Her Comeback | Episode Notes

Guest: Mikki Williams — Global Speaker, Storyteller & Accidental Influencer at 82

Mikki Williams is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), inductee of the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, and TEDx speaker recognized by Meetings & Conventions Magazine alongside Tony Robbins and Bill Gates. She's spoken in every U.S. state, every Canadian province, and every continent except Antarctica — always in stilettos. A former award-winning Vistage speaker and Chair Emeritus of two peer advisory boards, Mikki runs Speaker School, Keynote Camp, and her coaching practice from Naples, Florida. Oh, and she recently went viral on TikTok with 1.2 million views.

The Defining Moment At 28, Mikki had achieved her dream — married to her college sweetheart, a two-year-old son, a home in the suburbs. Then at 2 a.m., a knock at the door changed everything. Her 29-year-old husband was killed in a car accident. No job, a mortgage, and very little life insurance. That night became the catalyst for a life she never could have planned.

Finding Untapped Potential Forced to reinvent herself, Mikki dug into her natural talents — dance and cooking — and built a career from scratch. She taught dance, launched a catering business, grew a health club, and belly danced on the side. (Her son Jason, she jokes, stood behind her and jiggled the furniture.) Her dance school became one of the largest in the country, and her catering business launched at the same time as that of a student named Martha Stewart — Mikki is featured in Martha Inc.

Staying One Step Ahead of Pain A turning point came when a no-nonsense mentor pulled Mikki out of her grief and pointed her back toward the stage. She credits the relentless drive to keep moving — for her son, for herself — as the thing that kept her one step ahead of the pain. She also shares that even today, a Beatles song can stop her in her tracks.

Experience List vs. Bucket List Mikki doesn't believe in bucket lists — things to do before you die. She creates an experience list — things to do while fully alive. The key? Write each item as a mini-story, not a bullet point. The brain holds onto stories. She manifested driving two laps on the Indy 500 track in front of 300,000 fans, waltzing in Vienna, and attending the Kentucky Derby in Millionaire's Row in an outrageously large hat.

The Setbacks That Kept Coming At 50, Mikki was embezzled out of every penny she had and rebuilt from zero — borrowing $5,000 to fly to Arizona for a consultant who changed everything. At 65, breast cancer. Her memoir-in-progress is titled We Interrupt This Life to Bring You — because that's how she sees adversity: interruptions, not endings.

Going Viral at 82 A friend suggested TikTok. Mikki hired a 17-year-old to film a casual closet tour. She introduced herself as "an all-natural 82-year-old" — and woke up to 1.2 million views. Her first instinct? Google it to make sure that was a good thing.

Key Takeaways

• When the worst thing happens, you still have choices.
• Dig into what you can do, not what you've lost.
• Replace your bucket list with an experience list — write stories, not items.
• Staying busy isn't avoidance; sometimes it's survival, and survival becomes thriving.
• It's never too late to disrupt. Mikki became an influencer at 82.

Connect with Mikki Williams

• Website: mikkiwilliams.com
• Facebook: Mikki Williams
• Instagram: @mikkiwilliamsunltd
• TikTok: @mikkigogo