Opportunity

I was inspired after reading something that lead me here. I am changing it up a little. I am going off my gut. My instinct. I changed the title to just one word "Opportunity." I'm not doing a video today. I am just writing. Direct from my mind to yours. I am still going to discuss three things. Continue reading.

Opportunity

Incase you haven't noticed, the internet and the way we use it and connect to it and with it is changing faster than we are. YouTube uploads 100 hours of video per minute, everyday. Think about that just for a second. It is mindblowing. There is a lot to look forward to like quadcopters, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing, but with that there is opportunity like never before. Why do we keep doing the same thing when there are these opportunities available? There is a world of infinite opportunity. Infinite possibilities. Just watch "What the Bleep Do We Know?" There are opportunities with Google products, Apple products, and YouTube. There are opportunities with Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist. There are opportunities with Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. There are opportunities to improve your life like no other time in human history. Endless possibilities. Do something. Create.

Your Brand

With this opportunity, you have the ability to stand out. I know, just like everyone else. I think it is more than that. You can like or not like anything you want. You can follow this blog or ignore it. Like it or dislike it. You can care or not care. All of this is part of your own personal brand. You define yourself by what you say and don't say, do and don't do, post and don't post, like and don't like. It is always changing. The power is incredible. Some people don't understand this power. Fuck. I don't understand it completely. Who does? How can you? I do have beliefs and theories about the power of your brand on the internet. I believe direct negative comments about other people do more damage than good. I believe your brand should be protected like your bank account. I believe your brand is more powerful than any other brand in the universe. Yes, the universe. You just don't know it yet.

The Future

I believe the future will have even more opportunity to make your own brand and share it with the world. Companies are fighting for your attention. They are fighting to be part of your personal brand. Coke, Cheerios, and Nike are only a few loyal brands that come to mind. The future will shift this. You will be the brand. I support and share what I believe has value. Am I occasionally wrong? No. Just kidding. Of course. I like and share what I believe could help someone, has value, or is simply funny. I want to make a living helping people get what they want out of life.  That is really it. Eventually this will all come together and I will be able to share my knowledge, skills, and ideas with more people. I want to create. I want to inspire. I want to enjoy life. 

The future is yours to create. The past is the past. Learn from it. Move forward. Be positive. Speak up. Make a statement. 

Create your own brand, your own opportunity, your own future.

Like, share, enjoy.

Thanks,

Ken Morris

sirromnek@gmail.com

1-920-624-2818

Focus, Fun, Fat

Not a lot of text today. I will post a link to the video below. I think "Focus, Fun, Fat" will be a reoccurring motif on the "Make My Ex Famous" blog. 

FOCUS

I vaguely mentioned what I'll focusing on in the video. I am going to name names here. Click if you want for more information. Or leave a question in the comments.

1800FairOffer- Local Home buyer

AvedTrader- Real Estate Consulting

Schwag- Mountain Bike Store

Extreme Structures- Structural Insulated Panels Green Builder

FUN

For fun, I create fun where I go. Affect peoples' reality. Have fun.

FAT

I talk about my weight problem, how it affects me, and what I am going to do about it.

LINK

Make My Ex Famous Episode 8 VIDEO LINK HERE

Thanks.

Like, share, and enjoy.

Ken

Feedback? Why? I Thought You Don't Care

Feedback? Why? I Thought You Don't Care

I want feedback. Yes. I said I don't care but it is more complicated than that. I don't need it because I don't care. Like I have written before, I don't know where I want this to go. I know people are viewing it. The global list is growing. I don't know if they are reading it. I can assume you are. I mean you just read that and you are reading this, right? I am not uncertain with what I'm doing, I want to create interesting content regularly. I'll just say, my blog and YouTube is open to comments. You know that. I might write about the comments or I might not. RIght now, I want a glass of water. 

Like, share, and enjoy.

Ken

Intervention, Minecraft, and The American Dream

I hate Times New Roman. That's better. Hello and welcome to the Make My Ex Famous blog by Ken Morris. I had an incredible day, which is nice after having a shitty one. I didn't get a chance to write about the above title when I wanted to but that it's all good. Since I waited, more writable events came forward. So let's get to it.

It was recommended by my daughter's teacher and her mother that Linnea take "Math Intervention" to get her ready for 6th Grade Math. Linnea did not want to take it. She said last summer did nothing to make her better. Why should she have to take it again? But why listen to a kid. Teachers and parents are always right. I was more bothered that another activity was planned without my knowledge or agreement. From my point of view, it is lost time, which, again, from my point of view is the exact intention. So, she scored "Basic" on WKCE. So what? She won't be a mathematician or an accountant. One thing (there are many) that bothers me about the school system is they seem to focus so much time and attention on weaknesses, that students forget their strengths. It's no wonder they are bored. Why does it seem creativity is completely thrown away after kindergarden? Why can't students choose a path that interests them? Better yet, why does it have to be one path? I imagine that a very small number of you reading this when to school and have been doing the same job since. Where are the computer programming classes or the entrepreneur classes? The system needs to change. It is not my daughter who needs an "intervention" because she is "basic" at math. I believe that the school system needs the intervention. 

Not sure if you remember the districts choice to purchase 3000 netbooks last year. Yeah, they sure were cute, weren't they? I'd like to know what they were thinking when they purchased them? Where was their intervention? I don't think my daughter is on the path to waste $1.5M tax dollars without an intervention. I can imagine, because I'm creative. It was probably something like this:
"We are on track to lose another 1000 students to better districts like Ashwaubenon and Howard-Suamico. What should we do?"
"We need more technology!"
"But what about integration?"
"Ain't nobody got time for that!!! Order 3000 netbooks."

There are much better ways to integrate technology than buying netbooks. No, Tom Milbourn, netbooks are not new technology. They are crap and I think time has proven this. I doubt they will continue using the netbooks for their one-to-one initiative. They would have better results integrating the technology they have with them. Mobile technology is the future. The ability to access, create, and manipulate media using their smart phones, will help them more than just handing them a netbook. Training staff and determining need wouldn't hurt either. From my understanding, the computers were rarely effectively used in class, damage was rampant, and they were all "unlocked" within a few hours. I know students were playing the FPS game Halo on them. In other words, they knew more than they thought.

If they really wanted to help students learn and integrate technology, Minecraft would be a wonderful way to math and other forms of problem solving. Ask Sharin Tebo. She spent two years teaching in Bangkok and knows how amazing of a teaching tool Minecraft can be. I see what my daughter create in this world and it is incredible. If you have been living in a mine, you might not know what I am talking about. Here's the Wikipedia. Please don't tell me I need to let you know what Wikipedia is. Let them play. There is potential. Be open to it and if you're really adventurous, try it yourself. 

The American Dream is my final entry. I am going to keep it simple. My original plan was to explain what it's not but I believe a positive outlook is a better take. To me, my American Dream, is to be happy. And as I continue on that journey with my girls, I want to affect the lives of as many people as I can. Since the time is right, I will leave you with this.

Share, like, and enjoy.
Ken

Dirty, Mexicans, and The Bridge Part II

Hello there and thank you for reading this. Again you don't have to but apparently you want to this isn't just out in the open, like a post on Facebook for example. 

Screenshot of the video. Yeah, I hear
it adds like 100 pounds.

This is the Mexican family I met.
You might say I crashed it. I say
I was invited. Well, I was. :)

So today I went from a mountain bike ride with my snow bike. I knew it had rained so I knew it would be muddy. When you get really muddy on a mountain bike it's annoying when you have clothing on. So I just wore shorts. I was riding pretty fast and the bridge was coming up. I thought to myself "Let's do this! I'm going to redeem myself." I got up to the bridge and slammed on my brakes. I couldn't do it. I yelled, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! You fucker!" at the bridge. It did say anything. It didn't feel right. Like I wasn't ready. Or "What if I fell and broke my arm?" I thought. I'd die, in the woods, with a broken arm. I took the other, safe bridge, and kept riding. I think it was okay to play it on the safe side today. I have to go back. I will go back. 

Mmmm. So good. 

Three Milk Cake. The cake is
soaked in milk. Delish.

As I continued on my ride, I recognize trails I hadn't been on in 15 years. It was peaceful and fun. Then I heard this sound. A pounding. Boom! Boom! Boom! Ba boom boom. It was faint but as I rode it got louder. I have to find where this sound is coming from. I was riding all these different trails. At times I was riding straight through the forest. No trails at all. It was getting louder and louder. It started sounding like Bob Marley. Then a mariachi band. When I came to the clearing, I saw that it was a party at a park. A Mexican family of about 20 was having two First Communion celebrations. They saw my bike and started asking me questions about it because the tires were so big. I said "Here. Ride it." They loved it. I told them I work at a bike store. One really big guy wants a bike that will work for him. He weighs 340lbs. I told him I'd figure out what we can do. Then they gave me a really good Mexican beer. And another one. And a third. They were dancing, eating, and singing. One of the men looked familiar when he told me what he does, I knew. It was Juan Curiel, the owner of Taco Burrito, Mexican Restaurant. Then he invited me inside to have some food. Authentic Mexican food. Between the music, the beer, and the food, I actually felt cytolysin next couple. (That last sentence was Siri's problem. Let me try again.) Between the music, the beer, and the food, I actually felt like I was in Mexico. It was delicious. I wish I had another taco right now. I told Juan that I would write about this on my blog and I asked if he do a promotion. He said "Sure." The promo is "Free soda with the purchase of a burrito." Just mention this blog or show it on your smart phone. I was sitting talking and laughing as I watched Juan dance, and his brother came over and said, "You see? The whole family very happy?" Yes, I said. It was heartwarming. 

Finally, as you can see from the photographs, I got dirty today. Now, it doesn't have to mean dirty with dirt or mud. And it doesn't have to mean mean or evil. To me it means just go for it. Do something you've never done before. Try it. You might like it. 

Like, share, and enjoy. Ken

Signs, Transparency, and Fiction

(Shoutout to sponsor 1800FairOffer.com. See link here or below for more info. Thanks for your support!)

note before reading: there are some words i didn't capitalize or spell right. i'm fine with that. i am going to fix them. it's siri's fault anyway. there's nothing directly about my ex either. you can go back to surfing the web for shoes if that's all you want.

I'm gonna talk this one out. I just talk out an email using my iPhone 4S with Siri. Email it to myself. Copy/paste. Done. (Not really. I'm fixing her stuff now.) I just don't feel like typing right now. It's so late it's now becoming early. I'm working a lot of different things at different times of the day and night. Friday was a great day and just how it all turned out I felt like there were signs. Certain things that were so unbelievable you almost can't imagine to make them up. Timing of different things, the people I met at different times, everything that led to where I am today. It's a crazy web of connections. 

First day of work was great. We had a little foot traffic in the store but most of the sales were online. The opportunity for online sales is ridiculous. It's all mathematics. If you have something to sell, how many people need to buy it? That's correct! Just one. If foot traffic is Green Bay, online traffic is LA. The message goes out to more people, there's more interest and everybody loves the deal. It's that simple. Anyone can do it. You have most likely bought or sold something online. If not, wow.

I started writing a blog earlier talking about asking what you would want to read. And I thought about it for a while and had it typed up and still have it in draft form. I mean I was going to ask "what do you think about this? how do you feel about that?" and not to get, I don't know "pats on the back" so to speak, but I really did want feedback which would be fine. I guess maybe more constructive criticism but I don't need it. And I felt that I needed to keep it transparent. I'm doing this because I want to do it for me. it's okay. no big thing. I'm not even gonna go back and fix those capitalized letters. So there. I'll keep it real, sort of. 

Which leads me to my third and final part of this blog, fiction. Everyone creates their own fiction. Sometimes it's not our fault. sometimes it is.  sometimes we don't know whether it is or isn't. Our own mind plays tricks on us. You see, our mind wants to be right. When you tell yourself something over and over again your mind, it's purpose is to do things correctly so it makes things happen. "I'm never going to pass this test or I'm a horrible driver or I can never remember names." Your brain be-all like "okay. here you go." It makes it happen. So let's try something new this time around. Let's tell our mind to do positive. But there will be some fiction in here. You might not know it. I might not even know it. Because part of it, I guess, is perception. 

Be amazing. 

Ken

Nationwide sponsor serving counties of Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago. Allowshome owners to get a cash offer on their home within 24 hours.

The Pitch, George Michael, The Rule of Three

The Pitch, George Michael, and The Rule of Three

I just realized that today marks the 6th Month Anniversary of my last day as a teacher in the Green Bay Public School District which was on 12/21/12, the end of the world. It's not the end of the world. 

A day to celebrate. I was on Facebook this morning and saw a post from a place looking for a sales position. Responded. Start tomorrow. Nailed it. More on that later. Thank you Facebook! 

My big appointment for the day was at wisnet.com, LLC, a website developer in Fond Du Lac. I connected with the owner, Rick, via Linkedin. He reached out to me via email, I told him about an idea I had for a mobile app and we set up an appointment. It was almost like a mutual job interview. I pitched my idea and vision. He never heard of Prezi, but liked its simplicity and functionality. My presentation went well and then he told me about his and how I could help. It came down to what I am doing right now. It is about content creation and staying relevant. I am going to be working with him to expand on his idea and create and grow mine. He even knew Robert Scoble and gets data through RackSpace. Cool. Thank you Linkedin!

After I left wisnet, I stopped at Schwag, in Appleton. Met with Roger, the owner and he told me one of his sales guy is leaving and offered me a mixed position in sales and internet marketing. We have a very similar idea of how a business should work. He told me he'd get me a new iPhone for business. Score. 

In Tim Ferriss' book, The 4 Hour Work Week, he talks about doing business with people who willingly pay for something because it has value. You shouldn't have to beg people to buy a product or service. It should be a win-win relationship. That is why both people, the seller and buyer thank each other after the transaction. If you haven't read the book, I recommend it. A game changer, inspirational, and genius. 

I told Roger about my pitch at wisnet and he told me about someone he knows who is working on an app. Her name was Neo, which I thought was pretty badass. Her app helps promote events at bars and other venues. Very good idea for small places who want to promote a band. She is looking for an investor and sales people. The app could sell itself. It's a no brainer. All three of us, Neo, Roger, and I, are Italian. So there was some mutual understanding of how we all behave and think. It was funny. It was about 6:00pm and neither of us had eaten all day. Of course, we went to eat at Wise Guys Pizzeria and Pub. I love pizza.
Are you waiting for me to mention George Michael? Well, I was shaving this morning after getting out of the shower, and playing in my head, as if it were playing on my George Michael Greatest Hits CD, was "Faith." 

"Cuz I gotta have faith, faith, faith, 
I gotta have faith, faith, faith, ahh! BABY!!" 


It was a faith of just being confident that everything was going to work out. And I don't just mean for what I was hoping for today. I gotta have faith that my girls are doing fine despite all the bullshit they have to deal with. I'm not perfect. I can admit that. I have to have faith that someday I will be treated like something other than a criminal or an idiot by my ex. I'm not hurt by it. I am just tired of it. I love my girls. They love me. That's it. That is all that matters. To even attempt to remove a parent who loves, cares, and wants to be in their lives is wrong. It has happened once. I still can't believe it. This was two years ago. After my lawyer read the decision, he was confused. Even the "Findings of Fact" were a complete joke. How can the Brown County Court System operate? I have to return to faith. There are only a few more years before it won't matter nearly as much. Faith. 

This is the third and last part of the blog, The Rule of Three. Three is my favorite number. It is everywhere. Jokes have three parts. The Three Musketeers. Three Stooges. The list goes on. Today I had one appointment that turned into three. I got three different places that I am going to be working. I will be able to work on my own time for myself. This is what I wanted and what I need. Not just for me but more importantly, for my girls. The three of us. No more work that interferes with school concerts or games. If you want the same thing, I believe it is possible. With the internet and social media, the possibilities are endless.

Today was an amazing day. 

Ken

The Reveal, Conflicts Of Interest, and Thanks

Hello everyone, or no one. How are you? Great. Moving on.

I wanted to say something about the title of my blog and why I chose it. I had this idea about what brings people to seek out content. It has to be interesting and worthwhile. So instead of a blog that is a completely negative slam, I wanted to simply tell my story. Now I do not want "Make My Ex Famous" to be a manipulating title which it probably seems to be. I guess I am asking you to be patient. There are ebbs and flow to this and you have to trust me that there is a lot I haven't told you. This is evolving. I don't know where it is heading. The idea also stemmed from thinking about how people want to be famous for the wrong reasons. I'm doing something different. Flipping it, so to speak. If you saw the movie "Catfish," (trailer here) you know how long the reveal takes. This blog can be about my ex but I'm not going to say it always will be about my ex. Does that make sense? Good. I don't care. 

As I mentioned in the video, wanted to talk about conflicts of interest. A couple examples I want to talk about real quick I don't want going to detail because it's two in the morning  and I have a presentation tomorrow. Actually I'm gonna talk about one that's current. I'll bring up the other one another time when I talk about another issue. 

As I mentioned in the previous post, one of my daughters is in "Math Intervention." I make fun of the name because it sounds negative, but that's not my point. But here is: my daughter got Basic on the math section of WKCE which is why she was "recommended" to take "Math Intervention" summer school. No, it was not required. It was "recommended." I asked who recommended it and the teacher said a group of teachers recommended that it would be good to help her get ready for sixth-grade math. I didn't want her to go because it's summer and it's their summer time with me. My time during the school year is very limited. So it bothered me. 

What bothered me even more was when I found out the person who recommended it, is also the person teaching it. Very convenient. No better way to guarantee you have a job in the summer than to recommend students to be in your class. That was a conflict of interest. At least to me. (It also seemed a little fishy. That is another story. Stay tuned for district stories.) 

Not to mention it was inconsiderate to schedule something that I didn't agree with during my time. Not cool. This is not the first time this kind of thing happened. It's happened before, but that is another story. Am I saying "that's another story" too much? I really do mean that that's another story. Usually people say that because they aren't going to tell it. I will. Anyway, I'm tired of it. It's not fair to my girls. That's all I'm going to say. 

I have a few more hours of work to do yet. Don't worry I'll probably do in the morning. Wait. It is morning. Shit. I'll do it a little later. I'm going to Fond du Lac to pitch a business idea that I've been building and building. It will lead to some work for me. My ex would call it a "business venture/misadventure." I laugh.

(NO TRANSITION AVAILABLE)

Below are some screen shots of the first page of Google and the page views from this blog. This is an example of what can be done in a short period of time. This is not difficult to do. Takes some time and some clever media manipulation. That's about it. I use my iPad for the video upload to YouTube, my MacBook Pro to do a few tag updates on it, I use my iPhone to dictate some of the writing, email it to myself, then copy/paste it here. Oh, a big thing that is easy and fun to use is Skitch. That's how I get those awesome screenshots with nondestructive manipulation. Just like my blog title. 

Thank you. I hope this helps. But to me, here's the absolute truth: 

If this helps just one person to change, or inspire, or do something that they never thought possible, then it is worth it. If that one person is me, even better. If that one person is my ex, well that... that is a whole 'nother blog.

Cheers,
Ken 

Two day traffic. Not bad.

First page of Google when "Make My Ex Famous" is searched. pwned.

Red Light/Green Light, Crazy Developments, and Make Noodles in a Rice Cooker

Thanks for all the people following this blog. I will thank you again later. I just didn't want to forget. If I write it here, I will see it again to remind myself...Okay. I'll shut up.

I went to visit the girls today at summer school. Linnea is in "Math Intervention" (yes. the class is called "Math Intervention." you would think it's for kids addicted to math. i will talk about that in a different post, then come back and link it.) and Stella is taking a dance class. No. It is not called "Dance Intervention." At least I don't think it is.

Anyway, I was driving from the east side, over by UWGB, and I was coming up to a stop light. The light was red so I started to slow down. As I got closer, I realized the light was not red but it was green and it was green the whole time. I am slightly color blind but I can tell the difference between red and green (please don't point to something and say "what color is this?").

It made me think about perception. "What are you waiting for?" said the green light. I have waited to long to do something like this, just for me. I really like that some people read this, but I don't need you to. I don't. And I don't care if you are offended by me not caring. I'm not even going to ask you if that makes sense or is okay. Watch Oprah's 2013 Harvard Commencement Speech you'll get what I mean, or don't. I don't care.

Back to the Red Light/Green Light and the crazy new development. I got a letter from Brown County Family Court Commissioner, Phoebe A. Mix (list of all of them) and in it was a copy of a letter from my ex that states her wish to withdraw her petition to modify placement of the girls. This petition asked for no time for me during summer, no over nights on school nights, and supervised visits. I have mentioned this to other people and they alluded that I would have to have multiple felons, be a drug dealer and/or addict, and have multiple cats. Okay, I made up the felon part. It is stopped for now. I do not think this blog had anything to do with it.

It was an absurd petition aside from the fact that I want to be in their lives. I feel horrible for kids who don't have a parent or a mentor who can help guide them through life. The fact that the court system even considers that could be in a child's "best interest" is ridiculous.

So this is good news. I am glad but as I said on Facebook, I am cautiously optimistic. You can follow me there. You probably got her from a link from a YouTube video that I posted on Facebook. I have 10 subscribers but I think I am creating interesting enough content that my numbers should go up. I had 78 page views the first 24 hours. That is not viral, but respectable. Here's a screenshot:

So my last little tidbit for today before I head off to school is "make noodles in a rice cooker." Also known as "BE CREATIVE." Don't say you've tried everything. You have not. The world is filled with millions and millions of opportunities. Just give it a go, even if you think the light is red. 

Thanks again for reading my blog and watching the videos. I have a lot of interesting and exciting projects I am working on. This is a hobby for now but I believe it is turning into something more. I can feel it.

Comment below if you have a question or would like a shout-out. Or you can email me at sirromnek@gmail.com or click here for a direct link. Stalk me. I don't care.

Cheers,
Ken

Make My Ex Famous Blog by Ken Morris

Make My Ex Famous
A Blog
by Ken Morris

Hey. Welcome to my first blog for the "Make My Ex Famous" brand. I have a vague idea where this is going but I have no idea where it will take me.

My initial idea came to me while I was washing the dishes this morning. I fucking hate washing dishes. Why do I hate washing dishes so much? I think I may have figured it out. My first job was washing dishes. Fourteen years old for $2 per hour cash. See the above photo. This was back in the late 80s when I was actually washing dishes. I was the dishwasher. I had a former student contact me yesterday asking if I would be a reference for him for a job as a, you guessed it, dishwasher. Of course I said I would, and told him that my first job was a dishwasher. I didn't tell him that by his age I already bought my first car, a 1965 Chevy Impala, from washing dishes and moving up the restaurant chain.

Then I was thinking about other things in my life that I just can't stand. I know you think I am going to say "my ex" because that is the title of the blog. It is not my ex, per se. It is how she treats me and how she behaves. I have stories that are completely unbelievable but true. My blog will tell my version. To me her one goal is to remove my daughters from my life. You know how problematic and detrimental this would be. She considers me a loser, a failure, and a "moronic idiot." Yes, that is a quote. They involve all the stuff that makes a great drama or documentary. Will you look at that? I have another idea. I actually could care less if anyone reads this. That attitude will make this blog even better. I will use this blog as my outlet for ideas.

Back to my original idea about the "Make My Ex Famous" brand. Here is what I suspect to be true: She will not want me to do this. That will create more content. I will start by telling the history and background, lead to stories, quotes, emails, voicemails, and so on. Literally thousands of pages. The content is already here to be created. It is in my head. It can't be deleted nor destroyed. So I hope that this will help me create a level playing field by reducing the likelihood of consistent bullying. Some of you might think that this blog is bullying. I disagree. I am standing up to the bully. This is nonviolent. Words. I am telling the bully that I will not take your bullshit. Remember that video of that kid from Australia? What did he do? Did he get bullied again? I doubt it.

As far as the internet marketing, use this formula to drive traffic to this content and close with other sponsored content or business ventures. That's it.

Ken