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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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| My new cell phone cover...whadd'ya think??
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OMG, this month was insane - fun, but insane! I can always tell by the number of pictures I bring back for the ezine, especially when I can't fit them all in. 
Had a fab retreat in Austin with Vistage chair Sam Jones' group in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (right).
Got together with MBFF (mega best friend forever), Sherry Davis in Seattle and oh, what laughs we had, as always!.
Former NFL player Jeff Novak flew
to my Florida home for my Keynote Kamp (one division of The Mikki Mouth Club), which is a one-on-one, two-day intensive to design a keynote. Jeff has fantastic stories from his playing days that we incorporated into his presentation.
While in Naples I got to go to my favorite ice cream place Royal Scoop with best buds Jack and Sue Ryan.
Then I got to New Orleans and had dinner with coaching client, Speakers School grad, NSA peer and dear friend, Marvin LeBlanc.
Then the pi�ce de r�sistance, reconnecting with Shannon Smith aka
Squires, my dance student from 30 years ago, now a mom with college-age sons. Wow, time does fly!
It was an honor and a highlight to speak for my own Bodhi Spiritual  Center (right), and thanks to all those who came to support me. If you missed it CLICK HERE to see the video (thank you Bhodi, for posting!)
We had another great Speakers School class for September.
Watch for a special announcement this week... I am taking Speakers School on the road in 2016! Probably to a city near you, or one you've been dying to visit. Stay tuned...
More fun: A night with my "6543" buddies
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6543: Michelle, Gretchen, Sandy
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, and then my Vistage meeting where member Beth Fahey of Creative Cakes presented member Craig Reiff with a yummy birthday carrot cake with pineapple mousse.
I am writing this on my favorite mode of transportation... Amtrak, to Boston. I just left a speech in Philly hosted by Dave Hess, Managing Director of Wealth Management Associates, and also got to spend some time with gal-pal Marjorie Brody.
Now I'm en route to my last September gig on Cape Cod. Can you believe I lived in New England for 25 years and have never been to the Cape? So I'm excited to be there. Look for photos next month. I can't fit in all the speaking gigs photos but will get them in soon. I love autumn everywhere...enjoy!!!
See you next month!!
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The Rewards of Being Relentless
by
Jeffrey HayzlettI truly loved this book. I love his in-your-face, just-do-it style. OK, so it's not for the faint of heart but it is for those of you who really want to succeed in a big way as Jeff has done. I highlighted so much of this book, I don't know where to begin. "Stop overthinking things, coming up with reasons why not, then playing it safe". He says that early on but it resonates throughout the entire book. "Get over yourself when you know what you don't know". Some more of my favorite quotes from his book, "Losing perspective is about the present as it applies to now, Losing awareness is about the present as it applies to the future." Jeff challenges conventional wisdom, self-imposed limitations and abstract obstacles by imparting his hard earned lessons from his time as CMO of Kodak and from all the leaders he has interviewed in his C-Suite prime time Bloomberg TV show. From learning how to focus on the right business that makes the most revenue to how to keep your brand, business, products and people from standing out from the rest, Jeff is a one-of-kind business phenomenon who "thinks big and acts bigger" and wants you to as well. Now go get this book!!!
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Brick Shirt House (men's clothing store)
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 SHOE-BE-DOO |
My extraordinary physical therapist, Kevin Martin, said my back is well enough for me to go back to working out...just not in these.
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Blab.imBlab is a livestreaming platform that enables a public video chat among four participants at a time. If you are familiar with the likes of Periscope, Meerkat and Google Hangouts, it basically combines all three. Viewers come in to watch the livestream and they can participate by leaving comments on the left hand side of the desktop application or below on the mobile version. If one of the four seats is open, a viewer can easily request to join and it's up to the host to accept them into the livestream.
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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!
In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.
~Tom Bodett
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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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 PERPLEXING PONDERANCES |
 Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii? |
 SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY by Dave Nelsen |
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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.
Why I Love AR; And You Will Too I'm writing this post while waiting for a flight in the Little Rock, Arkansas (AR) airport. That's not the AR that I'm talking about, although after spending yesterday at the Crystal Bridges Museum ( www.crystalbridges.org) built by Sam Walton's daughter Alice, I must say that there's always more to like about Arkansas. The art and architecture there were fabulous! Five stars. Perhaps you're not familiar with the term 'AR' but you are probably familiar with the experience - augmented reality. Have you ever watched a football game on TV (or more likely lately, on your mobile device)? You know that yellow line that designates the first-down mark? I went to a football game recently. You can't find that line anywhere in the stadium. Very annoying! That's augmented reality. Suddenly, there are all sorts of augmented reality apps hitting the market. I think it's the next big thing, or at least one of them. To the point, next time you are out looking for a great place to eat, fire up the Yelp app and activate its AR mode, Monocle. As you point your camera at various restaurants, the Yelp ratings will float above them. It's fabulous, unless of course you run a poorly reviewed restaurant. Novelty, you say? OK, how about this AR app? WordLens allows you to point your device's camera at anything written in various other languages (Spanish, French, German, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, ...) and see the words in real time, on your phone or tablet screen ... in English! Recently, I was invited to dinner at a French restaurant. Suspecting that the b**tards would present their menu in French (and I was right), I carried my iPhone and WordLens app . Hovering over the menu, I could see all the French words in English. This saved me from possibly ordering an exotic sounding item called "escargot." It turns out that means "snails." B**tards! But don't try to find WordLens in the Apple or Google app stores. Google bought the app a few months ago and it disappeared shortly thereafter. So why did I mention it? Well ... this morning I discovered that the capability has re-emerged ... as part of Google Translate, an app now available in both Android and iOS marketplaces, for free. And its capabilities have been expanded (thank you Google). Now you can speak to the app in English (etc). and it translates in near real time, speaking out various other languages ... including two Chinese dialects! And then it listens for the other languages and plays them back to you translated into English. Now, you can actually speak to people who speak other languages without immersing yourself in one of those Berlitz courses. Just like Capt. Kirk in Star Trek. And you can read those languages too. It's virtually magic! And did I mention that Google Translate runs entirely on your device without requiring an expensive international data plan to connect to the network? This will make visiting China so much easier next time, as last time I was literally illiterate. That's why I love AR (Arkansas and augmented reality), and I suspect that you will too.
You can find more formal details here:
To contact Dave directly:
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LIFE LESSONS...FUNNY, FIT  OR FABULOUS
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
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 THE HAPPY COOKER That was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on,
I know guys cook, too.
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FRIS�E AND ENDIVE SALAD WITH WARM BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND TOASTED PECANS
Makes 6 servings
 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar 2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
For salad
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 lb Brussels sprouts (preferably small), trimmed and halved lengthwise (quartered if large)
1/2 cup pecan halves, halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz fris�e, trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces (4 cups)
3 Belgian endives (1 lb), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
Make vinaigrette:
Whisk together vinegar, water, mustard, shallot, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking.
Make salad:
Preheat oven to 400�F.
Melt butter in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) in lower third of oven, about 3 minutes. Toss sprouts in pan with butter, pecans, and salt. Arrange sprouts, cut sides down, in 1 layer and roast in lower third of oven until undersides of sprouts are golden and nuts are fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes.
Whisk vinaigrette, then transfer warm sprouts and nuts to a large bowl and toss with fris�e, endive, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Serve immediately.
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 MikkiLeaks by Phil Liebman
that YOU need to know!
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It's Just My Luck
My role as a professional "leaker" and a "truth sleuth" calls upon cunning instincts, a sharp and agile mind and nerves of steel, but it also requires a fair amount of luck. Doing anything successful always does. Planning to just be lucky is generally a really bad strategy but failing to account for luck as a factor in your failure or success is shortsighted as well.
This month I was fortunate enough to stumble upon an article written by Norm Brodsky in INC magazine. Brodsky is well known for his business smarts, approaches things with careful research - and doesn't go chasing windmills. In this article, he wrote about the sometimes negative consequences of being lucky. This was in regard to his testing the strategy of a business plan for a new chain of ethnic restaurants. He and his partners chose three different locations in New York City to prove the concept before seeking outside investment. The first two locations were enormously successful right from the start. But the third location, in a neighborhood more likely to be typical of locations outside of the New York area performed so poorly they considered scratching the whole plan. Well, as luck would have it a local restaurateur who was also looking for investments stumbled into this third location by accident. He was duly impressed, and not at all surprised by the slow start. His experience with restaurants in that neighborhood suggested that this third location was more typical of how any location might perform. It would take time to establish and was not predictive of the impending failure Brodsky feared.
The problem was they were just incredibly, and perhaps improbably, lucky with the first two locations. If it were not for the good fortune of the local restaurateur/investor wondering into Brodsky's eatery he may have very well scuttled what was actually a very good plan. Good luck can have an odd way of distorting our judgment and expectations.
Luck can be so seductive that we actually waver from our good sense of reason and even from known facts. In fact, good luck is outright dangerous when it leads us to believe the wrong things. Mark Twain wrote, "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
This speaks to the trap entrepreneurs can and do often fall into as addressed in the widely respected model that describes corporate life cycles created by Ichak Adizes. The hubris of success leads to feeling that their judgment is unassailable. We discount the possibility of being lucky and assume it was talent, skill or some super-powers that caused the success we "created." Luck can be pernicious.
The root of this problem is where we can benefit from understanding it. It is that when we are confident we know something we tend to become less curious. When we know something for certain we stop investigating and stop learning.
The flip side of the coin is that almost every undertaking worth making in business contains some necessary element of risk. While that risk can be managed it can rarely if ever be eliminated. It is essential to not only be prepared for the worst but also to prepare to be wildly lucky. Luck can produce good problems to have but any problem is something that requires dealing with.
I launched a company in 2002 and as luck would have it, virtually overnight Whole Foods Markets wanted to place my products in stores coast-to-coast. We grew so quickly we failed to stop ourselves from growing broke eventually losing control of the company to our investors. We just weren't prepared to be that lucky.
Think about the old saw the harder you work, the luckier you get. There may be truth in the idea that good things happen to those who are prepared. But as W. Edward Deming warned, "it's not good enough to do your best, you must first know what to do and then do your best." In other words, practice doesn't make "perfect' - it just makes permanent.
It's practicing the right things the right way that makes a difference. It's never just how hard you work.
There is no good substitute for being prepared. Being fully prepared requires going beyond just knowing what needs to be done to achieve something. Real preparation also involves how you think about problems and opportunities; knowing the kind of person or leader you need to be in order to accomplish what needs to be accomplished; and then having the will and courage to do whatever it takes to do what is necessary.
The randomness and perverse way the world works makes it impossible to manufacture luck on demand. To my knowledge there has never been a psychic who could see into the future and pick winning lottery numbers. Millions flock to casinos to play games of chance, just to dream of beating the odds. But in business and anything serious in our lives we are best leaving as little as possible to chance. We must do our damnedest to manage the risks we encounter with as much relevant preparation as possible. If we do we might just be one of the lucky ones who succeed in realizing our dreams and accomplishing truly great things. Perhaps even lucky enough to change the world for the better. Phil Liebman is a Vistage Group Chair, a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Leadership Virtuosity and the Founder of the BullFrog Group - helping CEOs become better leaders. You can reach him by email at phil@Strat.com - or by phone at 845.262.8611
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 HE WHO LAUGHS...LASTS! |
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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 Share Your Umbrella The next time you are stuck in a rain shower take a peak out from under your umbrella and see if there is anyone walking in the same direction as you without an umbrella. Lift up your umbrella a little higher and offer to hold it over them as well.
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Stay tuned for the big announcement about Speakers School for 2016.
(Speakers School is goin' on the road, but shhhh...don't tell anyone yet!)
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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 Mikki On The Move to view her calendar.
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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 joining us!
Me and "the staff" at Mikki Williams Unltd.: Marissa Pedroza, DOE-in training and Samantha Hoffman, aka 'my Sam,' Director of Everything. When you have a director of everything (or two!), what else do you need?
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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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