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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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In case you've missed past issues of the ezine Click here to visit the archives. |
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I'm still smiling from my January trips, but thrilled that it's Valentine's month. I'm a sucker for any and all holidays!
I met my BFF from Wales, Chris Leach, in South Beach (one of our favorite shopping meccas) for two days before we boarded a new ship for our annual January cruise, and off w e went for a week of sun and fun in the Caribbean.
Next, I flew to New Orleans for the Vistage Chair conference, did six programs, and spent time with so many Chair friends.
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Lance Descourez, Charles Marino at Vistage conference.
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I enjoyed keynote speaker, Candy Chang, who creates art that prompts people to think about their secrets, wishes and hopes...and then share them  on the dream board. All the Chairs signed it. So cool!!
I finished the Chair conference with a night at House of Blues.
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House of Blues
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Then, flew back to Miami to work for Mendota Insurance doing my program, You've Got Personality! Fun folks! Sorry I missed my "Kodak moment" with them.
From there I went to my Florida home to spend time with friends
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Jim Malone and Brian Beaulieu
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and try out my new bike. 
Isn't it so cute and colorful? Well, what would you expect?
Speakers School was a sell-out with an awesome group of folks from all over. 
No rest for the weary...off I went to Cleveland for four presentations and time for dinner with client/friends, Nicole and Denise with The DiJulius Group .  | |
Nicole and Denise
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I'll have lots to share next month from my CEO retreat in Austin, Texas, then on to my Barcelona vacation, weekend at Chris's home in Wales, then a two-week speaking tour of the UK. Stay tuned for details and photos.
I hope you have a sweet Valentine's Day!
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 How Can I Capitalize on Social Media When My Kid Has To Program My DVR?
A Busy Executive's Guide to New Tools No Business
Can Afford to Ignore
by Dave Nelsen
Dave is a friend, a peer, a fellow Vistage speaker and my esteemed guest columnist monthly in this ezine. For someone like me who is not even sure what a DVR is, this book is simply amazing. "Simply" being the operative word. It's a book that simplifies, that does not intimidate those of us who still use terms like PDA and Rolodex...yes, that would be me!
As you've noticed in his column and if you haven't read it yet, shame on you, you are missing some brilliant easy witty banter about ins and outs of social media. You'll learn just what you need to know about specific tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Yammer, WordPress, Google+, Ning and more.
NOW GO GET THIS BOOK!
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Get Me to the Church On Time (Car service)
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Valentine Shoes? Are they mine? NO!!!! 
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Turn your phone into a receipt scanner and expense report generator with Smart Receipts!
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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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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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Ever wonder where the classic Valentine's poem came from?
She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.
A nursery rhyme significantly closer to the modern clich� Valentine's Day  poem can be found in Gammer Gurton's Garland, a 1784 collection of
English nursery rhymes:
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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.
Your Website - Part 2
Last month I shared the first part of the advice that I offered to a friend about enhancing his company's website and social media programs. Here's the rest of what I suggested to him:
Do not accept any solution where you're not able to manage all of the content yourself. Generically, you want to be using a CMS, a content management system. My favorite CMS is WordPress. And it happens to be free. Unless you're building a data-driven website or integrating with some legacy systems (most companies require neither), WordPress should have everything you require. You can even do full eCommerce on WordPress. For this, I use a plug-in called WooCommerce, linked directly to my QuickBooks accounting/banking on the cloud, so purchases flow directly into my checking account automatically ... in just a day or two.
Be sure that the implementation is a "responsive design." Those are the magic words. A
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Visit my website to see these concepts
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responsive design will display beautifully on every device (think smartphones, tablets, desktops, etc.). A responsive site is also less expensive to maintain (one set of pages rather than two) AND will rank better in search results. What's not to love?
You'll want your own hosted WordPress site. You can go to WordPress.com and get an account for free but that's a shared service and is suboptimal for both search optimization and feature functionality reasons. Instead, go to GoDaddy, RackSpace, BlueHost or any other reliable hosting provider and get your own site - you will get a copy of the WordPress software on one of their servers. It will rank better and allow for far more functionality. I usually use GoDaddy as my host at a cost of just $1/month for the first year.
Be keyword smart. Use Google's Keyword Planner tool to select keywords with compelling search volumes. In my case, I discovered that "social media consultant" is searched for almost 10 times as often as "social media speaker" (2,900 to 320 searches per month). Select a dozen keyword phrases to focus on and then use those phrases in:
1) Titles,
2) First hundred words of content, and
3) Page addresses (URLs)
Do this on web pages, blog posts, LinkedIn, everywhere, always in a way that is natural to your human readers (as they're the ultimate target, not Google).
If you do anything in social media, make it easy to find. Position associated icons above the fold (in other words, visible on your homepage without scrolling -- I prefer placing them upper right) and in color. And don't bother with Facebook anymore unless you've got a huge audience already (>10,000 likes). These days, Facebook shows your posts to just 1-2% of your followers, unless you pay to boost your posts. The ROI on that is almost certainly negative. Use Google+ instead. It will have better reach and greater influence on search ranking. And it's still free. LinkedIn is also great, especially if you sell business-to-business (B2B).
One last thought. Remember PIE: Personality + Interesting + Entertaining. Your visitors are looking for a sense of connection to real people. Avoid boring, dry, monologue marketing. Use your people's and products photos and videos. Have some fun.
You can find more formal details here:
wesocialize.biz
To contact Dave directly:
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LIFE LESSONS...FUNNY, FIT  OR FABULOUS
Submitted by John Godoy
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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.
 | | 60 Second Fit Vid: Weight Loss with a Weight Vest |
To get more information and great tips visit John's website: www.johngodoylifestyle.com
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That was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on,  I know guys cook, too.
Coffee Chocolate Truffle Kisses
YIELD: Makes about 64 kisses
- 9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- parchment paper
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
 Break chocolate into small pieces. In a food processor pulse together chocolate and butter until chocolate is finely chopped. In a small saucepan whisk together cream, espresso powder, and salt and bring just to a boil. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate mixture and pulse until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl. Let mixture stand at cool room temperature until just firm enough to pipe, about 2 hours.
Oil a large baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
Transfer chocolate mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe mixture onto baking sheet to form 1- by 1-inch cones, or "kisses." Chill kisses, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.
Into a small bowl sift cocoa powder. Working with 1 kiss at a time, roll in cocoa powder to coat. Kisses keep, in one layer in an airtight container at cool room temperature or chilled, 2 weeks.
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I wanted to make it really special on Valentine's Day, so I tied my boyfriend up. And for three solid hours I watched whatever I wanted on TV. ~Tracy Smith |
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.
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Be Outrageous...
It's The Only Place That Isn't Crowded!™
~Mikki Williams
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Ask Someone About Their Culture
Do you know someone who is from a different culture than you? Perhaps they were born in a different country, speak a different language, or celebrate different holidays than you. Ask them to tell you about their cultural values and traditions.
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The next Speakers School is April 30-May 1, 2015.
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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, CPAE
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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: mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
SEE ME: www.mikkiwilliams.com
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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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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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