Unstoppable Mindset

Kim is as unstoppable as it gets. Born and raised in the Boston area she became very interested in entertainment. After a bit, someone convinced her to go into sales which she did and has been involved with ever since. For the past 20 years she has been a professional financial advisor.   Nine years ago she decided to invoke both sides of her brain by starting her own production company, Miles In Heels productions. She is an event strategist which she will explain.   Of course, since Kim was in sales we talk a lot this time about sales, what makes great sales people and how sales professionals can and should do more to relate to their customers. I’m not going to give everything away. I hope very much you enjoy and are inspired by our episode with Kim.

About the Guest:

Kim Miles (TEDx Speaker, Executive Producer & Event Strategist, Serial Connector & Shoe Collector)

What do you call a successful businesswoman with a vibrant financial advisory practice, more than 30 years of sales experience, a background in performing, and a serious shoe habit? Kim Miles! Through her company, Miles in Heels Productions (milesinheels.com), Kim is a highly sought-after TEDx speaker, emcee, creative collaborator and event strategist who partners with her clients to deliver critical messaging to their key audiences in fresh, unexpected and entertaining ways. No matter the format, live or virtual, from ideation to execution, Miles in Heels Productions is the answer. When you need to think outside of the box and laugh while you’re learning, look no further: if Oprah and Ellen had a love child, it would be Kim Miles.

Kim creates mic-drop moments for her clients by using both the left and right sides of her brain, simultaneously. She brings her business acumen AND her creative lens to every problem-solving scenario. From securing A-list talent to comprehensive content creation by way of video production and copywriting, Kim’s goal is to make sure each client is attracting its perfect audience. Kim has worked with the likes of comedians Fran Drescher, Judy Gold, and Jackie Fabulous to Broadway actors like Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton), to celebrity chefs such as Karen Akunowicz (Top Chef/James Beard Winner) to bring star power to her clients’ events.

Major clients include The Massachusetts Conference for Women, Babson College, Ropes & Gray, Worcester Women’s Leadership Conference, Wellesley College, Winchester Hospital/Lahey Health, Women’s Bar Association and Foundation of Massachusetts, Yankee Dental Congress, Foundation for Business Equity, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Goulston & Storrs Counsellors at Law, College of The Holy Cross, MassChallenge, Women in Technology International, Colwen Hotels, Regis College, Bryant University Women’s Summit, MetroWest Conference for Women and many more. She’s a member of The WIN Lab Coaching Circle at Babson College, the Innovation Women Speakers Bureau, and the GDA Speakers Bureau.

Kim is widely known as a powerhouse problem solver, kick-a** content creator, and a hilarious humorist. When she’s not working, Kim has been known to take off her signature heels only to hit the slopes or the golf course…that is when she’s not singing with her band!

Ways to connect with Kim:

WEBSITE: www.milesinheels.com

TEDx Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/kim_miles_surviving_the_big_c_conformity

LINKEDIN: Kim Miles/Miles in Heels Productions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-miles-00342294/

INSTAGRAM: @Kimmilesinheels: https://www.instagram.com/kimmilesinheels/

FB: Miles in Heels Productions/Kim Miles: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miles-In-Heels-Productions/752242571474563

TWITTER: @KimMilesinHeels: https://twitter.com/kimmilesinheels

YOUTUBE: Miles in Heels Productions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTD-99e7kYl1byWqSMzQVkw?view_as=subscriber

About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.

Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.

https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/

accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/

Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Transcription Notes

**Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.

**Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi once again. And yes. And well. Hi there, too. You too. And hi to everyone listening. Welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Today, we get to visit with Kim Miles. And Kim has a company with a very clever name. And I'm gonna let her tell you because I don't want to spoil it. And she has a lot of interesting stories to tell. She's a very creative individual by any standard. And I really am glad that you're going to spend some time with us today. So welcome aboard, Kim.

**Kim Miles ** 01:52 No, I feel honored. Thank you. It was really so great to get to know you on our initial call. And it's just been fun learning about you and and accessiBe ever since. So I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

**Michael Hingson ** 02:05 Yeah, one of the things that we do for those who may not really have caught on over the last number of episodes is before we do a podcast, I love to get a chance to meet virtually in person, whoever is going to come on the podcast because it's great to get to know them and for them to get to know me and make sure we're all comfortable with the podcast, which is as you all know, a conversation. And so Kim and I connected and here we are. So I'm very glad you're here. And I expect that we will have fun today. I agree. I agree. And you are in Boston, and what's the temperature back there?

**Kim Miles ** 02:41 We cannot seem to get out of our own way. We have literally we had the most glorious Memorial Day weekend, which we don't typically have. So that was a surprise. It was absolute perfection. And then ever since then we've really been it's been cold here. Everybody's been joking around that they put away their winter coats far too early. And so we are really hovering in the 50s and 60s here where we're trying desperately to warm up. So we were praying for warmer weather, but it'll come it'll come and then we'll be complaining. It's too hot. We're now trying England. We're never happy in New England.

**Michael Hingson ** 03:13 You know, it's not just New England. I am fascinated when I listen to weather prognosticators like out here. When it's really hot, of course, we have greater chances of fires wildfires, right used to be called forest fires. But now Smokey Bear calls them wildfires, anyway, whatever. But the the issue is that when it's really hot, the whole Southern California area is much more susceptible to fires. And so now, we have also primarily had much cooler weather, it's going to get up to 72. Today, they say it's 67 outside right now and it's about 1135 in the morning. But the thing is that what people have been complaining about the weather people is the May gray in the June gloom. You know, they're complaining about that every single weather forecast I always hear about the May gray or the June Gloom is still with us. The Marine layers there, we're not getting the sun. But you are absolutely right. What's going to happen is once it starts to really heat up, then they're going to complain about it being too hot and the chance of fires. There's no pleasing them and they teach us all that which is unfortunate.

**Kim Miles ** 04:29 Well, I don't know if you know the saying but if you live in New England and you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, it'll change.

**Michael Hingson ** 04:36 I lived in with her for three years and spent a lot of time in the Boston area. So I understand, ya know, how

**Kim Miles ** 04:42 do we know exactly.

**Michael Hingson ** 04:44 New Englanders are very opinionated. I remember a couple of times. At the beginning of baseball season the Red Sox lost the first game of the season. And the immediate thing I started hearing from everyone is wait till next year.

**Kim Miles ** 04:57 Well, here's what the old adage says As though the seasons are not one in April, but they are last in April. So if you don't have a strong start in April, you're likely doomed. Of course, crazier things have happened. But that is the old adage. And yeah, we were very spoiled here in Boston, I have to say I have a conversation with a friend of mine who lives out out west and, and he's always saying, Do you know do you know lucky you guys aren't you know, spoiled you guys are that you have a team in every sport to look forward to. And I realize we're spoiled. I understand that completely. But it's, you know, when you're a born and bred New Englander, you get used to it. And you know, we have high standards for sports teams, I suppose.

**Michael Hingson ** 05:40 Or at least, or maybe lower high standards for fans. It's hard to say

**Kim Miles ** 05:47 to Shay,

**Michael Hingson ** 05:49 I remember when Steve Grogan was the quarterback for the Patriots. And people didn't like him. And they actually booed him off the field one game, which was, I thought a little bit amazing. I heard of that concept before, but never actually saw it. But of course, I also was back in Boston living there. When Michael Rooney ruzi. Oni and the Olympic team in 1981. Hockey against the Russians.

**Kim Miles ** 06:15 Yes, that was yeah, that's if you've ever seen the movie. That movie is such an amazing, you know, a such an amazing movie. The story of it is it's one of the greats, it's one of the one of the sports greats.

**Michael Hingson ** 06:27 Yeah, well, and by any standard it is, by any standard, any standard. That is it was great. And it was wonderful. And that was the year I think they also introduced first night in Boston. And he and I think some of the team made an appearance at a couple of the subway stations. So it was kind of fun.

**Kim Miles ** 06:48 That's back in the day. That's what in the

**Michael Hingson ** 06:51 day, right? Yeah, back in the day. Well, tell us a little bit about you, maybe the the younger kid growing up and all that. And let's see how we get to where we are now.

**Kim Miles ** 07:01 Absolutely. Well, I think that that's always the question, right? How is it that you did get to where you are now it's always or you hope that it's an interesting story? I think in my case that it is

**Michael Hingson ** 07:10 much, much, much less how not only how you get there, but where are you? No, that's okay, go ahead.

**Kim Miles ** 07:15 Exactly. Well, you know, for me, I've always been a very, very creative kid, I was always a very creative person, I was always the one who gravitated toward theater and music, I've been singing my whole life. And I definitely, you know, have a huge appreciation for the arts, and sports, but definitely for the arts. And, you know, all through high school I sang with, you know, state choirs, and I was on stage with all my performances. And when I went and lived in Manhattan after I graduated, I joined a very large chorus there, which was a very renowned chorus in New York, it was a Greek Orthodox choir. And that was a beautiful, beautiful thing. And every step of my, I would say, of my life, there's always been something creative going on. So much so that I went to school specifically for television, radio and film production. That is, I went to Syracuse University at the Newhouse School of Communications. And I graduated with a television, radio and film production degree. And so for me, you know, my my final exams or putting together and producing television shows and writing scripts and producing CDs, I'm sure that there are a lot of younger people will be listening to this and not remembering what CDs are, but gotten deeper, the hot technology, you know, so those were my final exams. And when I, when I graduated, I drove straight to New York City from Syracuse, the same week, I graduated. And I was trying desperately to get a job in what for me felt was my goal, which was my ideal job. I because I loved sports and grew up so much with sports, I really wanted to do what, what I call sports package production. So if you ever watch any of the, you know, any of the championship games, or if you watch the Olympics, they always do human interest stories on the athletes, there's always a story behind the athlete. And so or story behind the team, right, or how the team got to where they are. So those packages that we call them, somebody has to produce those, somebody has to write the scripts and edit the footage and pick the music. And that was the stuff that I love to do. It's kind of funny now, if you think now, everybody has access to that on their iPhone, right? So in their own hand, they can edit a story, they can edit a reel on Instagram, they can make their own little movie on their phone, but back in the day, you know, that was something a bit more a bit more specific to the industry. And so that's what I really wanted to do. And that was back in in the 90s and And I, I had interviews at the NBA, I wanted to work at the NBA. And even back in the 90s, they didn't really hire a lot of women so. So I was a professional waitress for a while, until I got my big break. And I finally got a job with a couple of different commercial production companies. And some of their clients were Burger King, and Lancome. And so I watched these people make these commercials that you would see on TV. And then I got a job working for a management company, who was a manager for a lot of very famous comedians. And those comedians were very unhappy people, it was a very interesting job, because it was a very sort of, it kind of gave me an introduction to like the dark underbelly of the business. And I realized very quickly that that was not really for me. So a friend of mine, actually acknowledged something in me that I didn't see in myself. But she said, you know, Kim, you're such a people person. And you're great with people and people really respond to you, you really should try your hand at sales. And so I actually pivoted to a very, very long and lucrative career in technology sales in Manhattan. And I was doing that up until 911, which is something of course, you and I have in common. We've talked a lot about that. And, of course, your story is profound, and everybody has their story. And I work down there as well. And we've shared those stories. But it was time for me to go home after 911. And so I came back to Boston. And when I came back to Boston, I actually was trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. And so I was meeting with different people and having different cups of coffee. And my father came to me one day, and he said, you know, Kim, I think you should meet this gentleman that I just met, he was an accountant. And he now is a financial advisor, and he works for this life insurance company, I think you should have a cup of coffee with him. And I looked at my father and I said, Dad, I'm your only daughter due to me. I don't I don't know how it is that you want me to go sell life insurance. But here I am 20 years later, and I've been a very successful financial advisor for 20 years for the same company. And I love what I do. But that creative side of me, has always been with me and has always been the kind of thing where I, you know, wanted it to be a part of my life. And so nine years ago, I launched my production company, miles in hills productions. And that was really born out of something very specific, which was I was volunteering my time and my efforts for my local Chamber of Commerce. And I was doing all sorts of event production for them and raising them all sorts of money. And after doing that, for them on a volunteer basis for 10 years, I realized that I could put my own moniker on my talents and offer my talents and my services to lots of different organizations and companies. And so nine years ago, miles in heels was born. And so I run my two businesses side by side, which makes me a bit of a unicorn, using my right brain and my left brain on, on off on all facets. And so that's where, you know, the creative side, me gets to come in, and I get to play and do what I like to do through miles and hills productions. Cool.

**Michael Hingson ** 13:27 Well, a question that I have, going back to what you talked about earlier regarding the whole concept of producing the information for athletes and so on. Do you produce those into they oftentimes just sit in the can waiting for someone to come along? Who needs them? Or usually just produce them when they're needed?

**Kim Miles ** 13:55 Are you talking about me specifically what I produce for my clients? Are you talking about the people who work in the industry for the athletes? I'm thinking

**Michael Hingson ** 14:01 in general does does a lot of that stuff get produced in advance? And then it sits until it's needed? Or do you? You anyone?

**Kim Miles ** 14:09 No, I think that those are very specific asks, right, there's usually a very specific initiative that they're producing those four, I certainly know that in the case with my clients where we're producing a package for something very specific, we're trying to promote an an event or there's some sort of a milestone that they're trying to promote. But in the case of athletes, those are very much. Those are very timely, right, those things that are going on right in the moment. Right. So case in point right now we're in the NBA Finals, and you know, there are a lot of really wonderful human interest stories about how those two teams got there. As far as you know, Miami right now, those were they were the eighth seed, so they weren't really expected to do as well as they've done in the NBA Finals. They beat the Celtics. So, you know, number two seed, we weren't happy about that. The point is, is that they're they're definitely going out and they're producing packages that are timely and germane. to what's going on right now, for sure. Now, I

**Michael Hingson ** 15:02 know in the case of obituaries, and so on, it's a little different animal, and I'm sure they do a lot of preparation. And if someone happens to pass, it's amazing how fast that gets up, they must have a lot of that already done and stored away and ready to

**Kim Miles ** 15:15 technology today, what's amazing is how accessible footage is. Right? So think about the statisticians who are commenting during the game. So these commentators who are calling the game or you know, you're, you're listening to these people, they've got people feeding those stats, right? You're right. You know, it's amazing what technology can do, you can bring up that information and those stats at the drop of a hat. So be able to get that footage, it's just that those people who are in production, like myself, it's poring over that footage. And you know, that's the really sort of, that's the cumbersome part of it. It's like it's a labor of love, but you have to pour over that sort of information and that, that, that footage to get the right footage, and then string it all

**Michael Hingson ** 15:59 together. And it's so much easier today, to do that and to edit it and to produce something that is we're seeing because our whole world of technology has made that a lot easier. I know, when I worked in radio, back in college, which goes back to the 70s when you wanted to edit something you cut and spliced tape, and I was never a great splicer. But now of course, with digital audio editors, it's amazing.

**Kim Miles ** 16:30 Well, just again, back to my original point, which is I'm floored by what you can accomplish on your iPhone. I mean, it you know, you can master some significant editing on your iPhone, and they're always changing the technology up. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's definitely a lot easier to do. And the technology has come so so far. So but you know, creating those stories, I think that really, the editing has tons to do with it. The music that is chosen the vibe, the scripting, but it's the storytelling. Everybody loves to hear stories, that's what they relate to, and you more than anybody with your amazing book and your amazing story, you know, people gravitate towards storytelling, and that's what ends up resonating with them. And that's that that stories become long lasting for them. And it's the same in sports, it's same in the arts, it's the same anywhere. So

**Michael Hingson ** 17:22 it is the same anywhere. And you know, any really good salesperson is all about telling stories.

**Kim Miles ** 17:30 They're, they're about telling stories, and they're also about, you know, being really relatable. You know, for me, the reason why I have had such a wonderful career, both in technology sales and in the financial services industry, is not necessarily because I'm the smartest person in the room. It's because I know about relationship building, and relationship cementing and about relationship selling. And think about yourself as a consumer, right? If you are having an experience that you're not enjoying, how many times have you gone on to maybe work with somebody else, whether it's door or on the phone, or whatever. I mean, that's just sort of a fact of life. And I feel that when the relationship is cemented first, and that trust is built, and of course, you have to be smart. But I think that that's the foundation first. And then the the sort of the acumen comes almost second in a way.

**Michael Hingson ** 18:24 And you also have to be honest and straightforward. And not mislead, especially when you're in sales, which all too often happens. The the best again, the best salespeople are people who are honest about what they have, what they do and what they can do, and not new for a particular customer. Well, it only

**Kim Miles ** 18:43 takes one bad experience for somebody to be soured on something, right. So a lot of times people are so in my financial services practice, somebody will come to me and they'll say, you know, I haven't had the best experience with financial advisors in the past. And my job is to change that for them. I want them to have a good experience. I want them to feel good about the planning that they're doing for themselves, their businesses, their families. But it's the same thing. When I work with my clients with miles and hills productions. Let's say that they had a terrible experience running an event once and now they're hiring me to come in and help them run an event. I want that experience to change them. I want them to have a different experience altogether. And I want them to have a completely positive taste in their mouth. I don't want them to have a negative taste in their mouth. That's part of my job. You know, so I agree it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. And fortunately,

**Michael Hingson ** 19:30 it does and in and it only takes one mistake on the part of a salesperson to lose that relationship because we're so geared toward not necessarily trusting that it tends to be a challenge to

**Kim Miles ** 19:46 Yeah, I mean, this is a tough time to live in. I mean, let's talk about the fact that there's a lot of mistrust that's being sort of spread and perpetuated. And while social media can be bought The blessing and a curse. Unfortunately, sometimes technology can work against us where, you know, sometimes misinformation is what is being put forth. And so it's getting harder and harder, especially with AI to discern what is accurate and truthful and real. And those can be some scary things. So, you know, in terms of something that I hold to the highest esteem is, is integrity, right, and honesty, and and, you know, I only have this one reputation. And so it means everything to me to make sure that I'm protecting it. And to make sure that, as my mother always said, if you if you always do the right thing, you never have to wonder if you did the right thing. I live by that so

**Michael Hingson ** 20:46 well. And that makes perfect sense. If you always do the right thing, you never have to worry about doing the right thing, which makes a lot of sense. How did you come up with the name miles in heels productions?

**Kim Miles ** 21:00 Well, you know, after having done so much work, like I said, on a volunteer basis for one particular organization. And when I wanted to put forth my own company and put my own stamp on things and really go out to other organizations, I needed something that was going to really encapsulate for me, what I'm all about what I'm known for, and really what I stand for. And so for me, I have a complete, as you can see right here, and those watching my little magic red shoe, I mean, I have a complete shoe obsession, I'm known for my shoes, they are my favorite accessory in the whole world. And so I really became synonymous with my shoe collection. And so the fact that my last name is Miles, thanks to my husband. You know, walking a mile in heels, is a great metaphor for life, and for women who are doing things outstanding every day, and sometimes having to try a little bit harder as a female. And so for me, miles in heels was it was actually the first name, I thought that it wasn't even hard, it was something that just kind of really came to me and putting my talents and skills in my offerings under the umbrella of a production company just made sense, because I do wear a lot of different hats for my clients when it comes to miles and hills productions. And so having that global umbrella of a production company just made sense for me, but miles in heels was just an obvious choice. And it was it came to me quickly, and it stuck. So

**Michael Hingson ** 22:29 and it makes perfect sense. Especially the way you explain it. So what's the company logo?

**Kim Miles ** 22:36 Well, the company logo is actually two high heeled shoes facing each other forming the shape of an M. So it's, it's trademarked. And it was one of the first things I did because I was not willing to part with that my genius brand strategists who's a dear dear friend of mine, she and I worked on the brand from day one. And she's the person who you know, has helped me bring my brand to life. And so yeah, my logo is very, very, very representative wholeheartedly and comprehensively of who I am and what my company is.

**Michael Hingson ** 23:11 So you are still doing financial advising well, also operating miles in heels productions.

**Kim Miles ** 23:18 Yeah, I have to tell you. So you know, my 20 years of being a financial advisor has given me incredible business acumen in order to be able to run my businesses. And you know, when you are a financial advisor, you really are running your own business. And so it was, I don't want to say it was easy to launch a second business, but I certainly knew what I was doing. And I've been very fortunate in the respect that I am somebody who's highly motivated, highly, highly organized, and definitely can, you know, wear both hats simultaneously, they complement each other really beautifully. And I feel very blessed that I'm able to fashion my day and my week and my month and my year, the way I need to to be able to accommodate both my businesses, and it's just been for the past nine years. It's been such a beautiful experience. And both of them, both of the businesses help each other. And I'm really proud to have been able to sustain my business for 20 years and launch new business at the same time.

**Michael Hingson ** 24:16 When you're running the business, especially miles and hills productions. What are some of the most fun projects and the most fun things that you've done? And why are they kind of more fun to do than other things?

**Kim Miles ** 24:30 That's a great question. I mean, for me, I get incredibly jazzed about first of all, I love I love connecting people, right? So my Twitter handle is serial connector and shoe collector. I really love bringing people together in a convivial atmosphere. I love connecting people I love mentoring people, lifting people up, helping people and collaborating with people. So one of my favorite things to do And it's certainly what I'm probably the most known for, is when organizations or companies are coming to me in two different elements, the first element they'll come to me with is, Can we've been running this event, this fundraiser, this gala, this banquet, this business conference, we've been running this for the past, you know, 1015 20 years. And it's been great. But we recognize that we need to evolve, we need to really add a little bit of life to, to this and have a new spin on it, we'd like you to come in and really resurrect this event. So I'd love to get in there, get my hands dirty, and everything from ideation to execution, in terms of concept, branding, a list talent, how we're going to market the event, how we're going to raise money for the event, all of that strategy I love. The second way a client will come to me is that they'll say that they have an idea for an event, but they don't know how to go about bringing it to fruition. And so again, getting in on that ground floor and bringing all my areas of expertise. I just really love when the end result is you got you know, 200 500,000 people in a room, and they're all coming together for a common purpose for a common gathering. And they leave better than when they came, right. That's my biggest reward. They come to that event. They say things like, that was the most special fundraiser I've been to that was the most fun, I met the best people. I felt great when I left I you know, moving people, and it's like storytelling, right? Having them leave and feel differently than when they came in or started. Is my goal as an event strategist.

**Michael Hingson ** 26:39 Now you call yourself an event strategist? How is that different than event planning? as it were?

**Kim Miles ** 26:45 Yeah, that's a great question. And it's one that I'm constantly explaining, because it's so critical. So I do call my cellphone event strategist and an executive producer. And the reason why that's different than an event planner, is because I actually have to hire event planners for my event. So event planners really usually focus on things like catering and lighting and linens and, you know, bartending services and things of that nature. For me. I'm really the event strategist and the executive producer event, I'm really talking about what is the messaging of this event? What is our goal with this event? Are we fundraising? How do we structure our sponsorship opportunities? How do what do you what do you want the messaging to be to your attendees? What kind of speakers are we going to get? What kind of ageless talent do we have to get? How do we get people to sign up for this event, and again, leave them feeling better than when they came. So I'm really digging in at a completely different level than an event planner. And as I said, at the top of the hour, you know, I'm a bit of a unicorn in this space, because people hire me for both my business acumen and my creative side, because both sides of my brain are working at the same time, all the time. And so I'm not just a creative, I'm paying attention to margins, I'm paying attention to strategy. I'm paying attention to branding and content creation for my clients. So there's a lot more that goes into it than, you know, simply making the room look pretty event planners are necessary and critical. I'm not at all dismissing or diminishing what they do, I need them. I need fantastic event planners to come into my event and help me create an amazing environment. So I hire event planners to come in as part of my event strategy to create the vibe that I need for my clients.

**Michael Hingson ** 28:28 At the same time, you're as you said, or as Emeril Lagasse would say, kicking it up a notch. And you are, you are enhancing the event. And I'm sure that one of the most gratifying things for you is when someone comes up to you after an event and says we've never had an event like this here. Before.

**Kim Miles ** 28:50 That we'll QUESTION I mean, unequivocally, you know, and I'm proud to say that at all of my events, somebody has always come up to me after factory scouting after the fact. And they've said, I saw you, you know, on stage, you were emceeing this event, or I noticed that you produce this event and I had such a good time at that event. We want to work with you for this event for the same kind of magic or when it comes to fundraising. I think one of the things I'm most proud of is that I can unequivocally say that for all the clients who hire me, even if they're paying me my fee, when it comes to fundraising, I am instilling practices and strategies for them where they are absolutely knocking their fundraising goals out of the park. And for a lot of my fundraising clients that I work with, we have consistently over the past nine years, raised more money each year from working with me than the year prior. And that's something I'm incredibly proud of, because the the causes that I work with are incredibly worthy. And fundraising means everything to them. It's how they keep their lights on. It's how they tell they help their clients. So for me, that's one of the biggest compliments. So Are

**Michael Hingson ** 29:52 most of the events that you do with more not for profits doing fundraising do you do events for or work with corporations on internal meetings and so on that they might produce

**Kim Miles ** 30:04 all of the above. It's not, it's not limited, it really isn't limited. You know, I love to come in when it's a business kickoff meeting. And, you know, case in point, I came into a law firm, sort of when we were just coming out of COVID, you know, just really coming out of COVID. And they really needed to get people excited about coming back into the office. And so we did an onsite for them. And it really got people more comfortable and more excited about coming back. But, you know, nonprofits and fundraising is an arena, that's very dear to my heart. For me, I have to be, I have to be excited, or the cause has to align with me as a person. You know, there have been clients who have approached me in the past and have wanted to hire me, but I knew in my gut that maybe it just wasn't the right fit or great fit. And so, you know, you politely decline. But for the most part, I just really enjoy being able to work on things that get me excited, or that I'm excited about the cause. Yeah.

**Michael Hingson ** 31:06 How about doing virtual events? Have you done many of those? Or is that a, I assume it's somewhat of a different animal, because you're not necessarily doing the same kind of contact when everyone is in the room? But do you? Do you do many? Or have you done many virtual events? And how do those work out?

**Kim Miles ** 31:22 I love this question, I have to say that when COVID hit and it was 2020, and we all pivoted to the world of virtual, I had one of my most banner years in 2020, because I had to scramble to learn about virtual production, like everybody else. But everybody else needed to hire somebody at the helm, to be able to continue to do their fundraising to continue to do their events, because the world didn't stop as we saw. And so we needed to move forward. And so I was hired by all sorts of organizations to pivot to help them with virtual events. And it was a skill that I took up very, very quickly. And I aligned myself with the right technology partners, which I'm, you know, I still work to, to this day. So I always say that, you know, my company specializes in event strategy and an executive production for live virtual and hybrid events, because still to this day, there are people who are still putting on hybrid components to their to their events.

**Michael Hingson ** 32:19 Do you think that will continue? Or do you think if COVID doesn't come back, we're going to kind of forget about the whole concept of hybrid

**Kim Miles ** 32:25 COVID is coming back, it's already back in China, it's on its way, there's no question about another wave. So I think COVID is something we're always going to live with. What I think has changed profoundly in the marketplace is that I think people are adjusting to the levels of productivity, of being able to do things in a hybrid fashion, and that companies are excited about the fact that they have a broader reach now that they have a virtual component that they can rely on so that they can reach more people to offer a hybrid offering. I don't think it's going away. I think that it sort of depends on what the mission and the goal is for that particular event or organization. So I think that it's not going away, will it be as prominent, perhaps not. But I think it's hard where we've gone, where the pendulum has swung that way. And you've given that offering, it's a little bit harder to go back the other way and to leave that offering off the table. Especially if you've expanded your audience, you don't want to alienate those people that you've you know, that you've opened your your world up to.

**Michael Hingson ** 33:29 Yeah, I know, for me, as a speaker, I have a challenge with doing virtual events, although I love doing them. It certainly is convenient. But the challenge is that as I am speaking, I don't get some of the same input that I get when I'm in a room with a live audience. If I say something, and I've worked on speeches, so I know what typically to expect from an audience when I make a particular statement or lead them down a particular path to get to a particular place. And when I can hear those reactions, it helps and I don't get that information. When I do a virtual presentation. And I'm sure there are equivalents for people who can see the screens as well, you're not going to see the same stuff. But having done so many presentations live, I can pretty much tell by working with the people who are coordinating the event, I can get a pretty good idea of what the audience is going to be like. So doing a virtual event doesn't scare me or bother me at all.

**Kim Miles ** 34:38 Well, it does a very interesting point. There is nothing that's ever going to replace the energy that you can feed off of being on stage and being in front of a live audience. And myself being a speaker like yourself and also being an at premiere emcee. There's nothing that's going to to replace that Right, I will tell you that one of my one of my favorite stories, and it was really, it was one of the most fun challenges and adventures. in the thick of COVID, one of my biggest clients, we had an alias comedian, who was the the guest of honor. And we were fundraising and I ran a live auction, over zoom, what wasn't zoom, it was another platform, but I was running a live auction to raise money. And there was a lag time between the time that the bids are coming in and between the time that I was seeing that, and so that challenge, like you're saying about that direct feedback, and that direct impact, it's a very real thing. For me when I'm emceeing an event, or if I'm speaking like yourself, the energy is a huge component. So the biggest thing for me that happened in COVID was, I was selected to do a TEDx talk, right when COVID hit, and so they pushed us off for a year. But as it turns out, I did my TEDx talk. However, unlike most TEDx talks, which are in front of a live audience, my TEDx talk was recorded in a studio. So I had a very unique and different TEDx experience. I wouldn't trade it for the world. But it was a very different experience, because I did not have the live audience feed and feel and energy like you're talking about, and it makes a difference. There's no question.

**Michael Hingson ** 36:27 Well, it does make a difference. But it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

**Kim Miles ** 36:30 No, no, I think it's, you have to learn how to adapt. If you're a business owner, you always have to learn how to adapt. And so in 2020, I learned how to adapt. And that's what I did. And now I'm proud to be able to say that I can offer people live virtual or hybrid events, and there's nothing we can't do for them. I've got the right technology partners, and I'm not fearful, you know, you have to learn how to adapt. And that's what you did. Yeah,

**Michael Hingson ** 36:56 you know, for me not seeing the audience is not even relevant, because as we just discussed, if I'm doing a live presentation, I get to hear a lot and probably even, perhaps hear some things that someone looking at the audience might not see in the same way. But by the same token, like you, it's all about feeling the energy. And so when you're doing it, virtually, you don't feel the same kind of energy. But if you've done enough talks, you ought to be able to figure out how to do a speech and make it meaningful and just as relevant. And I think I've been pretty successful at that. And it's a lot of fun to do.

**Kim Miles ** 37:40 You feel that your senses are heightened in terms of feeling that energy, because obviously, you know, you don't you don't see the audience, but you do feel that there's a there's like an even higher level of vibration of energy for you, especially,

**Michael Hingson ** 37:54 only if I learned to, to look for it and and receive it, it isn't necessarily because of being blind, because that doesn't, in of itself, change senses. But as a speaker, you know, you know very well, what you do is you use all the skills that you have. And so for me, learning to pick up that energy, whatever it is, is very important. And I think that I probably pick up some different cues than you might, but we we both end up at the same place. Pretty much.

**Kim Miles ** 38:31 Yeah. Which is what a great storyteller does, which is

**Michael Hingson ** 38:35 exactly what a great storyteller does, I have had in my life. Two speeches that I thought didn't go very well. And both of them, as it turns out, although I didn't have enough information in advance about the audiences. And both of them were too small service clubs in my local area. So we didn't even get money for it. But that's okay. It was a it was a service. But as it turns out, in one case, most of the people couldn't even hear very well. They weren't Deaf people, they were seniors, but they seem not to be able to pick up on what was being said. And the other one was somewhat similar. It wasn't necessarily seniors, but I never did quite figure out what their priorities were. They wanted me to come in and talk about a couple of specific subjects, and I did, but they seem to be off in another world somewhere. But basically, that doesn't happen very often, which is of course, very helpful.

**Kim Miles ** 39:37 I think your job or our job as speakers are and highly sought out speakers. And the reason why people hire us to speak is because we do have a good command on the audience. We're taking them on a journey and you know, if they've if they've seen you speak before or if somebody is recommending you that they've heard you speak before they walked away having felt something so that's why they're there. Going back to you is because they, they know you can kind of portray that energy. So, you know, it's just because people are great practitioners does not make them great speakers, you know, oh, yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, with my clients that the, they'll say, Okay, we want to have this person speak. And I'll say, Listen, we need to know that these people can capture the audience, it's very important just because they're brilliant. And they're the leader in their field does not necessarily make them either an entertaining or a great speaker. And that's a huge thing. That's something that's really important, especially when you're trying to put together a killer conference or killer business meeting. You got to you got to make sure that these people can get up there and hold the audience.

**Michael Hingson ** 40:42 And the more you speak, the more you get to learn about different kinds of audiences. And so, in theory, if you really practice analyzing what you do, the better you will be at holding audiences even in new and unexpected ways and unexpected places. Indeed, yes, I remember, well, my late the last speech I gave, actually, technically, the second to the last speech, they were two days apart, was at the convention of Headstart, you know, for children, the National Head Start Association convention, and I was invited to come by somebody who would have become speak at a school district in Michigan when she was there. And then her husband invited me to come and speak, actually at Freddie Mac, as well. But then this, this came along, and she convinced people that I could probably hold the audience reasonably well, to be polite about it. I think she was much stronger in her words than that. But anyway, so we did the speech. There were 3000 people there. Wow. And some people would say, Aren't you scared of 3000? People? No, my largest speech was a bout a six minute presentation to a church service for 6000 people just after September 11. So 3000 didn't bother me. But anyway, what was really a great honor and pleasure for me was, we got a standing ovation at the end. Wow. Which was was a lot of fun.

**Kim Miles ** 42:15 I think what you're saying is super important, right? There's different ways that people let you know, as a speaker, that you've that what you've said, has resonated with them. And, you know, I'm always moved, when I hear from somebody that I don't know at all that will find me that will reach out to me on my social channels, or they'll email me or I've had people even call me before and they say you don't know me, I caught your podcast, I was in the audience, I read your, you know, your post, whatever it is. And if I, you know, connect on that kind of a level that moves somebody that much for them to reach out to me, then you know, you've done your job, right. And it's the same thing when you're live and with the audience. So, listen, there's never going to be a substitute for live and in person. But I'm glad that we've got tools so that there are substitutes for being live and in person because we need them.

**Michael Hingson ** 43:06 Yeah, well, it's like, there's nothing like going to see a Broadway musical or a Broadway play on Broadway. Exactly. There's nothing like that at all. The energy is so different. It's all live. It's not like a movie or anything like that. And it's so wonderful to have had the opportunity to experience a bunch of those just like seeing a live concert. There's nothing like it. It's not the same when you're watching it on TV. It's different. Agreed. Well, how many TEDx talks have you given just the one or two?

**Kim Miles ** 43:42 I've given I've given the one. It was incredible experience. It was a very profound. It was a profound time in my life. And it was also a very profound, cathartic moment. For me. I think, writing that TED X Talk was something that was one of the scarier things I've ever done, because it's actually a great story. I was I was working, I was working with one of my clients. Babson College here in Boston, which is the number one entrepreneurial school, and I do a lot of work with Babson. And I was I was speaking in front of a group of women. And I was telling my story. And this woman in the audience raised her hand and she said, Have you ever thought about giving a TED talk? And I laughed sort of out loud? And I said, Oh, gosh, no, I would be I would be terrible at that. I said, I don't think that that's really my, my jam. And she said, Oh, that's too bad. She said, Because I run the I run the TEDx Babson program, and I think you'd be really amazing at it. And so I laughed and I immediately said, Well, what I meant to say was, I would love to talk to duck. And as it turns out, I'm so glad that I did something that scared the most scared me the most, you know, they always say try something every day or every year that scares you the most. And that scared me the most because I, I am a much more unscripted person, I am a much more off the cuff type of person. I've done stand up comedy before. As I mentioned, I'm a performer, I'm a singer. So for me, things that are a little bit more unscripted feels slightly more natural for me. So the fact that this was pretty rigid and very scripted, and you have to follow a process, etc. It kind of terrified me. But it was one of the most profound experiences of my life. And I loved it so much that I then started to work with the TEDx team at Babson and I wrote their speaker handbook for them. And I just like to give back to them because it was just a truly truly profound experience. For me,

**Michael Hingson ** 45:47 I find my strong suit is when a talk isn't necessarily scripted, mainly, because when I go to different places, I like to get there before my talk, and maybe hear people before me and get to meet more of the audience. And the advantage of that is, I work stuff into the talk right up until, and even during the time that I speak, something will come into my brain that says this needs to be said, much less with the event planners have already in requested be included if there are any messaging things, and so on. But it's so much fun, because that's what the audience really is going to relate to. If you're just up there reading a speech, dude, I can relate. Yeah, no,

**Kim Miles ** 46:33 listen, I am anti PowerPoint, I am anti cue cards, I am anti anything, I love to just be able to be off the cuff. And obviously I know enough of my stuff to be able to get there confidently and the talk but but the TEDx thing was something that was very unique. And like I said, I wasn't in front of a live audience where most people are for their talks, I would like to do it again, because I would like the experience of doing it in front of a live audience. So I would, I want to apply again to another TEDx talk. And I would like to have the full the full package experience. Next time,

**Michael Hingson ** 47:08 I had a speech that I was scheduled to do, it was set up by a speaker's bureau. And they told me what the audience was, what the organization was, and all sorts of stuff, I got there only to find out that the speaker, Bureau representative had no clue. And it was totally different than what I had come expecting to do. Unfortunately, what this organization was about was also something else that I had experience with. So I had 15 minutes to change on the fly. And that's why I love to have the ability to be a lot more flexible, and it makes for a much better speech.

**Kim Miles ** 47:41 Absolutely.

**Michael Hingson ** 47:42 I agree. I agree. So it makes it a lot of fun. What's for you, what would you say, is one of the most unique factors that people encounter when they work with you.

**Kim Miles ** 47:56 I mean, for me, you know it again, I'm definitely a unicorn in my industry because of my ability to use both sides of my brain simultaneously. My business acumen and my creative side, most people who are creatives are exactly that they're creatives, they're not great at the business acumen side, and vice versa. And for me, I'm incredibly strong in both areas. And I know that and that is what makes me special. So I know that that's a very unique factor when people work for me. But I think that the other thing that unequivocally goes along with working with me is my sense of humor and keeping things really fun and keeping things really enjoyable. The process is enjoyable, I mean, having a sense of humor and infusing my humor in things appropriately. Of course, the way that I work with my clients, you know, when they're having a good time, we all are having a good time, and there's success across the board. So it's definitely a combination of my business acumen and my creative, my creativity, and also just bringing my sense of humor, whether it be to the stage or to the content that I'm helping them create, or, you know, just making them feel more at ease about the process.

**Michael Hingson ** 49:08 Yeah, having a sense of humor is really important. I've heard people say, as a professional speaker, you should start off with a joke. And, you know, I certainly find that there are times when having humor upfront actually helps break through to the audience, but there are ways to do it.

**Kim Miles ** 49:30 There well you have to do it appropriately. I mean, you know, I I have a history in performance I have a background and performance I have I'm no stranger to a stranger does stranger to a sage doesn't bother me or scare me. I've done stand up comedy when I lived in New York and you know, I write the way that I sort of speak and talk and so but you have to do it. You have to do it appropriately. I mean there there are appropriate times for it. And then there are appropriate times for when you need to be He, you know, you're gonna read the room. That's what I say, gotta read, how to read the

**Michael Hingson ** 50:04 bottom read the room. Absolutely. One of the favorite things that I like to start with, especially if there is any kind of a disabilities component, but even not necessarily with that I love to start by saying, want to do a little bit of market surveying. And I'll ask a few questions like, Do you know any blind people? And you know, any number of questions like that three or four questions. And one of three things happens, people, when I asked questions raised their hands, some people applauded, or most people applauded. And I have the person who introduced me stay up on the stage, so I can get that sense of it. But the last question, especially when I know that some people are raising their hands, the last question is, so do you really think it's a bright idea that when a blind speaker asks you a question that you respond by raising your hand, and it that has so often just drawn people in it's so much fun, because they know they're dealing with

**Kim Miles ** 51:03 a person? Yeah, you break the ice that way that that's brilliant. I love that.

**Michael Hingson ** 51:07 Yeah. And it's, it's a lot of fun to do. And again, my belief is I don't talk to an audience, I talk with an audience.

**Kim Miles ** 51:18 One of my early taglines in my business was, it's a conversation, not a presentation. And I feel really strongly about that. I mean, everything that I do is, as I said, I really enjoyed trying to create convivial atmosphere is for my clients, and for myself and putting other people at ease. And, you know, it's, it's about the conversation, and it's about listening. It's about really, you know, engaging, and I agree with you, you're not talking at the audience, you're talking with them. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

**Michael Hingson ** 51:49 And I love it, when there is a chance at the end of his speech doesn't always happen. But at the end of the speech, where we can have q&a. And of course, if there is time for q&a, is getting people to ask questions, because people tend to be so shy, and getting people to actually open up and ask questions. And even though I'll say there is absolutely no question in the world that's off limits. It still takes a while. And actually, I've got a favorite story about that, which is that I spoke talking about keeping an audience's attention. I spoke at a school in elementary school in San Francisco, K through six. And the teacher said, now you can only talk for about 10 or 15 minutes, you're not going to hold these kids attentions. And I said, okay, and 45 minutes later, I opened it up for questions. How are you not gonna want to listen to somebody who's standing up there talking to you with a dog? Right, man? So anyway, open it up for questions. And a young man, third grade, a guy, of course, gets up. And his question was, and this is why I tell the story, because I say no questions off limits. How do blind people have sex?

**Kim Miles ** 53:03 In the third grade? Yep. God bless.

**Michael Hingson ** 53:07 I know. And you know, so I said, Look, no CIA interrogator is going to be able to ask a tougher question than that. But my response immediately was, it just popped into my head the same way everyone else does. And if you want to know more, go ask your parents. I'm not done.

**Kim Miles ** 53:22 That's a very good answer. Well played, well played.

**Michael Hingson ** 53:28 Yeah. It's a lot of fun. And, you know, when I start to tell that kind of a story, people will start to open up and ask questions. And so it's, it's a lot of fun and interacting with an audience is always fun. Of course, after speaking, oftentimes, we'll go out into the lobby and sell thunder dog. And I've got my best sales rep with me, the dog, Alamo who's a black lab. So I'll take his harness off, tie him to one of the legs on the table where we're selling books. And he is out in front visiting with everybody. And of course, if they come to visit with him, then they have to buy a book anyway. And so he's a he's a great crowd drawer and a crowd pleaser by any standard. Everybody loves a dog, everybody, and you know what? He is discovered the law of maximum pet ability space. So he will lay down and stretch out every appendage as far as he can, in every direction to get as much interaction from people as possible, especially when it's kids. Smart boy. Oh, yeah. Most all of the guide dogs I've ever had have been very smart about doing that. But but they love it. And, you know, it makes him feel good that he gets to be a part of it and he gets a chance to relax and not be in the harness all the time. It's a level of trust, but it's really a lot of fun. Well, what's one thing you stand for in your life?

**Kim Miles ** 54:53 I'd like to think that I stand for kindness. I think that I'm I'm sort of always amazed at how often kindness is forgotten or put last or ignored. And I think that in today's world, I think, personally, a lot of things could be dictated and solved, or heard a little bit more. Kindness was put toward the forefront of things. Yeah, I grew up in a very loving and kind home. And I care very deeply about family and friends. And I give back to my communities of people in organizations, I think, with kindness and integrity. And I don't know, I just, I think we've forgotten a little bit of kindness along the way. And I think that that's never lost on me. So I would, I would like to hope that I stand for kindness, I would like to help,

**Michael Hingson ** 55:56 I would like to see us regain the art of conversation and listening and respecting other people's views. And of course, that's part of kindness also. But yeah, we just seem to forget all of that.

**Kim Miles ** 56:12 I think we're just going through a weird shift, I think that there's there's a, there's sort of a perfect storm of things going on in our world between technology and, and, and the world itself, and, and economics and, you know, just sort of humanity itself. But here's where I get hopeful. As I mentioned before, I think that sometimes it can get a little scary, where social media can be so great and so harmful at the same time, every time I sort of kind of lose a little bit of hope, then I'll see something really promising on social media or on the news. And it just takes that one story about an act of a small act of kindness. Yeah, to kind of restore my faith, I've been the recipient of so many small acts of kindness that I really like to think that I, I love to put forth small acts of kindness, because you can really, you can change the trajectory of somebody's entire being with a small act of kindness. So I don't know, that's just always been really important to me. But it's always it's been taught to me by my by my family, my parents. So

**Michael Hingson ** 57:28 I think we're best when we when we recognize that we're, we're here to serve others first. It isn't about me, it's about all of us. Well, I

**Kim Miles ** 57:38 think it goes back to what my mother always said, if you do the right thing, you never have to wonder if you did the right thing.

**Michael Hingson ** 57:43 So Right. We do have a moral compass, if we would only pay attention to it.

**Kim Miles ** 57:48 Most of us do. I agree. I would say most of us do. Yes. What would

**Michael Hingson ** 57:52 you advise for an entrepreneur starting out? Or what kind of advice do you have, that you would offer for, for people in business? Or just people in general?

**Kim Miles ** 58:04 Well, without question, I mean, my biggest message to entrepreneurs, especially, but just people in general, your network is your net worth. I mean, I myself have built two very successful businesses, you know, absolutely on the merit and the cultivation, and the care that I've given to my network, and I, it's like a garden, right, I feed it, I tend it, I pay attention to it. And I listened to it. And, you know, when you give back to your network, you get a lot from your network. And so people have to really understand the power of their network and, and how to utilize their network the right way. I teach a curriculum on best practices in networking. And it's something that's a very popular curriculum that I get hired for, because I think that most people are inherently not great networkers. Back to one of your earlier points, I always talk about the fact that effective networking is, you know, 90% listening and 10% talking and I think people think it's the other way around. Yeah, and I'm not even talking about, like going to a networking event and sitting in a room and networking, I'm talking about how to look at your centers of influence in your internal network and using it for good for better to make a difference to make a change to propel yourself, to help yourself and to help others. So that for me would be my biggest message and to learn how to do that successfully, is I think the ticket to success.

**Michael Hingson ** 59:37 So when you're not financially advising or producing what do you do to relax and have fun?

**Kim Miles ** 59:44 Well, I sing with my band which is one of the most fun things that I do. I love my band. We have a blast we perform and and it's just one of my favorite outlets. I spend time with my nieces, which is a great joy for me. I don't have children. I have six nieces, and I golf, and I play pickleball. I am a huge pickleball fan. So I try to play pickleball anytime I can.

**Michael Hingson ** 1:00:10 My nephew, since he is retired, has gotten into pickleball and plays several times a week. He's in a league, where he lives and is just always playing pickleball. And it's something I never even heard of two years ago.

**Kim Miles ** 1:00:25 It's there's a reason it's the fastest growing sport in the world. It's it's so much fun. It's so easy. And it's super social. And so I have become a bit by the pickleball bug in between that and golf. I keep myself very busy in the summertime.

**Michael Hingson ** 1:00:40 Big for you know, pickleball during the snow though, huh?

**Kim Miles ** 1:00:43 No, I play paddle ball in the winter actually has a version of that. But it's meant for winters I play paddle in the winter.

**Michael Hingson ** 1:00:51 Good for you. Well, Kim, this is absolutely been enjoyable and a lot of fun. And I really appreciate you coming on. If people want to reach out to you maybe talk about hiring you learn more about what you do and all that, how do they do that?

**Kim Miles ** 1:01:04 The best way to contact me is to visit me at miles in heels.com. That's M I L E S I N H E E L S.com miles in heels.com. And you can reach out to me there by sending me an email on all my social channels. I love connecting with people and broadening my audience. And you know, I was so glad to be approached by you, Michael. And I've loved our conversations. I think what you stand for and what you're putting out there in the world is just wonderful. And it's been an honor to get to know what you're doing for accessiBe. And it's made me look at different things very differently since knowing you. So thank you for what you're doing. And I've really had a fun time getting to know you and being here. So thank you.

**Michael Hingson ** 1:01:51 Well, if we don't have accessiBe up on your site, yeah, we got to work on that. Yes,

**Kim Miles ** 1:01:54 that is one of I actually it's one of my two dues ever since meeting you. There's no question about it.

1:01:59 Yes. Always stuff to do. Right. Always stuck to me stuff to do. Well, for all of you listening, thanks for being here with us. And I hope you enjoyed Kim's observations and comments. I did. I learned a lot. This has been absolutely fun. Please give us a five star rating wherever you're listening. We love five star ratings. And love your feedback and your comments in anything that you'd like to say. You can reach me by email at Michaelhi M i c h e a l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or you can go to our podcast page www dot Michael hingson m i c h a e l H i n g s o n.com/podcast. But wherever you're listening, please again, give us a five star star rating. We'd love it. And also Kim for you and anyone listening. If you know of anyone else who you think ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. We want to hear from you. Please let us know perform introductions or whatever. We're always looking for more people who want to help show us that we're all more unstoppable than we think. And Kim one more time again, it's great to have you on and thank you very much for being with us.

**Kim Miles ** 1:03:12 Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

**Michael Hingson ** 1:03:19 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.