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Issue No. 13 February 2009
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Welcome to issue thirteen of my ezine. If you enjoyed last month you'll be craaaaazy about this month! The purpose of this ezine continues to be inspiration, humor, business, personal and just plain fun: aka the don't-take-yourself-so-seriously ezine.
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OMG! I know I must sound like a Valley Girl by starting like that but it's been that kind of month, a how-do-you-top-this kinda month? First, Las Vegas for the Black and White Ball honoring my "look-alike," or so you all say, the real Divine Miss M. Good friends Evi and Jay Allen from my former home in Westport, CT now have a home in LV and invited me as their guest for this soiree, knowing how much I adore her. There's not enough space here to write the details of the night, especially the part where I got to take the above photo with my idol. Suffice it to say that my once-in-a-lifetime moment was dampened by the camera flash not going off but nevertheless the photo is above. It's the real story that's worth a trip to my blog - Click here to go right to the story - for one of my gutsiest moves EVER.
Now if that wasn't grand enough, I then left on a 12 day cruise to Tahiti on Crystal Serenity (and I needed that), the number one 6 star cruise line in the world. It was a working vacation (I know, sounds like an oxymoron). I gave three lectures to the passengers and then my guest and I enjoyed the rest of the fabulous food, d�cor, service, entertainment and the most diverse and interesting passengers I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with. And let me not forget the cruise itself to French Polynesia. For details on Cabo San Lucas, Nuku Heva, Rangiroa, Moorea, Tahiti, visiting history of The Mutiny of the Bounty, experiencing the real Bali Hai from South Pacific, it's worth another trip to my blog for all the fabulous details. My gratitude journal overfloweth.☺
 This photo is of me with Bill Boggs, the four-time Emmy Award winning talk show host of Midday Live with Bill Boggs and NBC's Weekend Today in New York and the Food Networks' Corner Table. Bill was also a guest lecturer aboard and I have great new friends with him and his wife, Carol.
And recognize this gentleman? It's Senator George  McGovern, who ran for President in 1972. George, who was another guest lecturer, became one of my biggest fans and I was so honored to have him attend my lectures.
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I LOVE THIS BOOK!
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 Got What It Takes?
Successful People Reveal How They Made It To The Top
by Bill Boggs
I was thrilled when Bill gave me an autographed copy of his book and I couldn't put it down as it was so in alignment with what I do and what I believe. It's an inside view of what makes the most successful people tick, and a lessons-in-life career guide from accomplished stars at the top of their game. This book is packed with revelations and suggestions about how you can approach your career or your life. Bill interviewed 44 of the most dynamic people in sports, entertainment, fashion, business and more. Learn from the insights of Craig Newmark (Craigslist.com), Daniel Boulud, restauranteur, Clive Davis, music mogul, Joe Torre (ya' betta know who he is, I'm from da' Bronx, remember?) Bill writes in a down to earth, easy to read style (it's the kinda guy he really is, fun and personable). It's an informational read, an inspirational read and as my friend Mike Hurley would say, "Now go on out there and read something".
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HEAR YE,
HEAR YE...ANNOUNCING A
NEW EVENT:
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MIKKI & FRIENDS
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NEW SEMINAR SERIES KICKING OFF ON
MARCH 26th, 2009
The first one will debut on the morning of
March 26, 2009 on branding, with Mikki and Mark Partridge, to be held
at the Union League Club of Chicago. Mikki will speak for 90 minutes
on how to become a brand and how to find your USP (unique selling
proposition), and Mark will follow on the legal aspects of branding.
Both will be available for individual coaching in the afternoon.
HOW TO CREATE AND PROTECT YOUR BRAND
8:00 - Networking breakfast (included)
8:30 - Mikki Williams presenting "How to Be You-Nique!"
10:00 - Break
 10:15 - Mark Partridge presenting "Protecting Your B.R.A.N.D. without Losing Your Shirt"
11:45 - Q&A
12:00 - Lunch (on your own)
1:00 to 4:00 - Private 30-minute consultations with Mikki or Mark
Join us for this premier event on March 26, 2009 at
The Union League Club of Chicago 65 W. Jackson Chicago, IL 60604 Parking available on Federal Street (valet and self park)
Registration fee:
$495 (includes breakfast, morning refreshments, workbook and materials, copy of "Mikki Mouth: Quotations I Wish I'd Said and Some I Did Say" by Mikki Williams and "Guiding Rights: Trademarks, Copyright and the Internet" by Mark Partridge)
Also available:
Private 30-minute private consultations with Mikki and/or Mark: $250
TO REGISTER CALL SAMANTHA AT 312.664.8447
OR EMAIL: samantha@mikkiwilliams.com
Future seminars will include:
Mikki and Tamilee Webb (aka Buns of Steel) on mental and physical fitness
Mikki and Steve Rizzo on life balance and humor
Mikki and Chuck Reaves on personality profiling and sales
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THE WHOLE LIFE TRILOGY PART 2:
We Interrupt This Life To Bring You... ™
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Part 2 evolved from the success of Part 1, A Balancing Act: Walking the Tightrope of Life. Audiences asked for more on the same topic so once again using my own life as a platform to cull my signature stories, one commonality appeared. Life is full of interruptions; birth, death, divorce, relocation, new job, health challenges, financial disasters, events that shape our lives and give us opportunities to evaluate, change, grow and find our purpose in life.
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CREATIVE CAPTIONS
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I love creativity and as a wordsmith I love double entendres, alliteration, onomato... whatever the heck that one was. One of my quirky habits is collecting names of businesses that display any of the above. Here are two of my favorites:
Oops-A-Daisy - flower shop
Estate of Bliss - antique jewelry (Submitted by my good ol' fitness buddy... Ken Alan)
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I hope you'll continue to send me ones you know of.
Please send to mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
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SHOE-BE-DOO STORIES
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Yes, I own about a billion pairs of shoes. And each pair has a story to inspire, a lesson to be learned, a laugh or an "aha!" 
Not only was I invited to The Black and White Ball, Nevada's premier social event of the season, not only was I going to see, honor and take a photo with my "shero" Bette Midler but I had to wear a floor length gown either in black or white. Oh bummer, I HAVE to go and buy a gown... and jewelry...AND shoes. So, yes, these are the shoes, that went with the gown, that went with the jewelry, that stood next to Miss Bette as she put her arm around me for the photo. While nose to nose, I said, "Everyone thinks I look like you. Do you?" She replied, in her very best Bette voice, "Oh no, honey, you're much prettier."☺
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WONDERFUL WEBSITES
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I come across so many and so many are shared with me that I thought I'd share with you.
Enroll in one of the 50 language courses on this interactive site where teachers from around the world offer live, online lessons (using Skype) as well as podcasts.
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MIKKI MOUTH:
QUOTATIONS I WISH I'D SAID AND SOME I DID SAY!
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Enjoy a quote each month from my new book - some funny, some poignant, some professional, some just darn cute!
You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without.
-Unknown
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READER REVIEWS
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"Please keep the monthly newsletter coming. I can feel the positive energy jumping off the monitor every time it shows up."
Mike Reuth
Paramount Plastics
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VISTAGE VIGNETTE
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As a speaker resource for Vistage International for 15 years and Chair of two groups for seven years I have the opportunity to interact with some of the most dynamic business leaders. Vistage is the world's largest executive organization with 15,000 members worldwide. It is to my delight to profile one of them each month.
Richard J. Roman and Susan M. Roman
Chairman & CEO and Corporate Director of Human Resources
Infusion Management Group
Rick is a member of the Vistage group of my good friend and peer, Gary Arakelian, and I had the pleasure of being their holiday speaker two years ago. I was fortunate to meet and immediately become a fan of his delightful wife Susan. Fast forward a year and Susan is now a member of my Key group and we are all so happy that she is. Rick and Susan, along with their partner Nick, own the famous and fabulous Signature Room aka The 95th, atop the landmark Hancock Building.
They love traveling the globe in search of exciting new culinary adventures, but they have been planted in Buffalo Grove, Illinois since 1990 with their two children, Angela and Dominic. Susan was first introduced to this field at the age of nine when her family owned and operated the Peninsula Lodge in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Susan and Rick met at UW-Stout while pursuing their Bachelor degrees in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
After graduation they set their sights on Chicago's restaurant and hotel industry, working for the Hyatt Corporation for the next five years (for Rick) and six years (for Susan). Susan completed Hyatt's Management Training Program after graduation and focused her career in Human Resources at several Chicago Hyatt properties. Susan left Hyatt in 1987 and pursued a Director of Training position in the commercial insurance field and ultimately began her own human resource and training consulting business.
Local newspaper reader polls have named The Signature Room one of Chicago's most romantic restaurants and most popular weekend brunch destinations. They now have 250+ employees and operate 7 days a week, 363 days a year. A visit to this extraordinary dining experience is a must and don't forget to say hi to Susan and Rick and tell 'em Mikki sent you☺
For more information call Susan at 312.280.0460 or email her at smr@signatureroom.com
For more information on Vistage International click here:
Vistage International
If you are interested in becoming a member of a Vistage group anywhere in the world, or a speaker or a Chair, drop us a line:
mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
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HE WHO LAUGHS...LASTS!
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 A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter systematically pasting "Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them. The guy's curiosity gets the better of him and he walks up to the balding man and asks him what he's doing.
The man says, "I'm sending out one thousand Valentine cards signed, 'Guess who?'"
"But why?" asks the guy.
The man replies, "I'm a divorce lawyer."
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THE HAPPY COOKER
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Yes, that was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on, I know guys cook too.
A Chocolate Fantasy!
Chocolate Fondant Heart-Shaped Cake
Serves 12
1/2 lb. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 lb. superfine sugar (or you can grind regular sugar in a blender 'til it's fine)
1/2 cup strong hot coffee
1/2 lb. sweet butter
4 eggs
1 tbsp. flour
Grated unsweetened chocolate
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Over low heat melt chocolate with sugar and coffee in a heavy sauce pan. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat and blend in the butter a little at a time. Don't rush this - the butter must be completely mixed with the chocolate before adding more.
Beat eggs lightly in a bowl and slowly add flour, mixing until smooth. Pour into chocolate mixture and blend well.
Butter a 9 or 10-inch cake pan or comparably sized heart mold and line with aluminum foil, allowing it to hang over the sides so the cake will be easier to remove later (foil should fit smoothly into the tin). Rub the lined mold lightly with butter and fill with cake mixture. Set in another pan holding 1" of water and cook on top of stove for 45 minutes, just below simmer. Do not let water boil.
When time is up take the pan out of the water and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Cover lightly with a dish cloth and refrigerate for a day or two before service.
To unmold the cake lift from pan using foil "handles." Invert onto a plate and carefully remove foil. Dust top with grated unsweetened chocolate. put a dollop of whipped cream in the center. Serve very cold.
Note: This cake freezes well.
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FUN, FABULOUS, FEARLESS FRIENDS
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If any of you remember the movie or Broadway show "Auntie Mame" or if you're old enough to admit you remember it, then you might recall that Mame was famous for her eclectic circle of friends. I pride myself on that same principle of knowing so many diverse people and calling many of them my friends. I would like to profile them and their expertise by offering this monthly addition of tips, tactics and techniques shared by experts in their field. Although someone once told me not to refer to myself as an expert as an ex is a has-been and a spurt is little more than a drip.  BILL BOGGS - Television personality, Author, Speaker
Boggs has always displayed unique versatility; as a game show host for CBS, a news anchor for WNBC-TV and as host and executive producer of the syndicated FOX-TV series, Comedy Tonight. Bill played a major role in the creation of Court TV as the network's executive producer. He was also the executive producer for the ground-breaking Morton Downey Jr. Show (which btw, yours truly was a guest on their show called Self Help or Self Hype...should I be telling you that?)
In 2007 HarperCollins published Bill's widely-praised book, Got What it Takes?: Successful People Reveal How They Made It To the Top (see my review above).
Bill is married to publishing executive Carol Campbell Boggs and they live blissfully on the tranquil island of Manhattan.Visit Bill's website at www.billboggs.comwww.gotwhatittakes.net
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MIKKI'S MANTRA
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Be outrageous...it's the only place
that isn't crowded.
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INSPIRATIONS
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As the wordsmith that I have always been, from my high school honors in English (and French) to my calling as a professional speaker, each of the "inspirations" that I share every month are from years and years of collecting words that have inspired me.
It's all about love this month, why not give yourself a Valentine by devouring the words and meaning to one of my favorite poems.
Love After Love
By Derek Walcott
The time will come
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
At your own door, in your own mirror,
And each will smile at the other's welcome and say sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart.
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you
All your life, whom you ignored
For another, who knows you by heart,
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
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MIKKI ON THE MOVE
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Check out where Mikki will be speaking and piggyback your company or association event. Or just invite her to dinner or shopping!
Click here for her calendar:
Mikki On The Move
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SPEAKERS SCHOOL with Mikki Williams, CSP
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The next Speakers School is February 19-20, 2009.It's for people at all levels: novices, wannabes, CEOs, professionals.Click here to register:Speakers School
Once again Mikki you have outdone yourself by providing invaluable tools, knowledge and insight. I now have an understanding of the process of delivering an impactful speech and I'm confident I can build on all the success skills I garnered during those two days. Can't wait to get out there and "knock'em dead".
Kathleen Ameche
CEO
MicciMicci
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To
book Mikki for your next event as a keynoter, emcee, panelist, seminar
or workshop leader (she doesn't do floors or windows) or for more info
on Vistage, Speakers Schools, Coaching or Consulting or anything else
that's on your mind, contact Mikki or Samantha |
Thanks for spending
time with us in this Valentine's month!
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Hair She Is...!
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