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or...
stop being so darned professional and take a break today!
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| Issue No. 43 October 2011 |
| 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 October 12th birthday to my son, Jason...who walketh on water! 
My fall is insane, how 'bout yours? I counted 18 planes in September. Is that nuts? I'm not whining...just busy!
Been to Appleton and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Denver, San Luis Obispo, Dallas, Erie PA, New Jersey, Seattle, Cincinnati, Whistler Canada, Michigan City IN and Vegas... eclectic to say the least. And along the way I stacked up some more great memories and experiences. On a frustrating note I heard the words no computer user wants to hear: "We have to erase your hard drive." I spent 10 days recovering data and email at t he Apple store. On a sad note I truly mourn the passing of Steve Jobs and was in awe as I left a Post-It on the window of the store along with all the flowers, candles and apples. 
I had another fabulous Speakers School (right) with folks from as far away as Calgary, Canada and Seattle, WA (next one in February, register in the Speakers School section below), and got to enjoy the Blackhawks and Washington Capitals from a penthouse skybox courtesy of  Vistage member, Dr. Bhavesh Patel www.cenegenics.com. Blackhawks won! Yay (big hockey fan that I am)!
I participated in Vistage Chair training (below) here in Chicago  and enjoyed going to PA and WA to train Chairs in my new program Veni, Vidi, Vici aka She Came, She Wore, She Conquered. Had some extraordinary client events with Kimberly Clark/Appleton Papers  and did a return engagement to speak for Fundex/Investia in gorgeous Whistler, Canada - God's country - put it on your list!!
Just returned to a Vistage group in NJ for their second spousal meeting, pictured here with one of the spouses, Lucila, with an interesting business: www.PerfectMomSyndrome.com
 (Lucila and me, right, with my bedazzed IPad - purple, of course). Below: me with Bill Howell who owns another interesting company in Dallas (where they love gals with big hair!) www.howellinst.com. Bill is obviously a VERY big game hunter. 
On a personal note I saw Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking and Nora Ephron's Love, Loss and What I Wore and bummer that my Bryan Adams concert got canceled.
The highlight of the month was surprising my BFF, Kathy in CT at the wedding reception of her daughter September, and the double surprise because my son also didn't know I was coming. Much fun! It was so great seeing all the folks I hadn't seen since I moved over a decade ago. (l to r: groom Alex and bride September, me, son Jason and GF Heather)
I leave you with this thought to finish your year: as Steve Jobs said in his famous Stanford U speech, "Stay hungry, stay foolish."
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I LOVE THIS BOOK!
| Flourish
A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being by Martin E. P. Seligman
I have been a fan of Martin Seligman's work since I first read Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness, and continue to be a proponent of the field of positive psychology. In my speech I share info on the book Happier (one of my favorites) and how this movement began. The five pillars of positive psychology are happiness, relationships, engagement, meaning and accomplishment. Seligman's whole approach to well-being through the study of character, motivation and optimism has been significant. While certainly a part of well-being, happiness alone doesn't give life meaning. He explores what it is that allows some people to cultivate their talents, build deep lasting relationships with others, feel pleasure and contribute meaningfully to the world. In a word, what is it that allows you to "flourish"?
I love this book!! |
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Join me and some of my fabulous friends for fun and informative tele-conversations!
Don't miss the next tele-conversation on
Friday, November 11th at 12:00 noon CST.
No cost, no obligation. Just CLICK HERE to register.
TELE-CONVERSATION WITH MERIT GEST
Genetic Testing for Your Business: Retention and revenue ideas to see where your company might be at high risk in the future.
Genetic scientists are now making it possible for doctors to prescribe treatments specifically designed for individual patients' DNA. Merit Gest teaches business leaders how to use the same technique in business, and gain a competitive advantage. In this tele-conversation Merit will discuss her tools for "business genetic testing," tools which allow companies to see where they may be at high risk in the future. As a certified consultant with MultiHealth Systems and Barrett Values Centre Merit is uniquely qualified to deliver retention and revenue-enhancing programs. She is one of a small handful of people in the world merging Emotional Intelligence and Cultural Transformation Tools to ensure that her clients have accurate data to challenge assumptions, create new possibilities and make better business decisions.
� Discover the two things every business leader needs to know before crisis
� Understand why people don't practice what you preach
� Learn the key to access performance improvement in leadership and sales
NOVEMBER'S GUEST:  Mark LeBlanc How To Be At Your Personal Best |
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BIZ BYTES
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 My first three years of professional speaking was mostly international work...by choice. A desire to "experience" the world was one of my primary motivators in pursuing this career. As a new feature I will share my fascinating journeys. Hope you will enjoy the recap with me.
HARD HATS TO HAIRNETS Standing in a coal pit in South Dakota with a hardhat on my head (not a pretty visual, ay?), clackers on my feet and goggles around my eyes I quickly realized that this business of speakin g was more than just that. I was hired to do training for a large coal company which would involve traveling to Wyoming for four weekends to deliver full-day programs that deal with change. The company had just merged and there was a tremendous amount of re-engineering and re-structuring taking place. As I had done my pre-program interviews and research I was prepared to deliver what was promised. However it's the sheer joy and uniqueness of people all over the world that makes this career so challenging and exciting.
My first group was not at all what I expected but I was delighted by their openness and playfulness. although I should have anticipated their great attitude by the meeting planner himself. Dick was a speakers dream......organized, friendly, professional and as a trainer within the company himself, he was acutely aware and attuned to the needs of a professional speaker. When I arrived I found my audience to be casually dressed men (coal miners), from management (senior executives on down), enjoying their meeting in progress. The president was addressing them when he was interrupted by an employee in the back of the room telling him that he had a phone call. When he left to get the call all the attendees left the room as it was one of many practical jokes that I was to witness over the next four weekends. There was a method to their madness: Dick explained that most of them worked down in the mines and their jobs were very stressful, dangerous and of lengthy duration. It quickly became evident why the practical jokes were not only tolerated but encouraged.
The next one was after lunch and I was in on it so it could be timed properly and not interfere with the seminar at an important point. Dick told me that they had ordered a pizza for one of the guys in the seminar. As luck would have it this guy had moved to the front row after lunch for the afternoon seminar. About fifteen minutes into the session, a guy walked into the room from Domino's Pizza and called out, "Pizza! Pizza for Steve," at which point Steve, looking utterly embarrassed and surprised, said, "I DID." It was a great practical joke and just something else for me to put on my experience list, especially the tour of the mines.
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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:
Shake, Rattle & Road (car repair)
Sweet Miss Givings (bakery in Chicago)
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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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This month's shoe from The Mikki Collection at Atelier Shoes...
Announcing The Kat...a shoe with a sparkle just like my BFF, Kat Coleman
These are 3-1/2 inch peep-toes in white crocodile with a bronze heel and sole and a silver and turquoise medallion for oh so
me glitz:-)
Kat was the first one I met when I moved to Chicago 11 years ago when she answered an ad to take care of my dog while I traveled. That didn't happen but what did happen is that we became the closest of friends. She eventually moved across the hall from me and we became the Mary Tyler Moore Show as Rhoda and Mary altho sometimes it was more like Seinfeld's Kramer who would just burst in unannounced. We shared many laughs and made many memories. I knew her as Kathleen, then Kate and now Kat but that's how she reinvents herself and admirably so. She  has been in the hospitality industry, in sales in different industries, an interior designer...too many talents to list. She just moved to Southern CA to begin a new chapter, and although I miss her dearly I'm excited to hear the joy in her voice when we speak. I affectionately call her "Squeab" and she calls me "Butta," but you'll have to ask me about those:-)
For pricing or ordering the shoes, go to www.ateliershoes.com/mikki
and mention you saw them here for a 20% discount.
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WONDERFUL WEBSITEings
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I come across so many and so many are shared with me that I thought I'd share with you.
wwitv.com
This site has a full list of all TV channels available
on the web, so enjoy watching TV via internet, without any dish or
cable network.
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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!
"I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween."
Order the book today!
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MILLENNIAL INSIGHTS
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Kristen DaRosa is an adventure-seeking young consultant specializing in relationship management and marketing. Her Chicago-based consultancy is dedicated to helping her nationally-based clients do just about anything related to the art of 'talk'. DaRosa is an ambassador for a premier MBA school where she facilitates relationship management with global corporations. She will be sharing with us her perspective on what many call "the entitled generation."
Eat, Pray, Love. And then what?
As the oldest generation of Millennials nears the ripe-old age of 30 I find myself sitting around wedding reception tables, dinner parties, dare I say even martini bars, wrestling with life's latest unsolved mystery - my purpose. What is it?
I've taken solace in having this discussion with those higher on the generational echelon, in particular my babybooming mother who has seemingly figured it out as indicated by her industry Lifetime Achievement Award, and yet she still has A Purpose Driven Life within reach on her bookshelf.
I'm beginning to think that perhaps the key to understanding purpose is to throw away the illusive lock holding the answer and accept the question as more rhetorically-natured.
Without deliberate intention I recently embarked on a journey much similar to that of our favorite red-headed Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts, in the hit film Eat, Pray, Love.
Three months ago I returned from a brief vacation in Portugal with an Italian man who'd caught my eye in a crowded hipster bar on the north side of Chicago. He was visiting on holiday over Christmas and one glance across a dark room was all it took. After six months of Skype videochats, endless email, and undetermined detriment to work productivity, I found myself holding hands, walking slowly through historic seaside villages and even meeting my great-great grands at the family mausoleum outside Lisbon. It was undeniable love with a perfect stranger.
One month ago I returned from a trip to Italy eight pounds heavier. I'd impulsively booked tickets with a girlfriend one year prior during a chance visit to united.com. Despite constant walks along uneven cobblestoned roads and loads of belly-laughter from clumsily tripping out of exhaustion and poor footwear (Reef flip flops), the red table wine and pasta declared victory over my tight jeans which were swapped out for legging within three days.
Two weeks ago my client approved a four week sabbatical that I'd proposed dedicating to writing - my greatest passion as far as I can tell. He'd recently returned from a 10-day vow of silence at a meditation clinic and suggested I consider doing the same during my time off.
This evening as I sit researching India-based Buddhist monasteries offering yogi meditation clinics, another question comes to mind. If I eat, and I pray, and I love, will the subsequent question be - so now what?
In the instance that Julia doesn't come through with a sequel to give me all the answers (Part II: Married, Babies, Botox), it seems the most we can do is refer back to the things that trigger feelings of happiness and inspiration, and do more of them. Perhaps with time, we'll hone in on a passion. A passion that may just shine a light on purpose.
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TITILLATING TRIVIA
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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HE WHO LAUGHS...LASTS!
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SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY
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Dave Nelsen
Dave's formal title is President, Dialog Consulting Group.
From 2005 to 2009 he was CEO of TalkShoe, a social media company now serving more than one million monthly listeners...and the fabulous company I use to produce my monthly teleseminars.
Getting Found When They're Looking
Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic! Seriously. Here's why: Fully half of all Internet traffic starts at a search engine (mostly Google). Search engines love blogs because they contain ever-expanding content. When someone searches, they're more likely to find your website/blog if you're posting more content (presumably narrowly focused on your target audience).
In order to attract the right kind of traffic, you'll need to discover your 'keywords." These are the phrases that people search when they've never heard of your business but they're looking for what you do. I've written previously about Google's AdWords Keyword Tool for finding your keywords. Here, I'll tell you how to use them.
Now, with your keywords in hand, find a search engine optimization (SEO) expert and open up your checkbook or...instead, on your web pages and in your blog, start using your keywords in the titles and in the first 100 words of content. Ignore HTML metatags and the other artificial gobbledygook (pardon the technical term) because Google ignores this too. If it's not in the content (what humans see) why would it matter? You're right; it wouldn't.
Last October, I provided this same advice to a contracting firm that qualifies as a "service-disabled, veteran-owned, small business" or SDVOSB for short. It turns out that potential partners search for this acronym or phrase 6,000 times per month, in part because the government requires a 3% set-aside for such partners.
Eight months later I bumped into the very excited CEO of this same company. Their website now appears on the first page of Google -- exactly when larger firms are looking for such partners. It's brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars of new business, not so surprisingly.
One last thought: You can buy pay-per-click ads to appear on any Google search result page. That said, 77% of clicks are on the "organic" results, the ones that are free when you follow the approach outline here.
So, are you interested in 55% more web traffic?
You can find more formal details here:
wesocialize.biz
To contact Dave directly:
dave@WeSocialize.biz
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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.
Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes
by The Bon App�tit Test Kitchen
1 cup self-rising flour
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pi e spice
1 large egg
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
Orange and black food coloring; orange, black, white, and yellow candies and sugar crystals
Preheat oven to 350�F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with 1 3/4x 1-inch paper liners.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE REST OF THE RECIPE
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MIKKI'S MANTRA
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Be outrageous...it's the only place that isn't crowded.
My quote was chosen again from over 5,000 submissions to be featured in The Woman's Advantage Shared Wisdom Calendar for 2011. I'm on July 3rd (a coincidence since my birthday is July 4th) and the chosen quote was "Life gives you choices, not chances and it's those choices that determine the quality of your life."
For more information call 919.841.0401 or visit The Woman's Advantage
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INSPIRATIONS
| Don't Quit
Unknown
When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high;
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are;
It may be near when it seems afar.
So, stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things go wrong that you mustn't quit.
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VISIONARY VOLUNTEERISM
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Visionary - adjective (esp. of a person), thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom
 I speak of volunteerism is my speeches. I tell stories to inspire and challenge audiences to volunteer as individuals, as responsible business and community leaders. as parents/grandparents, and to get their children involved early. By the way, volunteerism is the number one way to raise self-esteem. What are you doing in this visionary effort? Each month I will give you a link to a site where you can volunteer. Please send me a link to your favorite volunteer opportunity to post.
nationalbreastcancer.org
"When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better. "
Maya Angelou
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MIKKI ON THE MOVE
|  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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The next Speakers School is in session on
February 23-25, 2011 in Chicago
 | | Why Should You Come to Speakers School? |
REGISTER NOW!
Day One: Presentation Skills
Day Two: Learning Lab
(Your opportunity to practice what you learned in Day One. You must have completed Day One to participate.)
Day Three: Getting Booked
Speakers School is for people at all levels; novices, wannabes, CEOs, professionals or anyone who needs to improve their communication skills.
And who doesn't?
Upcoming Speakers Schools:
February 23-25, 2011
REGISTER NOW!
OR...BRING SPEAKERS SCHOOL TO YOUR COMPANY - IT'S A GREAT VALUE.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS THE CORNERSTONE TO SUCCESS.
Help your employees improve their presentation skills, whether they're
speaking in front of a group or in a one-on-one situation.
Successful business people know it's important to have an edge these days, and Speakers School provides that with Mikki's how-to techniques you can use, not theories you'll forget. Excellent communication skills set you and your staff apart and help take your business to the next level.
CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447
OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.
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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 blog every Sunday
for a new post:
Would love for you to join my Facebook Fan page. Just click the icon below:
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 |
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MIKKI WILLIAMS, CSP
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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
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Thanks for spending time with us!
Happy Haloween!
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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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