or...
Stop being so darned "professional" and take a break today! |
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Issue No. 23
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January 2010
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Welcome! 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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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I,
like many of you I imagine, are happy to let 2009 go.  December was packed with speeches. I get busier than most
speakers during that month as I have programs geared to holiday events;
retreats, spousal groups, etc. BUT...let's not talk biz. I want to share with you two highlights of my month. My
dear old (not in age, in tenure) friend, Scott Cole from Palm Springs (we go
waaaaaaay back to my days in the fitness industry), called to invite me to a
concert that his client was giving in Chicago (see photo below - left to right: Scott, Barry Manilow and yours truly).  Scott is a world-renowned tai chi
expert, personal trainer and so much more (he was profiled in my September 2009 ezine)
The other highlight of the month was Jason ("THE
son") on Christmas Day. We decided not to exchange presents this year and instead we
spent the day at a nursing home along with my BFF Kat Coleman assisting,
serving, dining and chatting with the residents at the Natalie Salmon nursing
home. Oh my God, it was so fabulous!  The folks were so interesting and appreciative. This was so much better than the insane amount of money we usually spend on each other every year.
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I LOVE THIS BOOK!
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 Life Is A Verb:37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally
By Patti Digh
What a great book to start the New Year with. I was drawn to it by the title because
I have often said that I am a verb, not a noun. Besides being beautifully
illustrated, there are poignant messages on how to live out loud as I call it,
being fully alive. 37 days refers to the prognosis that her stepfather received
in regard to his time left. That triggered in the author the thought that at
some point in your life, you'll only have 37 days to live, maybe that day is
today. Maybe not. We often live as if we have all the time in the world, but
the definite-ness of 37 days was striking. What would you be doing today if you
only had 37 days to live?
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Mikki will be teaming up with some of her fabulous friends and peers to create unique training days.
SIGN UP NOW FOR THE NEXT TELESEMINAR: January 15, 2010
at 4:00 p.m. CST A GREAT VALUE AT ONLY $29.00
 Your Goal-den Opportunities with MikkiIt's January,
time for New Year's resolutions, but more importantly "goal-getting" not just goal
setting. As an executive coach
Mikki will share different methods of attaining your goals in her usual unique,
funny, informative and provocative style. and How to Get Well and Stay Well for Life with her friend Wayne Pickering.
Wayne teaches people how to be the healthiest person ON the planet and not the wealthiest person IN the grave with a focus on nutrition and a basic philosophy, "If you
want to be tough you have to eat good stuff" so you can get older and better
and not old and bitter! He is an award winning triathlete, double nominee for
Healthy American Fitness Leader, author, professional speaker, nutrition
performance coach, lifestyle management  consultant, disease prevention
specialist, and weight loss expert. WaynePickeringSpeaks
Wayne is 62 years young.
Are you psyched to listen now??!
"Thanks
so much for a great tele-seminar. Sixty minutes of very valuable
information - I took eleven pages of notes!"
Sue Ryan
Naples, FL
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Time
Management aka Choice Management
It's a great
time of year to write about time management, especially since I don't believe
there is such a thing. How many hours in a day do you have? 24? I know that to be true! So...how can you ever say, "When I have
more time..." or "When I make the time..." or "When I find the time..."
I'd like
to meet the person with that formula and retire rich.
What you
do have is choice! You choose to
get up an hour earlier and work out or you choose to sleep in. You choose to stay up an hour later and
read a book or you choose to go to sleep. You choose to work on the weekend or you choose to stay home and play
with your kids. Let's call a spade
a spade here and admit that what you do or do not "have time for" is merely an
excuse for owning your choices to not make it a priority. OK, OK, you can call it priority
management or choice management but for heaven's sake get off the time
management bandwagon. Stop buying
all the books, all the organizers and own your time choices. When you do, magic will happen. You will see that you have miraculously
"found" the time to accomplish more meaningful things in your life. It's all about life management. Now
that's shrewd!
Check out my Timing of the Shrewd program
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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:
Gone With the Chin (Plastic Surgery Center) The Yuppie Puppie (Pet Store) *********************************************************** I hope you'll continue to send me ones you know of. Please send to mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
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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.
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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!
"Now there are more
overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people
are now average... which means, you have met your New Year's resolution."
Jay Leno
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READER REVIEWS
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"I'm sure that I'm not
the first to say this but your ezine strikes the right balance of entertainment
and content without ruining it with a dogmatic tone, illiteracy or typographic
errors. It conveys your message and your readers enjoy
it. Unusual and very welcome. Just my thoughts but I've no doubt
they are shared by many."
OMG, I found the quote but not who wrote it. So sorry. But thanks for the kudos!
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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.
Mary Hoffman is a catalyst for membership...and a good friend!
Mary
Hoffman has been with Vistage for five years and is the most senior-tenured associate
of the Membership Development Team. Nearly three years ago Mary was selected to be the beta test in helping build Vistage's organizational presence in the Midwest, and was transferred to Chicago from San Diego
in February. Seems like a crazy move for her, doesn't it? But it was a great move for us. Her ability to
build rapport and establish trust has been the most important part of her
success and is the reason why Chairs like me love to work
with her.
Mary enjoys running (not just as a sport but
as a way to continue to eat pizza and enjoy the finer things in life) and often
links up with various charities to fundraise money for their causes. She's adapting well to life in Chicago although she still roots for the Patriots, having been born and
raised in New England. We're working on curing her of that one flaw.
email Mary at: mary.hoffman@vistage.com
For more information on Vistage International click here:
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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On New Year's eve
Marilyn stood up in the local pub and said that it was time to get ready. At
the stroke of midnight she wanted every husband to be standing next to the one
person who made his life worth living.
Well,
it was kind of embarrassing. As the clock struck - the bartender was
almost crushed to death.
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JUST JEANNIE, THE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN
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Jeannie Walters helps companies enter into the
social media mayhem - by connecting with customers, prospects
and colleagues in new and powerful ways. Tips from Jeannie:
Are your profiles updated?
Start the new year ensuring that all your information is up-to-date and presenting you the way you want to be seen. It's easy to forget to keep your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or other social media site profiles current. Many of us changed jobs or contact information in 2009. What about your expertise? Can you add anything to your description? Double check all your profiles to be sure that those looking for you can find you! It's also a great time to update your profile picture. I recommend using the same profile picture across media so when people find you they know it's really you!
In most cases, you can just edit your profile when you view it after logging in. It's worth it to view as a public profile and then decide what you want to update/change/edit. In some cases your friends and connections will receive alerts when you make updates. This puts your new job title or expertise front-and-center and helps you spread the word in a subtle way.
Have fun and go update! Happy New Year!
Questions about social media? Questions about social media? Email me at Jeannie@360Connext.com
For more info see me at www.360Connext.com
 Follow Jeannie on Twitter
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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.
This
is one of my favorite dishes to make AND to serve. Soup is great for this time of year (except when I'm in my
FL home, lol).
Corn Soup in Bread Bowls
Serves 2
2 small round loaves of chewy, dense bread, like sourdough
1 tbsp. margarine
1 small yellow onion, chopped
 1 package frozen corn, 10 oz.
1 medium potato, peeled, cubed, and parboiled till tender
½ small green bell pepper, chopped
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
Pinch of hot-pepper flakes
½ cup half and half
1 cup chicken broth
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Using a serrated knife, cut tops off loaves and reserve. Hollow
out bread, leaving ¾ inch border, then set aside. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan,
and sauté onion until tender but not brown. Stir in corn, potato, pepper,
flakes, half and half, broth, salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes, ladle soup into
bread bowls and garnish with parsely. Serve immediately with bread tops tilted on
the side (good for dunking!).
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MIKKI ON INTERNET RADIO
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 For
those of you who missed hearing Mikki on the live show this month you can access
the archived hour-long interview with Mikki:
CLICK THE LOGO TO LISTEN!
Some
comments from listeners:
"I just wanted to
take a moment to let you know how much I enjoyed hearing you speak this
morning on Angelia Miller's talk show. You gave me quite a bit of inspiration
in sharing some of your approach to living and working successfully. Thank
you! You should absolutely consider your own show - you're very agile in honing
in on a point and connecting the conversation to the issues you feel are
relevant and pertinent to your audience. You also have the gift of
maintaining a compassionate balance between getting business done and
respecting the person you're speaking to. Great balancing act!"
Elisa Primavera-Bailey
Member Services Director Eastern
Division, Vistage International,
Inc.
"I listened to the interview you did today.
You should be the host of a show. You were so up-beat and good. You certainly
are my hero!! I wish sometime that I could be more like you.
Guess I have to move out of that comfort zone. Just wanted you to know that I
love reading your e-zine emails and was happy that I could listen to this
interview."
Joyce Bugno
Administrative Asst. to Dr.
Leonard V. Messner, Exec. Dtr. Illinois Eye Institute
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MIKKI'S MANTRA
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Be outrageous...it's the only place that isn't crowded.
My favorite quote is featured in The
Woman's Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar, one of only 365 chosen from
over 3,500 submissions.
The Woman's Advantage is a line of
information products designed exclusively for successful women business
owners. For more information call 919-841-0401
or visit The Woman's Advantage
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INSPIRATIONS
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This
is dedicated to all of you who have touched my life... my audience members, my
coaching clients, my Vistage family, my business associates, my friends and all
of my business and personal relationships.
Happy New Year
If it didn't bring you joy
just leave it behind.
Let's ring in the new year
with good things in mind.
Let every bad memory
that brought heartache and pain
And let's turn a new leaf
with the smell of new rain.
Let's forget past mistakes
making amends for this year
Sending you these greetings
to bring you hope and cheer.
Happy New Year!
Anonymous
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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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NOW, DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND,Speakers School is three days! Day One: Presentation SkillsDay Two: Learning Lab (Your opportunity to practice what you learned in Day One. You must have completed Day One to participate.) Day Three: Marketing Your SpeechesThe next Speakers School is February 18-20, 2010. It's for people at all levels: novices, wannabes, CEOs, professionals or anyone who needs to improve their communication skills.
Upcoming Speakers Schools:
April 22-23, 2010
September 23-25, 2010
Read a testimonial from one of the fabulous attendees of the September School:
Mikki's Speaker's School goes way beyond the basics. She teaches you how to connect with an audience on multiple levels and provide a speech with superior value whether you are a professional speaker or a CEO such as myself, or anyone just looking to improve their presentation and communication skills.
Chris Long, CFP
President
Long & Associates LLC
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Become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, catch me on YouTube, look for me on Plaxo:
    
Don't forget to check out my personal blog every Sunday
for a new post:
And my Work Life Balance blog:
In case you've missed past issues of the ezine
Click here to visit the archives.
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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 |
| MIKKI WILLIAMS, CSP |
Mikki Williams, CSP is a professional speaker/trainer, specializing in business dynamics and human potential as well as a Resource Speaker for Vistage International, the worlds largest CEO organization. She is a small business consultant, runs tri-annual Speaker Schools, Chairs two Executive Think Tanks, affilated with Vistage International and is a Life Architect, helping people design their lives and businesses through a coaching model. To learn more about Mikki Williams Unltd. and all the services provided
CALL ME: 312.664.8447
FAX ME: 312.664.8460
E ME: mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
SEE ME: www.mikkiwilliams.com |
Thanks for spending time with us!  Almost four years for me and my Sam...time flies when you're
having fun! |
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*If you enjoyed this ezine and know others who would like to receive it, please forward this along to friends, family and colleagues! Use the "Forward e-mail" link at the bottom of this newsletter.
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All contents © 2008, except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication or reprint only with expressed permission from Mikki Williams. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. All contents provided as is. In our extensive research we've made every attempt to be accurate in attributing quotes, poems, jokes and the like and want to apologize in advance if we have not given proper credit or given it erroneously. |
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