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 or...
stop being so darned professional and tak a break today!
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Issue No. 60 February 2013
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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 justplain fun: aka the don't-take-yourself-so-seriously ezine.
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CONNECT WITH US!
In case you've missed past issues of the ezine Click here to visit the archives. |
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Happy Valentine's Day
and I LOVE all of you!
Too much? OK, well, let's just say I'm thrilled you're reading this.
January is my "sabbatical" month, or my strategic planning session with myself at my Florida home. Once again I have emerged ready to tackle my reinvention but first...the highlights.  My monthly gal pals 6543 group (picture the Sex and the City four) met at the fabulous new Tortoise Club and laughed our way through our personal updates.
Just finished another Speakers School with attendees from the three Cs: Calgary, Colorado and Chicago (below).
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Speakers School Feb. 2013
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 Here I am at right with Beth Fahey of Creative Cakes - at Speakers School
Part of my time off was spent with BFF, Chris Leach from Wales. We always do one cruise and one international trip per year and laugh over our two countries "divided by a common language."
Had an amazing time at the Vistage International Conference in Dallas (below), where they love gals with big hair and big jewelry! 
Partied with 1000 members and Chairs from all over the world, facilitated sessions and went to many. I was especially proud of my protege, Bill Boggs who did a great job as emcee.
This month I was the featured guest on TV on "Speakers on Speaking."
AND...AND...very excited to be starting my third Vistage group with CEOs, soooooo no matter where you live, if you know any CEOs in Chicago, please, please refer them to me so I can invite them to an extraordinary event at the luxurious Park Hyatt Hotel in March in Chicago.
So, don't forget Valentine's Day!
Go get those flowers!!!
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NOW...not one, not two, but THREE divisions of
The Mikki Mouth Club!
CLICK HERE for more information
If you want Mikki's expertise at an affordable price on an ongoing basis The Mikki Mouth Club is for you.
Questions? We've got answers!!
Just call 312.664.8447 or send us an email
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To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
by Dan Pink
 I was at the Vistage conference in Dallas and Dan Pink was one of the keynotes (he was fabulous!). I had read his first two books, which I highly recommend, and reviewed here, "A Whole New Mind," and "Drive," so I couldn't wait to read this. I just bought a Kindle, headed for my cruise vacation and read it all in a day. Fascinating as always. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in nine Americans works in sales. Every day more than fifteen million people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase. But dig deeper and a startling truth emerges: Yes, one in nine Americans works in sales. But so do the other eight. I always believed this, talk about it in my speech and he so eloquently affirmed. Backed up with a lot of research, his style of writing is easy to read and he always offers new and different perspectives.
Now go get this book!
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On a septic tank truck:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels
 On a plumber's truck: We repair what your husband fixed.
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Now this is a Valentine Shoe!
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www.pintrips.com
Pintrips is a personal travel planning dashboard (Tripboard) that solves the common frustrations people deal with when searching for flights and booking travel. They supply better and less redundant information, which is organized in a way that is relevant to you. With Pintrips you can better plan, compare, and share.
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MIKKI MOUTH Things I Wish I'd Said and Some I Did Say!
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Enjoy a quote each month from my book - some funny, some poignant, some professional, some just darn cute!
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.
~Charles M. Schulz
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We eat chocolate on Valentine's Day because in the old days it was supposed to inspire love. We've all heard that chocolate is an aphrodisiac and while that may be true, the candy ritual is far older than that. In medieval times, women would eat sweet and sometimes bizarre food -- including chocolate -- the night before Valentine's Day. This was supposed to inspire dreams in which they would envision their future spouse.
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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.
The Power and Benefits of Social Media
From my vantage point, "social" has the power to transform your business for the better. Here are just a few of the benefits you can realize:
Social networking allows you to expand your knowledge exponentially.
Social media tools accelerate learning by inviting input from a wide range of stakeholders, including current and potential customers, dissatisfied customers, team members, and industry experts, all of whom are willing to freely give you their ideas and share their expertise. The tools allow you to create forums in which people can build on each other's ideas, creating synergies and developing solutions well beyond the capacity of individuals.
Social networking provides bi-directional learning, giving you more than double return on your efforts.
Social media invites current and potential customers to tell you how to improve products and services. At the same time these people are giving you priceless information, they are learning about your company and what you have to offer.
Social networking helps you fill your pipeline.
People who engage with you in social media are not necessarily ready to buy. However, your continuing conversation keeps you top of mind. When people in your network are ready to buy, they will already know you, trust you, and be informed about your offerings. Assuming you are providing value to your target audience (a fundamental rule for social media), your audience, and your pipeline, will continue to grow.
Social media helps you outrun your competition.
Social media tools give you access to industry experts and competitors' former
employees who are willing to share information. The tools allow you to quickly get up to speed on any industry by reviewing specialized discussion threads. Social media tools also allow you to contact prospects immediately after they express dissatisfaction with your competitors, and they allow you to create situations in which new opportunities come to you.
Social networking has the power to increase internal knowledge and efficiency.
Social media tools allow you to collect corporate knowledge in a central location, eliminating the constant need to email and search email. The savings in time and reduced frustration make a substantial difference in efficiency. What's more, these tools allow you to capture and easily access knowledge that typically is lost when an employee leaves your company. They allow current employees to build on each other's ideas.
If these benefits sound compelling to you, it's time for your company to embrace "social."
You can find more formal details here:
wesocialize.biz
To contact Dave directly:
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B rian Beaulieu is the "economist with a personality" (my title not his) . He is one of the country's leading economists, MY Vistage member, a phenomenal speaker, brilliant businessman and a special friend. CEOs worldwide rely on his forecasting as they plan their business year. And for anyone trying to understand the economy, Brian speaks and writes in English not in that foreign language called economicspeak. Enjoy!
Consumer Confidence Consumer confidence in January dropped to the lowest level in a year, most likely because of the reduced net pay caused by the increase in social security taxes. The lower take-home pay had an emotional impact on survey respondents. The trouble is that many people will take the low January index and assume it means bad things for the economy through the near term. These people will be fooled (again) by a monthly indicator that does not help anyone see into the future. Consumers apparently felt bad about their pay even as housing starts and car sales are moving higher, retails sales are at a record high, and employers are hiring. Let us also add that the stock market is moving higher and manufacturing is expanding. My advice? Ignore the monthly consumer confidence trend and watch ITR's traditional leading in  dicators as they indicate what will be happening 6 to 12 months from now. They are signaling economic expansion in the US through the first half of 2013. Readers of the ITR Trends Report know that we use the Consumer Confidence Index after it is converted to a rate-of-change format. That conversion takes the monthly data and transforms it into a good leading indicator. That indicator is still positive, indicating good news for the economy as we cruise through the first half of the year. Learn more about the future at www.itreconomics.com or by sending an email today to Kim Clark: kim@itreconomics.com
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LIFE LESSONS...FUNNY, FIT  OR FABULOUS
Submitted by John Godoy
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That was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on, I know guys cook, too.
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings
Use a Bundt pan or any other decorative ten-cup fluted pan.
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons lavender honey*
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms*
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce container sour cream (1 cup)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Bring milk to simmer in small saucepan; add honey and 1 tablespoon lavender blossoms. Stir until honey dissolves. Remove from heat; cover and let steep 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350�F. Butter and flour decorative 10-cup fluted pan or Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
Strain milk mixture into another medium bowl; discard solids in strainer. Whisk sour cream into milk mixtureto blend. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture in 3 additions each, beating just until smooth. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with rubber spatula.
Bake bread until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool bread in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
Combine powdered sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon lavender blossoms in strainer set over small bowl. Press sugar mixture through strainer, discarding large bits. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.) Sift strained powdered sugar mixture over bread.
*Lavender honey is available at specialty foods stores and at zingermans.com; dried lavender blossoms are available online at gourmetsleuth.com.
Baker's wisdom:
For a delicate texture, mix in the dry ingredients just until the tea bread batter is blended.
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 Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you. But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head. |
Be Outrageous...it's The Only Place That Isn't Crowded.
~Mikki Williams
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"For what it's worth, it's never too late,
Or, in my case, too early,
To be who ever you want to be.
There's no time limit.
Start whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same.
There are no rules to this thing.
We can make the best or the worst of it.
And I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you're proud of.
And if you find that you're not,
I hope you have the strength -
To start all over again."
~Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt)
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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.
www.globalvolunteernetwork.org
Volunteering is a life-changing experience. It will provide you with a new outlook and lease on life. You will understand better than most people how you fit into the global family of humanity.
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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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The next Speakers School is in session on
April 11-13, 2013 in Chicago
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447
OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.
Upcoming Speakers Schools:
April 11-13, 2013
September 26-28, 2013
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Mikki Williams, CSP (certified speaking professional, an honor bestowed on less than 600 speakers worldwide) specializes in business dynamics and human potential. She has been named one of the top speakers in the country by Meetings and Convention Magazine along with Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Colin Powell, Lou Holtz and Mike Ditka. Mikki is also one of the top tier speaker resources for Vistage International, the world's leading executive organization, and Group Chair of two of their peer advisory boards in Chicago.
Her company Mikki Williams Unltd. produces Speakers Schools in Chicago, a monthly ezine: Hair She Is...! and a blog: Mikki Williams' Blah Blah...Blog. She is sought after for business, life and presentation skills coaching through her firm Coaching, etc... She also facilitates The Mikki Mouth Club, an annual subscription-based presentation skills coaching membership with three distinct divisions...Speaker Source, Accountability Academy and Keynote Kamp. If you need other speakers, she can book you the best through her Outrageous Orators...speakers who rock, an uncommon speakers bureau.
To hire Mikki or learn more about any of these services:
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! |
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All contents � 2012 Mikki Williams, 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. If you are the owner of the rights of any of this content, please contact us so we may arrange for appropriate permission and give credit.
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