions, or at least, decisions you can accept the consequences for.   I somehow missed that lesson when I was younger.

This is only a little about me.....

Amy, I would like to thank you.    You lead by example whether you realize it or not. I have watched you selflessly volunteer your  help to absolutely everyone around you for years. All that time taking your courses, studying until you couldn't keep your eyes open.  You rarely ask for a thing and then only if things are way past tolerable levels for most people.

Watching you finish your Bachelors in Business with public speaking was a powerful motivation for me. I know you put that class off as long as possible ,because you were afraid to speak in public.

But-   just a week after finishing your speech for your class and getting an A - Watching you get in the driving instructors car and driving away was absolutely awe inspiring.  It has been 20 years since the accident that left you paralyzed and in a wheelchair. You were young, had been driving for just a few months ....nobody would ever fault you for not wanting to get back behind the wheel and trying again.   I know how scared you were. I saw your teeth chatter.  I know you did not expect to be doing 50 on a highway, in traffic, your first time out.  I know you thought you would be awful( after all , it didn't go so well last time)...and I know you didn't expect to be told by your instructor that you only need about 3 to 5 hours with him and you will be fine.

You still think you are a scared little girl that hit a tree when she was 17, and has had many operations and rehab assignments.   The rest of us see a beautiful 37 year old accomplished woman that may well be driving to her commencement to celebrate with her peers.

Amy, you are the most capable person I have ever met.   I love you, and thank you for letting me be a part of your life.   What's next?  Skydiving or bungee jumping?  Big game hunting....or starting a non profit to help others?


Have a good day everyone. Thank you for your time.  I don't know about you, but I have seen things that make it very hard for me to complain about anything. (I am sure I will, but it doesn't linger)----Mark Burkenbine

 Above, top  Amy and Reese.....just above is Amy and I.

 She also started bowling recently.  No bumpers or ramps !

 Amy driving away....

Amy coming back safely, 45 minutes later.  No limits! 

I have been a bowler of some basic skills and borderline professional ability for almost 30 years- Travelling many a mile (over 2 million) to learn and apply my craft. Entering over 2000 tournaments and winning over 300 of them against varying levels of play and formats. (Several more of my bowling videos are on youtube.)   The traveling  brought about the ability to plan for many types of mishaps (weather,auto failures,road construction...) on a road trip and still be alive, on time and able to compete.  I will get to where I am going.

I possess a knowledge of social media use, marketing and basic technical skills to get a job done

An out of the box thinker that enjoys the fun of trying something new.

Having a vision often looks silly at first, but the picture has to be drawn line by line for others to see.

 

Thanks for your time---Mark Burkenbine

 (above)Teaching what I can to those who want to listen, and learning to appreciate the lessons life is teaching me.

 (above)  my reference library. I've written a few things down. How many trees must die? (books...movies..songs..business plans..my life long project list)

 Where the magic happens...The spacious studio/offices of All Things Burkenbine...Mark Burkenbine

 Dressed appropriately for the task at hand. Blogging.

 Always attentive to deadlines and up on the current technology.

 Multi-tasking project development skills.

 Dressed appropriately for the role of data collector/ field inspector.

 Field Inspector work is a time to look professional.

 Take a moment to smell the flowers. 

 The ATB is a friend of nature and its little creatures.  

 Wait. What's wrong with this picture?

 Ah, attention to detail .....

 Problem solving skills.

 Faced with a choice....

 Take your time....

 The spoon did not make drawing on paper....

 It was  a painful mistake..but we must get over the shame and learn from it. Ah, that one works.

 Again, dressed for the task at hand. Garage work.

 Here at the ATB, we obviously believe  a strong body helps a strong mind stay sharp

 No pain , no gain.

 More skills....the bowling pro shop.

 Cleanliness is next to godliness.

 These two pictures illustrate that, despite my delicate nature, I do have a killer instinct and competitiveness.  That fly dies for what it did.  ( editors note: no flies were actually harmed during this photo shoot)

Don't ever be afraid to laugh at yourself.  Somehow things will work out if you keep improving on  your flaws, and don't forget what you do well.  For more information ,visit my About the Author page, and read my posts.  
Thank you  and take care of yourself  ---Mark Burkenbine