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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 love the holidays and it's all a frenzy for me: t ree is up,
menorah is put away, shopping not done,
son arrives Tues...and, and, and. But all is well!
It was a crazy-busy end to a crazy-busy year. Next year will be very different, I am happy to say: I am doing nationwide Speakers Schools (check out all the locations below), more and more speech coaching (which I love!), selective speaking engagements and booking other, wonderful speakers through Outrageous Orators, my speakers bureau.I had a great interview on WGN with Frank Fontana (the link will be available next month), and now my TEDx talk is finally live. Check it out! 
Every November my BFF Chris, from Wales, and I go to a new place in Mexico. We stayed at the fabulous Esperanza and had dinner one night at my newest, most favorite restaurant in the world: El Farallon at Le Pedregal Resort. |
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El Farallon at Le Pedregal Resort
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Back in Chicago, I had dinner at Maple and Ash with the world's greatest sales guy and Ironman extraordinaire, Jack Daly.
Then I spent a week in Southern California: four speeches, time with Vistage's Pete Sciabarra, and had a whole weekend with BFFs,Tamilee Webb and Lavinia Errico at Lavinia's gorgeous Malibu home.
Had lunch with former Vistage member, Frank deSanti, and dinner with Lee Tkachuk.
AND...theatre with "my Sam."
Whew! What a month!
Happy holidays to all!
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 Paper Napkin Wisdom: Your Five Step Guide to Life and Business Success
By Govindh Jayaraman and Jack Daly
Govindh and Jack collected thousands of pearls of wisdom - success secrets - from some of the world's top entrepreneurs and leaders from every industry in the world, asking them to express their pearls of wisdom on a simple paper napkin. Looking at them, they found that many of the world's best entrepreneurs followed a hidden pattern that led to success. In most cases the contributors to Paper Napkin Wisdom didn't even recognize the pattern in their own success. But looking at them together the patterns were clear. The authors share with you the five steps to life and business success in a way that invites you to take action in an innovative, fun way...a great, and unique, holiday gift.
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Amazing Grapes (liquor store)
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 SHOE-BE-DOO |
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No, I don't own them... but I wish I did!
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"The to do list with a personality"
Simply having a to-do list does not guarantee you'll get anything done. In fact, most of our to-do lists start with "Make a To-Do List," just so we can cross something off. With CARROT, your to-do list becomes a game, and you get more done because of it. Whether you accomplish your tasks and CARROT rewards you, or you upset it, is totally up to you and your productivity. (iOS) |
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!
The past is your lesson.
The present is your gift.
The future is your motivation.
~Unknown
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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 is abbreviated such a long word?
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 SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY by 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.
Social Media for Business: The Most Important Points
 After leaving TalkShoe.com in 2009 (a live podcasting service my team built - check it out), I decided to write a book about how small and medium-size businesses can most effectively use social media and social networking tools. That book is called " 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." Thinking back about that book as I begin another one, here are the three most important things you need to know about "social".
#1 - It's not about you; it's got to be about them. If it's not valuable to your target audience, why would they devote their time and attention to you? Right! They won't. If you're pushing the same, old marketing monologue (e.g., look at our products and services, check out the pictures of our company party), you're wasting their time ... and your resources.
#2 - The majority of the economic value in social networking will come not from external communication (read: marketing) but instead from internal applications (e.g., Yammer, Chatter, Slack). These are tools that can improve communication among your employees. Even small gains in employee collaboration can result in major improvements in profitability. And that's to say nothing about improved recruiting results, longer employee retention, better product management, and enhanced customer service that can result from smart application of social networking tools.
#3 - Ken Blanchard once said, "None of us is as smart as all of us." Participating in
social makes everybody smarter. For most companies, there's at least as much potential in listening as there is in talking. You can get new product ideas, learn about competitors' weaknesses, discover new sales opportunities, and know what your coworkers know. As Peter Senge once observed, "The only sustainable competitive advantage is an organization's ability to learn faster than the competition." Social accelerates organizational learning.
That's why your company needs to embrace external and internal social media and social network tools.
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
professional lives.
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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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Slightly undercook these mouthwatering morsels for a molten effect.
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (about 3 oz) chopped dark chocolate
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 375� with racks in center and upper third. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using). Rub butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in chocolate.
Whisk together egg and vanilla. Add egg mixture to chocolate mixture; stir with a fork until mixture is slightly moistened. Form dough into a ball; wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Shape dough into tablespoon-size balls. Roll each in powdered sugar to coat; place on sheets 2" apart. Bake until just set but still slightly under cooked, about 10 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Serve warm.
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 MikkiLeaks by Phil Liebman
that YOU need to know!
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Please Excuse me for Exposing Myself to You... 
For much of this past year I've had the pleasure to share with you my musings on leading your life and your business here on MikkiLeaks, with the hope that I might inspire you to think differently and become the kind of person who can make a difference in the world.
My real purpose in my writings has been to entertain, educate and inspire, and I hope to make new heroes amongst you; people who will constantly strive to improve yourself and your organizations, the people you lead, and the world in which we live. Leadership matters.
Leadership is never a destination; it is in itself a journey and a way of living that embraces the noble idea proffered by Dr. Thayer that "learning equals growth; and growth equals life." Given the choice between more life and just a longer life, what would you want? For me, life is a matter of squeezing all the juice from it, and leadership is how that gets done. Leadership really does matter. Stay curious and let that curiosity drive what you think about, who you are and what you do and ultimately accomplish and contribute.
It's been fun, and I hope I have provoked and inspired you in some small measure to be a better version of yourself.
Until duty calls again...and who knows when it might...I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays, and an adventurous and prosperous New Year, a year where you ignite the leadership within you to make a profound ripple of positive difference in the lives that matter most to you.
I also want to say that Mikki Williams is one of my heroes and an inspiration to anyone looking for the best ways to use your own talents and gifts to leave behind in our wake the kind of turbulence that sends ripples far beyond where we set our feet. To be outrageous for most of us is to force us out of our comfort zones to a place where we go from knowing to growing and learning.
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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~ My Holiday Wish ~
My holiday wish is that we may
See good in those who pass our way;
Find in each a worthy trait
That we shall gladly cultivate;
See in each one passing by
The better things that beautify -
A softly spoken word of cheer,
A kindly face, a smile sincere;
I hope each day that we may view
The things that warm one's heart anew;
The kindly deed that can't be bought
That only from good are wrought,
A burden lightened here and there,
A brother lifted from despair,
The aged ones freed from distress;
The lame, the sick, brought happiness.
Grant that before each sun has set
We'll witness deeds we can't forget;
A soothing hand to one in pain,
A sacrifice for love - not gain;
A word to ease the troubled mind
Of one whom fate has dealt unkind.
So, friend, my wish is that we may
See good in all who pass our way.
~By Phil Perkins
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Pay off a stranger's holiday layaway and leave a note that Santa says happy holidays!
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 Speakers School is going on the road in 2016!
Now, more Speakers Schools than ever - probably in a city near you...or a great vacation spot.
CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447 OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.
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 See where Mikki will be speaking and piggyback your company or association event. Or just invite her to dinner or shopping!Click the calendar to view her schedule.
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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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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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