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 or...
stop being so darned professional and take a break today!
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Welcome! If you enjoyed last month you'll be craaaaazy about this month! The purpose of this ezine is inspiration, humor, business, personal and just plain fun:
aka the don't-take-yourself-so-seriously ezine.
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The next Speakers School is in session on
September 26-28, 2013 in Chicago and now you will be
taught by the
NEWEST MEMBER OF THE
CPAE SPEAKER HALL OF FAME,
which in case you don't know is a very big deal, and honor, for a professional speaker!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447
OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.
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Catalyst Ranch is an outrageous place (so you know I love it)! It's a creative meeting and events space that delights your senses and sparks your imagination. You have to see it.
And here's the perfect opportunity: I started the series on June 3rd and it was fantastic!
Two more to come: new topics, all stand-alone presentations - you don't have to come to all three to "get" it, but I hope you will!
Mark your calendar now: September 9th and February 10th.
Remember, these are open to the public so bring your friends, co-workers, relatives, hairdresser...
I hope to see you there!
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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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To say it's been an amazing month is an understatement. Clearly, my induction into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame foreshadows all else but I will share other events before sharing all those details.
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Vistage Chairs
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I went to a Vistage weekend workshop on coaching.
Then I spoke for the Golden Apple Core Conference and also Organ Donor Transplant group at Good Samaritan Hospital as part of my volunteer projects this month.
Found time to enjoy my gal pals at dinner at Piccolo Sogno when BFF Chris Leach from Wales spent a week with me. 
Had a glorious weekend in the 'burbs with another BFF, Lynn LaPalermo and pal Becca mostly shopping and eating. 
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Walter Bond, former NBA star
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Okay, now on to the month's highlight...or rather, my career highlight: and what an amazing experience! It was at The National Speakers Association Convention, which was fantastic; the workshops, the speeches, the panels... I was on a panel called Six Sexy Saavy Speakers Over Sixty and then was interviewed afterwards by German TV.
You can't tell from the picture (below), but that dress (the black one that looks pretty tame), actually had LED flashing lights! Would you expect anything less?
Had a fantastic dinner with some fellow speakers and "my Sam" at Sampan (right) in Philadelphia. Great company, lots of laughs, yummy food.
THEN...awards night, when I was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame. OMG.
Twenty people - family, friends and Vistage members - flew to Philly to share in my momentous evening.  Vistage members Craig and Melissa Reiff, and Jonathan Lazarow (right) and Vistage Chairs, Harvey Goldberg and Gary Arakelian  (below).
The two most moving moments of my speech (I am told) was my dedication to my son Jason, and then to the woman who befriended me at my first convention when no one else did, Nancy Hirsch. I searched for her for months and found her living in Santa
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THE son and proud mom
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Barbara. She's now 81 years young and I had not seen her in 25 years. It was awesome to reconnect with her and I flew her to Philadelphia to be part of the celebration. Sam told me there wasn't a dry eye in the house when I finished my acceptance speech.
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Nancy Hirsch
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What an incredible night!!!
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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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What America's Sons and Daughters Taught Me on the Road
by Vincent E. Boles
 In the spirit of full disclosure, Vinny is a past Speaker School attendee, coaching client, friend, peer, Vistage and professional speaker and now author. Vinny has taken all the situations in his military life from Second Lieutenant to Two Star General and applied them to leadership lessons for anyone in business today. Among the many lessons you'll find in this book is a ten takeaway list which includes;
1. Know when you are taking a risk or a gamble (you can recover from taking a failed risk, but not a failed gamble).
2. Identifying and mitigating risk is a constant process. The enemy and the marketplace think up new ones all the time. You better be thinking, too.
3. Leader behavior is believable. Your folks will watch what you say about risk, safety, and mitigation. They will believe what they see you do about each of those things.
Now go buy this book so you can learn the other seven takeaways!
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Glazed and Infused (donut shop in Chicago)
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A girl can't have too many planters.
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This website tracks prices on Amazon and can send you an email alert it item's price drops.
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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!
"Faith is believing that one of two things will happen,...that there will be something solid for you to stand on - or that you will be taught to fly."
~Anonymous
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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding,
the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a
honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the
honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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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.
Customer Intimacy and Business
Success via Podcasting
Few business leaders would argue with the dictum: the better you know your customers, the better you can serve them and the more successful your business is likely to be.
When I was running TalkShoe, a "live podcasting" company that I founded in 2005, I did a live "talkcast" every other week inviting anyone who used our service to connect with me live. Can you imagine talking to your customers 26 times a year? (If you'd like to listen to any of these talkcasts as models, almost one hundred of the recordings remain available at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/1517 for your use.)
A podcast is defined as an audio recording made to be listened to on an iPod (or iPhone, Droid, etc.). When thinking about audio content, consider this unique benefit: Busy people can listen to audio content while doing other things: Driving, exercising, mowing the lawn... You can't say that about video or text content. And everyone is busy these days!
There are hundreds of ways to create a podcast. If you have a digital recorder or digital recording software such as GarageBand or Propaganda, you can record a conversation among one or more local participants and publish it as a podcast. However, with TalkShoe you can also record a podcast while involving live participants (up to 300) from anywhere on the planet, and stream it on the Internet (as Mikki does). As such, it's a "live podcast" with participants calling in via phone or voice-over-IP (AKA VoIP) from their computers and when the call is over thousands more people can still listen to because they're recorded. Think of it as a conference call on steroids.
And best of all...TalkShoe is a free service.
For more details and instruction on how to get started just click here.
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 Healed and Hero Summary: Consumers are in great shape to power the U.S. economy forward for years to come. Stronger balance sheets, less debt, balanced spending are key. Perhaps there is a lesson here for the federal government. We are projecting that the U.S. economy will sag next year followed by years of opportunity. The American household is one reason for the positive outlook post 2014. The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) is reporting that household net worth is currently at a record high $70.3 trillion. We are wealthier than ever. Consumer borrowing is up, but there is no threat from burgeoning consumer debt, at least not yet. The FRB reports that the ratio of consumer debt to income is the lowest in 33 years. The American Bankers Association tells us that bank card delinquencies have dropped to 2.41 percent, the lowest in 23 years. That means the American consumer is credit worthy and can power the economy forward. Credit standards for home mortgages and car loans are currently easing; take advantage of the opportunities while you can. For 2014, the Dodd-Frank legislation will have a chilling impact on bank lending next year as reserve requirements change. Additionally, the increased regulatory environment also means that lending costs (fee, rates) are also likely to go up next year. We will adjust, consumers will do their thing, and the economy will be lifted higher post 2014. Learn more about the future at www.itreconomics.com or by sending an email today to Kim Clark: kim@itreconomics.com |
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.
Ginger Green Iced Tea 
Serves 4 It's said that ginger and green tea have numerous health benefits so here they are in one refreshing summer drink. 5 cups water 2 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger (unpeeled is okay), coarsely chopped 3 tablespoons honey 6 bags of green tea Mint sprigs (optional) Place TWO cups water and the ginger into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the honey. Remove the pan from heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 3 minutes, and then strain out all the solids. 2. In a large pitcher combine the strained tea with the remaining THREE cups water. Chill in the refrigerator. Serve over ice, garnished with mint sprigs, if using. |
Be Outrageous...it's The Only Place That Isn't Crowded.
~Mikki Williams
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Written by Emily Perl Kingsley who wrote it for her son James
who was born with Down Syndrome.
''I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ...about Holland.''
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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.
blessingsinabackpack.org
Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary schoolchildren who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year.
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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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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.
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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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.
To unsubscribe please use the link at the bottom of this newsletter (but we'd rather you didn't!). 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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