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Issue 83                                            January 2015
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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IN THIS ISSUE:
Wonderful WEBSITEings
Shoe-Be-Doo
Mikki Mouth
Titillating Trivia
Social Media Guru Guy
Life Lessons...
The Happy Cooker
Inspiration
Speakers School
Mikki on The Move
Mikki Williams, CSP
MUSINGS FROM MIKKI
 Happy New Year! 
I have an annual theme for my year which I started in 2012 with intention. 2013 was inclusion, last year was gratitude, and this year is kindness. Then I decided to change it to conscious kindness, thinking I created the term, only to Google it and see that I didn't.
In addition to my theme, I'm also making it the year of framily (another term I thought I created. Oh well! ). To me that means nurturing friends who are really family to me.
I hope these might inspire the idea of themes for some of you.

So here's what's been happening: I spoke on storytelling for The National Speakers Association, DC chapter, shown here
Ron Culberson
with Ron Culberson, past NSA President.



Brunch at Fig and Olive 




Lots of gal pal time in December...I had brunch at Fig and Olive (my new favorite restaurant) and then went back again the following week wearing the outrageous necklace/braclelet THE son gave me for the holidays.

THE son 









Jason spent the week with me - what fun! We went to the Bowie exhibit at Museum of Contemporary Art (where he bought the jewelry), and saw Dee Snider's Rock n' Roll Christmas. For those too young to know, he was lead singer of Twisted Sister. (Who???)
Not so fun was the flu. I had it bad, but managed to make a short appearance at my Vistage groups' holiday parties although I missed the meetings (hey, a girl has to have her priorities).
Francine (l), Sheri (r)
Here's KEY Member of the Year, Francine Lasky and Chairman's Award for Excellence winner Sheri Sanders.





Craig Reiff and Sandy Marsico 
Secret Santa time at CEO group with new Member of the Year, Sandy Marsico
and Above and Beyond Member of the Year, Craig Reiff
 
 

What does a nice Jewish girl bring to Christmas Eve dinner? Egg rolls, of course!
Michele Goldsmith and eggrolls
"I hope the past year will go down in your book of life as one filled with great pleasures and grand memories. But whether the year was good, bad, or indifferent, I hope you'll enter the new year wiser and stronger for your experiences, and optimistic that the best is yet to come." 
                    ~Michael Josephson
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
The Gifts of Imperfection
Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
by Brene Brown

My son Jason in his infinite wisdom knows how much I adore Brene Brown and her wonderful Ted videos, especially the one on vulnerability (check it out).
As one of my many creative and thoughtful holiday gifts from him he gave me her book about vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame. In exploring those, she shares ten guideposts on the power of wholehearted living.  Her belief that courage, compassion and connection can lead to amazing changes in life and ultimately lead to a fuller life, are concepts I believe in my work and my own journey. This is a great book for those of us  who are a work in progress...and aren't we all? 
New year, new you!
NOW GO GET THIS BOOK!
CREATIVE CAPTIONS



Anything is Pawsible
(dog groomers) 





SHOE-BE-DOO
Cupcakes, anyone?

APP-SOLUTELY AWESOME
GPS4soul


This app is based on two truths: that we all have within us a centered place of harmony and balance, and that we all veer away from that place again and again.
MIKKI MOUTH
Things I Wish I'd Said and Some I Did Say!
Mikki Mouth - 2 books

Enjoy a quote each month from my book - some funny, some poignant, some professional, some just darn cute!

  

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.  

                                ~ Benjamin Franklin

 

 

 

 

(Hmmmm, I think I am taking that in a different context then good ol' Ben meant!)  

 

PERPLEXING PONDERANCES
 Hail Caesar!
The first ever New Year's celebration was over 4,000 years ago.
It was Julius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, who first made January (Janus) of the calendar year a national holiday. Janus is the name of the Roman god of doors and gates. Janus had two faces, one that looked forward and one that looked back. Caesar believed that this was fitting for the day. Originally, the ancient Romans used March 1st as New Year's Day. In 1582 the Roman Catholic Church officially adopted January 1st as the New Year.
Mikki speaking

Mikki Mouth Club    

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

SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY
Dave NelsenDave 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.    

 

Your Website - Part 1 

 

Last week, a friend asked for advice on enhancing his company's website and social media programs. I'll share with you what I shared with him:  

Whenever you think about your business's website and social media initiatives, chant this mantra: Engage then convert. Engage then convert. Engage then convert.
To engage, provide content that is genuinely useful to your target audience. In my case, one of my businesses is professional speaking and consulting. As such, one of my most important target audiences is meeting planners. If a visitor to my site is a meeting planner the first thing they'll want to see is my speaker demo video. It's front and center on my homepage. I help them understand that they'll be successful at their event if they hire me by highlighting all of the speaking awards and accolades I've received. I also try to make it easy to find other stuff they'll want -- my bio, headshot, introduction, etc.
A different target audience for me might be someone who saw me present last month at an event and may want to hire me to do consulting, or three years from now maybe book me when they're elected as president of their industry association or trade group. To engage this person I decided to provide continuous educational content, delivered via a blog. One post per month is probably sufficient (aka roughly 60 minutes of time per month). Everybody is busy and too much content can overwhelm people, causing them to disengage. Put yourself into the mind of your target audience and aim for the Goldilocks zone - not too much content, but not too little either.  

Make sure that your content is genuinely valuable to your audience. As one of my favorite bloggers said last July: "Content isn't king. Usefulness is king." Said another way, marketing is not about you, it's about them. Think seriously about your target audience and your potential engagement strategies.
Next, convert. Conversions start with deciding what you want your web visitors to do and then creating associated calls to action. An obvious call to action for me is "Book Dave for your next engagement." So is "Subscribe to my newsletter." In the latter case, use a "give to get" strategy. For example, "Get my list of 10 things NOT to do in social media. Sign up here." Consider all the other conversions and calls to action that are important to you, and place these appropriately throughout your site.
Engage then convert.


Next month, I'll share the rest of my advice to my friend ... about keywords and content management systems.

 

You can find more formal details here: 

 wesocialize.biz  

To contact Dave directly:

Interview with Jeff Blackman
Excerpted from Jeff Blackman's Results Report

 

FROM BIG HAIR TO BIG HERE !

 

Once you get beyond the "big hair" and "big jewelry," you'll find a woman, who for years has been helping her clients achieve BIG results!  

And as you'll soon discover, she also has a giant heart and enormous knowledge. Ain't nobdy like my buddy, Mikki Williams. She's one-of-a-kind!  

A talented Hall of Fame speaker, author and life/business coach. Am lucky and proud to call her a dear friend.  

These excerpts from one of our many conversations, oughta help you reflect on your past, understand your present and ignite your future. The perfect fuel, to jump start your 2015!  

Jeff Blackman: Describe yourself...  

Mikki Williams: I have so much energy, I make coffee nervous! Am self-effacing, real, a risk taker, creative, outrageous, a maverick, left of center. I'm Grey Poupon in a yellow mustard world!  

JB: Share your philosophy on being "unique."  

MW: Always have been. Mom encouraged my individuality early on by telling me, "Because everyone smokes, you don't have to!" So I didn't, and used that as a metaphor to always march to the beat of a different drummer and not be a conformist. I'm just true to who I am, a "wysiwyg" - (what you see is what you get). It's so easy to be yourself. Less stress, more spiritual.

 

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview (when you get there, scroll down til you see the photo above).  

 

LIFE LESSONS...FUNNY, FIT John Godoy
OR FABULOUS
Submitted by John Godoy 

John Godoy is a healthy lifestyle expert. Through personal coaching, training and healthy lifestyle seminars, John guides clients in developing and sticking to the healthy habits necessary to tap their bodies enormous energy reserves - enriching their personal and

professional lives. 

 

The Best Health Tool for 2015
The Best Health Tool for 2015

 

To get more information and great tips visit John's website: www.johngodoylifestyle.com

THE HAPPY COOKER
That was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on, Little girl chefI know guys cook, too.

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Makes 4 servings  

 

   2 tablespoons (1/4 stick)  

butter

   1 cup chopped white onion

   1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 2/3 cups)

   2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

   1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

   1 tablespoon honey

   1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

   1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

   1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

 

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saut� 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

 

Stir cumin seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes; cool. Finely grind in spice mill.

 

Remove soup from heat. Puree in batches in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle yogurt over; sprinkle generously with cumin.

 

Per serving: 154.7 kcal calories, 42.1 % calories from fat, 7.2 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 22.1 mg cholesterol, 18.7 g carbohydrates, 3.2. g dietary fiber, 11.8 g total sugars, 15.5 g net carbohydrates, 5.0 g protein

  
 
HE WHO LAUGHS...LASTS!
Laughing baby

OUTRAGEOUS ORATORS
Outrageous Orators 
To book me or any of the other guest columnists like Dave Nelson, Brian Beaulieu, John Godoy, simply contact us. For any or all your presentation needs on any topic at any price point,  be it keynote, training, seminar, emcee, facilitator, moderator, concurrents  (I just don't do floors or windows) I know many great speakers from my years with the National Speakers Association and Vistage International.

MIKKI'S MANTRA

Be Outrageous...

It's The Only Place That Isn't Crowded!

                                                                   ~Mikki Williams
INSPIRATION
Another Fresh New Year

Another fresh new year is here
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
  To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
 
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

~William Arthur Ward
CONSCIOUS KINDNESS
This will replace the Volunteerism column. Being this is my theme for the year, it makes sense to have a column in alignment with that.



There are many ways to help your local food bank. Obviously, providing canned goods is a great way. But you can also be a little more hands-on and volunteer to stock shelves, clean the store, or work at the counter. 
 
Speakers School logo
The next Speakers School is February 5-7, 2015, and there is one spot left.
 If you miss it click here to be add your name to the wait-list. 

 Speakers School video 

 CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

    

CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447 

OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.

Favorite speaker
Speaker Mag
MIKKI ON THE MOVE

Airplane 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


MIKKI WILLIAMS, CSP, CPAE
Mikki Williams earned the dual designations of CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) and CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) Speaker Hall of Fame from The National Speakers Association, an achievement attained by fewer than 1% of all professional speakers. She 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

E ME: [email protected] 

SEE ME: www.mikkiwilliams.com 

Thanks for spending time with us!

Me and "the staff" at Mikki Williams Unltd., Samantha Hoffman, aka 'my Sam,' Director of Everything. When you have a director of everything, what else do you need?

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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.