Show Notes

In this episode, Patrick Casale talks with Mikki Gates, a global HR leader, TEDx organizer, and advocate for authentic leadership. Mikki shares powerful lessons about imperfection, community, and the impact of sharing our stories.

Here are 3 key takeaways:

1. Perfection Isn’t the Goal—Progress Is: Whether you’re hosting a TEDx or launching a business, you’ll make mistakes and pivot. Embrace feedback, refine your process, and remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect to be impactful.
2. Our “Messy” Human Side Inspires Others: When we own our mistakes—whether that’s losing your train of thought on stage or dealing with a tech glitch—we model authenticity and give others permission to show up as they are.
3. Perspective Unlocks Gratitude: Mikki’s upcoming TEDx talk explores dignity, privilege, and learning from global experiences. Sometimes, what we take for granted—like access to bathrooms—can be life-changing for others.

More about Mikki:

Mikki Gates is a global HR leader, TEDx organizer, and SHRM chapter president with a passion for reimagining the future of work. She blends bold ideas with real-world experience from more than 50 countries to inspire leaders to "human up" and create workplaces & experiences where people thrive. She is also a lover of escape rooms and roller coasters.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikkigates

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Transcript

PATRICK CASALE: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the All Things Private Practice podcast. I'm joined today by Mikki Gates, who is a global HR leader, TEDx organizer, and SHRM chapter president, S-H-R-M. You can give the actual explanation for what that is in a second, with a passion for reimagining the future of work. She blends bold ideas with the real-world experiences from more than 50 countries to inspire leaders, to human up, and create workplaces and experiences where people thrive.

Also, a lover of escape rooms and roller coasters. And soon to be a TEDx speaker. So, yeah, what is the acronym that I just probably butchered, by the way?

MIKKI GATES: No, you said it correctly, which most people say shroom. Yeah, most people think it's like mushroom. But SHRM, it's Society for Human Resource Management. So, it's the go-to for human resources and human resources adjacent professionals.

PATRICK CASALE: Okay, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I forgot that was your area of expertise. And I actually have HR rep for my group practice. I'm going to talk to you offline about some things.

MIKKI GATES: Love it.

PATRICK CASALE: Okay. So, for context, for those of you listening, especially if you're interested in TEDx or speaking in general, I think this is a hugely important combo. You were actually one of the organizers of TEDxManitouSprings, who is where I did the event for my first TEDx back in February. And you were so helpful, and supportive, and really have been since that time.

So, just curious about, like, what has it been like to organize these events over the years? And how many have you done? What brought you into this? Like, share that part of the story?

MIKKI GATES: Oh, yeah. It's one of my favorite stories to tell. So, I started working as a volunteer with TEDx events right before COVID. And I joined a group that had already been formed. And I came in maybe three weeks before the event was about to happen. I knew I loved TED Talks and TEDx talks. I wasn't really sure why I loved them so much. I didn't know a lot about the formula or about why they were so special. But I knew I liked them when I watched them. And that I used them with different people that I worked with.

And so, when I started joining as a volunteer, and I sat behind the stage when these speakers were presenting, and I saw the reaction in the audience. And then, I connected people with outward after the events, and I connected with them outside the venue. I was like, "There's something magical here, and I really want to be part of this more."

So, then COVID hits. And I think that's the start of a lot of our stories right now, is COVID hit. And we were isolated. And we were bored. And we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives.

And one day, I was like, "I think I'm just going to apply for a TEDx license and see if I can host my own events." Not thinking about everything that went into it. But like, "Let's see what will happen."

So, it's actually a pretty lengthy vetting process, but somehow, they said, "Sure, go ahead. Host a TEDx summit."

And so, I got the license. And then, I found the reality of like, oh my gosh. Now, what do I do? How do I organize this? How do I find speakers? How do I coach these speakers? How do I find the venue? How do I find a production team that can produce quality videos so that I'm not letting these speakers down, because giving a TEDx talk is a really big deal? How do I find the money, the energy, all of that?

PATRICK CASALE: Sure.

MIKKI GATES: When I found, actually, even though the first couple of events were pretty challenging, there were so many people that were really excited about supporting this process in different ways. And so, it was pretty easy for me to get four or five people together to kind of create this core group that build up these events.

So, you asked how many events we've hosted. We're about to host our eighth event next week.

PATRICK CASALE: Wow.

MIKKI GATES: Yeah, since 2021. Our first event was September of 2021. And so, we've hosted about two events a year. Everybody is a volunteer. Nobody gets paid for organizing TEDx events. And you don't get any money from TED. Everything you do is yourself. And so, the way the events form is basically the people that are organizing when we have time and energy to create them.

And we started way too big, which I think is a really big lesson I learned in my life. I had attended these other events where I volunteered. And I was like, "Oh, yeah, I can totally have 12 speakers the first time around. No big deal. We're going to turn into this huge event where there's these interactive displays and all of these things." And so, that's what we set out to do for our first event. And it was just way too big.

The talks were great. The venue was great, but everything else took so much energy. We didn't put our energy and focus in the right place. It was just making sure that we had good quality video and audio, and that our speakers were prepared and awesome. That's really all that matters. Yes, you want an audience. The live audience matters. The venue matters. But really, what it comes down to is, what do these videos look like, so that these speaker's ideas can get out to the world?

So, we refined over the four years since our first event. And I think we've gotten to where we've nailed it. We've had different events between three and five speakers. And our speakers, I mean like you, I think we just talked about your talk has reached over 25,000 views combined, right? Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah.

MIKKI GATES: So, we're gaining big traction. And I started working with a couple of people that are just phenomenal. Our head speaker coach, who I think actually has been on this podcast, Michael Ashford, is a TEDx speaker and an amazing speaker coach. And then, Adam Abair, does the video and audio. And then, I do kind of all the organizing. So, I found the three of us work really, really well together.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. And I think, like, starting overly ambitious, like you said, and little too big, a little too much to take on, fine-tuning to three to five, finding that sweet spot. And I think that happens for a lot of people listening in terms of any iteration of their business journey, or their creative endeavors, of like, I have all of these, like, romanticized ideas of what this can look like. And then, very quickly, it's like, "Oh, this is way too fucking much to handle." Yeah.

MIKKI GATES: Absolutely.

PATRICK CASALE: I think like a pivoting refining process is really important, like you said. Like, learning from that first event, even learning from the event that you're about to speak at, and saying like, "Oh, I might want to take some of this." Or, "I would like less of this." As a speaker, now you get to see how is that experience for you?

Like, I can say as a speaker, I was like, "I really don't want to come to this location at eight in the morning and sit here all day."

MIKKI GATES: We talked about that. And you even said that to me.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah.

MIKKI GATES: And I was like, "Well, that's a really good point." But other speakers do want that.

PATRICK CASALE: Right, totally.

MIKKI GATES: And so, like, having flexibility there, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. I don't have a good poker face. So, like, I was just, like, sitting there, like, so overwhelmed by things. And I was like, "I don't want to be here." And of course, it comes out of my mouth out loud. And I'm like, "Fuck." [CROSSTALK 00:08:21]-

MIKKI GATES: [CROSSTALK 00:08:22] it was good. Because I felt like, even though we just met each other, I felt like we were in a space that I really appreciated that you said that. And it actually helped me for future events think through how can we set this up so that the people that do need to be there, like I'm somebody that I want to be there the first minute that I can get there, so I can see the stage, and not… So, how do we set it up so that we're providing that for everybody? So, you really helped me with that?

PATRICK CASALE: Well, yeah, happy to help by default. What I was saying about that, like as a speaker for this event, it's not my typical speaking strength of scripting, and rehearsing, and memorizing. That's never been my strength. And that was a very fascinating process for me to have to go through. But then, the end result, being so happy with one, on stage, lost my voice completely because my vocal cord is paralyzed. So, my voice is so different than it used to be four years ago.

Two, the audio, and the recording, and the live streaming not working, but having a large audience in the waiting room, being like, "We are waiting to see Patrick." And I'm like, so overwhelmed by that.

Three, messing up on stage, which was my worst fear, owning it, and having that be a really positive outcome was like-

MIKKI GATES: Yes.

PATRICK CASALE: "This is so humanizing."

MIKKI GATES: Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I remember the people in your audience too, even had the little pictures of your face, which I thought it was such a cool [CROSSTALK 00:09:46].

PATRICK CASALE: You know, I didn't even see that while I was on stage. Like, I didn't even look at any of them the entire time.

MIKKI GATES: No. And I mean, you can actually see the audience. You know, sometimes when you're on stages you can't see the audience at all. There could be nobody in the audience. But this one, you could see them at least a little bit.

But yeah, I think you were really just in your flow. And, you know, I think that's something I've learned too. You were touching on, you know, from the original event, and we went too big.

I think one of the things that I've learned, and that I'm really proud of as an organizer, is, I think a lot of people who get TEDx licenses or do anything, you know, like, take the link to do anything. If it's not perfect or close to perfect, they might give up. They might be like, "Oh, you know what? That was too much for me." And to say, "Okay, no, let's step back. Let's take the feedback from the audience and from the speakers, and just how we're feeling, and modifying."

And every event modified is something that, I think, has really shaped me, not just as a TEDx organizer, but just as a human and even as a leader. Like, don't sweat the small stuff. It's okay. It doesn't have to be perfect.

I do still carry that level of responsibility, though, as the organizer. So, when the live stream wasn't working, like I was feeling that with you inside and trying to keep cool composure. And I just remind myself, like, as frustrating as it is in the moment, like, it'll be okay. It will be okay. We'll get through this.

And then, to touch on your part about when you messed up on stage and what you, like, owned it. And I think you were like, "Fuck, I messed up." I think you said something like that. And the whole audience was there with you. And I was sitting to the side. Michael Ashford and I were sitting to the side, and you're you just kept going. They were so excited for you.

And I have coached people on that. I think Michael and I actually coached your speaker cohort on that. Like, if you mess up, it's no big deal. The live audience is cool. They're there with you. We can either edit it out or not edit it out.

Well, I've never had that happen to myself before. I was coaching people on it, but I never had it happen. But a couple of months ago, I gave a disrupt HR talk on the importance of taking your PTO and, like, actually taking PTO, not pretending to take it, and still be on email.

PATRICK CASALE: Totally.

MIKKI GATES: And-

PATRICK CASALE: [INDISCERNIBLE 00:11:57] listen to that message, by the way.

MIKKI GATES: Listen to it. Take your time off. Like, even if you're staying at home, right? For me, vacation is like either going on a cruise or going on roller coasters, as you mentioned in my bio. But whatever vacation is for, you should take it.

So, I'm giving this talk, and I'm super passionate about it. And I have these slides that are just cats on vacation. I didn't have any data on them or anything, because I wanted to really emphasize, like, relax.

Well, in the middle of it, I'm telling this story about and it's rehearsed too, like TEDx talks are, but you only have five minutes, and you have 20 slides that auto progress every 15 seconds, so you have zero control. It just progresses, and you just talk. So, I'm talking, and I'm telling this story about this major health incident that I had about 10 years ago. And the whole audience had this big reaction like, "Oh my gosh, what?"

And so, I interrupted myself. And I was like, "You got this? I'm okay. Now it's okay. I'm good." Completely lost my train of thought. Like, totally lost my train of thought. And so, I called myself out on it, just like you did. And I was like, "I'm supposed to say something else right now, and I don't know what it is."

And then, I got it together in like five seconds. I figured it out. And everybody was laughing with me. And they were so supportive. And I went upstage laughing with myself, not upset with myself. It ended up being one of the most fun talks I've ever given. And people still talk about it now, about how the event was Disrupt HR. They were like, "You disrupted yourself, and like you were what this event is about." It was like, "Okay, now I've experienced what I told speakers about. It actually made everything better that I forgot it humanized me."

PATRICK CASALE: Exactly.

MIKKI GATES: Yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: I think that's such a valuable lesson for those of you listening, because I know how often perfectionism really creeps into this process of like, everything has to be perfect, right?

And in reality, had I not or had you not owned that, would the audience have really known what I was about to say? And the answer is no. And just naming it out loud, I was just kind of laughing at myself on stage, because I was like, "Yeah, this tracks basically." You know? And even at the end of the talk, where I was like, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now." Was very much a me thing.

And I think the more we can embrace our human side, whether it be for speaking, organizing, you know, hosting anything, or showing up as a leader, and just owning it and just being accountable to the fact that, like, this is messy, the human experience is messy, and it comes with imperfection. And I think that's really what people gravitate and relate to.

MIKKI GATES: I agree. And I think we're seeing that more and more, especially in the past five years, but over probably the past 10 or 15 years, you know? I think I look back to when I first started in my career, and everything seemed very shiny. Like, I remember looking back and looking at adults and like feeling like they just had it all together. And like they were always dressed perfectly. And they didn't make mistakes and whatnot. People that I worked with in particular.

And since maybe 2015 to now, there's been an evolution where our employees don't want that. The people that we work with, the people that come to your events, and the people that listen to this podcast, they don't want fake people, because we know that those people were not perfect and shiny, and even though, you know, their business suits might have looked that way. And they might have put on that impression, behind the scenes things were not perfect.

And so, our employees, and our teams, and the people that we work with they want authenticity. And that doesn't mean that we're not so professional. That doesn't mean that we still aren't experts in our field. But it means that we make mistakes. And we own it. And we cuss a little, or whatever that looks like. Or we stand there we say, "Oh, my God, I messed up." And then, everybody cheers us on, you know?

Yeah, so I think I've noticed, especially as I've grown in my career with HR, and with TEDx, and then with SHRM, that people are embracing that about me as a leader. They love that I'm a little bit goofy and that I'm a free spirit, and then I don't pretend to be perfect.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. I think it's really important. It helps model behavior for people. And it helps give permission to be a human being. And that so many people see these things that they want to achieve in their careers or their personal lives, but they get really stuck on the fact that, like, I can't perfect it. I keep messing up.

I used to do that when I created content, like, get so frustrated with myself for, like, saying something incorrectly, or wrong, or however I had it scripted for like a 60-second clip. And I was like, "Why am I so, like, upset about this right now?" So, just really leaning into that side of like, messiness, imperfection, being a human being. It does create authenticity and relatability.

And I also think it makes for really good leadership. Like, when we can stand up there and say, "Hey, I made a mistake." And to, like, stand behind it and own it. I think that is really great modeling for any sort of leadership behavior.

MIKKI GATES: I agree. I agree completely well. And I saw that with you. And I saw how much your authenticity and relatability is real, because Michael had told me about you when he was curating for your event. And he was like, "Oh my gosh, you're going to love this guy. He's amazing." And I was like, "Okay, cool." And he's like, you know, he just built you up. And so, I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I can't wait to meet this person."

PATRICK CASALE: [CROSSTALK 00:19:37].

MIKKI GATES: As he does, right? But the minute that we announced that you were one of our speakers, we sold so many tickets, like within… I mean, you know, we track that based on when we're announcing different people. And just, you know, we're tracking what type of marketing works and what's really getting traction? We sold so many tickets in like 10 or 12 hours after announcing you. And so, that really is a testament of how many people were so excited to hear your talk, but also, just to support you in whatever capacity. And so, yeah, I think that totally tracks.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. And I think for any of you listening, like, you know, wherever you are in this journey of entrepreneurialship, like authenticity and relatability is the know, like, and trust factor, in my opinion. And like, it really is just your own authentic voice, and perspective, and really just embracing your personality, because that's what people are going to gravitate towards. And you are also going to repel people as well. I mean, not everyone is going to appreciate your authenticity and your real self. So, I think that's [CROSSTALK 00:20:43]-

MIKKI GATES: [CROSSTALK 00:20:34] okay.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, it's absolutely okay. Like, those people are not for you. And that's absolutely okay.

Okay, pivot time. So, you're moving into a speaker role with TEDx after hosting these eight events and hosting these other events in general, and being a part of a lot of organizations. So, how is that feeling for you? I asked you before we started recording, and you were like, "Oh, I'm not nervous." And you thought I meant this podcast. And I'm like, "No, no."

MIKKI GATES: No, I'm good. I'm excited.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, so for your speaker talk, what are you speaking about? If you can give us a hint on that. And like, why does it feel really important for you?

MIKKI GATES: Wow, yeah, I'm so excited. So, little before story, before I jump into that, is, you know, so now I'm about to host eight events and probably more than 50 speakers. And almost every speaker has said to me, "Oh, have you given a TEDx talk?" Or, "When are you going to give a TEDx talk?" And I always say, you know, I have so many ideas in my head, but TED and TEDx are so special that you really need that idea to be fully formed, or close to fully formed, before you stand on that red dot. Because, like you mentioned, there's something very different about a TED talk or a TEDx talk.

And so, I had a bunch of different ideas, but I wasn't quite ready yet. And then, last year, I traveled. I work for an international NGO. And so, I'm really fortunate that I get to travel around the world, which you mentioned in my bio, and connect with a ton of amazing people that are doing really great work to basically save the planet. Simply put, our mission is actually to end poverty. It's a super big mission, but that's what we do.

So, I was in Cambodia. And I was traveling with a small group to a seasonally flooding village. So, this this village every year, four or five months out of the year, the lake that they're nearby floods so much that the houses actually have to be built two or three stories high on these stilts so that they don't get washed away.

And the work that my organization is doing is helping these villages get access to toilets. And so, they're called sky latrines, because they have to be built high in the air for the flooding times.

And so, we visited a woman who is in her 70s, who had just had a sky latrine put in her house for the first time. She was the second person ever to in her village to have a toilet. And so, you can imagine this life-changing experience that I had meeting with her. She didn't speak English, but we had a translator. And so, we were able to talk through just what this experience meant to her and to the village overall.

And so, I'd been in Asia for about a month. And I came back two days later. Literally, two days later, after coming back from this trip, I was in the car driving to Disney World with my daughter, who had just been accepted to the Disney College Program. And so, we're driving to Disney World. We get there. We go on all the rides. We're having so much fun. And I could not stop noticing bathrooms. I could not stop noticing how many bathrooms there were.

And so, being who I am, I started estimating, like, how many toilets are here. And I've estimated, I think, there are more than 10,000 toilets in Disney World. So, imagine my brain, like I'd just been in this place where the entire village was celebrating this single toilet being installed, and what that meant. And then, I was in this other environment where it's all about, I mean, excess and everything, yeah, exactly, but people are upset because they have to wait in line or because the stall's out of a toilet paper.

So, that is what my talk is about. Is about the dignity that comes with something that we take for granted, but a good portion of the world, it's the best thing that's ever happened to them. And what that means? And how we can use that in our lives to appreciate the things we take for granted.

PATRICK CASALE: Wow, I love that. That's such a great perspective. And obviously, like a very good, like, catch line or hook line into like the topic. But that's such a powerful message of, like, the things that we are very privileged to take for granted. Like, yeah, public bathrooms, or tons of accessible bathrooms, and running water, and like, things, you know-

MIKKI GATES: Toilet paper.

PATRICK CASALE: Toilet paper, yeah, for sure, or plumbing infrastructure, or whatever the case may be. And you know, obviously, I have not been able to experience that experience that you just mentioned. But when Hurricane Helene happened here, we didn't have running water for 65 days and couldn't flush the toilet, couldn't take a shower, couldn't drink water, couldn't do any of the things. And you just realize how much you take for granted. Like, running water, flushing a toilet, like being able to take a 60-second shower without stress. And yeah, I cannot imagine, like getting a toilet installed in a village where it's like, this is going to be, like, life-changing and life-altering.

MIKKI GATES: Life-changing. And we asked her, okay, now that you have this, her daughter lived with her. I'm like, "Okay, now that you have this, are you worried about the rest of the village wanting to come use it?" And she was like, "No, I'm not worried at all. I invite them to come use it." And what a different perspective, right?

PATRICK CASALE: For sure.

MIKKI GATES: From our reality, where we had things that, you know, like they lock my door, you know, like she opened it up to the community. She said to me, it cost $150 US to get this toilet and all the plumbing installed. And then, every three to five years, it'll cost between like, 15 to 20 US dollars to empty the well, because it drains into a well.

And she said, when we were talking, she was like, "Of course, I invite my neighbors to come use this because they could never afford something like this. I'm so fortunate that I'm one of the people that can afford this, so I'm going to open it up to the community." So, you can imagine when I got to Disney World, the exact opposite, people getting upset when they have to wait in line or-

PATRICK CASALE: I know.

MIKKI GATES: …walking by the custodians and not even acting like they're human and like, yeah, very, very different experience. Yes, I'm get excited to share that story. I think it'll resonate with people because it's about toilets, but it's not really about toilets. So, I'm pretty excited to put the idea out there.

PATRICK CASALE: Well, that's the whole point of these messages, right? That you can deliver, like, quite the punch in a 15-minute time span to kind of help shift and alter perspective on things. Because, you know, I think so often for those of us, especially who aren't well-traveled or haven't had the luxury or privilege of traveling, you don't have a lot to compare our day-to-day to. And it's so easy to take little things for granted.

And traveling for me through, like, Latin and Central America or in different parts of the world, it always opens up that perspective of just curiosity about how other people live. And I think for those of you who want to read between the lines, that we need more of that now than ever in this current iteration of our existence here in this country. So, I think that sounds like a wonderful talk and presentation.

I want to be real honest with you. And if Michael listens to this, he might cringe, but I had never watched a TED talk before stepping into [CROSSTALK 00:28:29]-

MIKKI GATES: [CROSSTALK 00:28:29] a lot of people, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah. Like, I only watched Michael's in spurts, one to like be like, "Oh, one more view for his talk." But also, because I don't know how long these are supposed to be, and I need to know. And-

MIKKI GATES: Yeah, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: So, that was quite helpful. But yeah, I had never watched a TEDx. Admittedly, I still have not, to everyone listening, so you know?

MIKKI GATES: You're going to watch more after November for [INDISCERNIBLE 00:28:58].

PATRICK CASALE: I'll definitely watch the toilet TEDx.

MIKKI GATES: The toilet TEDx, please.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, I think that's an important message for those of you listening, as we are getting ready to wrap this up, of like, I never have listened to a podcast before. I still haven't. And I have two podcasts. Like, I just think that sometimes we let certain things prevent us from pursuing certain things because we're supposed to, like, we convince ourselves we're supposed to be these, like, experts in all of this stuff where we know nothing about.

MIKKI GATES: I agree so much. When I took the leap to do the TEDx, and then to get the TEDx license myself, I had volunteered at the previous one, but I have no experience. I had some experience in event planning, but nothing at this level that required such audiovisual, and like coaching speakers, and different things like that. And so, I had a little bit of impostor syndrome. But I was like, "I'm going to do this. Like, I'm just going to try it. What's the worst that could happen? The worst that could happen is I fail, and I tried it, and I've learned from it."

But I think, for me, I had touched on this before. I had a life-changing experience due to a really significant health scare in 2016. And that really changed the course of my life. And I think you hear that a lot with a lot of people, where something happened, they have a cancer scare, they had a really bad car accident, or something happened. Mine was that I had a stroke and ended up having emergency open-heart surgery. And whatever it is, you hear that from people, and you hear like that's when they write that book, or that's when they get ready for their TED talk, or whatever it is.

And I would love to help people reach that point without having to have that life-changing experience. Like, how can we help you get over that hurdle of, like, taking risks, giving it a try, going for whatever it is you're passionate about, or exploring, or for people, maybe who've never been out of the United States, to take the leap and go somewhere and get that new experience. I would love to, like, in the next stage of my career, and even of my life, and even in my career, what I do with my work with the NGO, that's what I'm trying to get people to do, is like, let go of that fear of failing and try something, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. Yeah. I mean, I agree 100% with all of what you said. And it would be nice if you didn't have to have that, like, life-altering experience to then say, I'm going to go for, you realize life is so short or can be changed in the blink of an eye. But yeah, I like what you're saying about that and just going for it.

And honestly, like, you know, I just want to say, as we're kind of wrapping this up, like you've had such a ripple effect by hosting these events, right? Like, having these speakers who have had these experiences, who then their talks reach however many people, I mean, there's ripple effect in that, and I think there's impact in that, significant impact. So, I just want to congratulate you on that, and you know, wish you the best of luck in November. And I'll definitely watch it.

MIKKI GATES: I'm going to hold you to that.

PATRICK CASALE: My co-host of my other podcast is like, "Have you listened to any podcast this month? I'm like, "No." And she's like [CROSSTALK 00:32:08]-

MIKKI GATES: [CROSSTALK 00:32:08].

PATRICK CASALE: I'm like, cool.

MIKKI GATES: But that's like, some people's thing. No, I get that. I totally get that. But, yeah, I appreciate that. That's actually been my greatest honor. My greatest like, if I reflect back as much as I've learned personally from organizing these TEDx events, when I get emails or I see on LinkedIn, or some sort of social media, something that one of the speakers has posted, and I see what is happening, and I know that the catalyst was their TEDx talk. I honestly get tears in my eyes every time. And I just am so proud of that.

It's not that I did it; the speaker did it, with their idea and who they are. But to have given them that stage, I feel really proud of that. Yeah, it's something that I'm really… And the people that I've connected with, like you, and all of the speakers that stand on our red dot, like, I just feel like I'm so lucky to know everybody.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, well, again, major congratulations and-

MIKKI GATES: Thank you.

PATRICK CASALE: Best of luck as you prepare, even though you say you're not that nervous. So, that's good.

MIKKI GATES: Ask me again in October, because it's November 15th, so yeah, probably end of October, my story will be different.

PATRICK CASALE: My anxiety ramped up massively the week of the event, where I was, like, in Colorado Springs by myself in an Airbnb. All I was doing was rehearsing. And I was like, "Yeah, this is overwhelming."

MIKKI GATES: This is real, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: To all of those listening, I mean, put yourselves out there. You know, apply for the TED Talk, apply for the presentation, or the conference, you know? Ask for the partnership or the collaboration, because the worst that can happen is that it's a no, and then you just try again, and you figure out. And maybe the next time is the better time for you. So, I really just want to reiterate that.

Mikki anywhere where people can find you, so that if they want more information or want to support however they can.

MIKKI GATES: Yeah, yeah. So, to find me personally, the best method is LinkedIn. So, just my name on LinkedIn, you'll see me. I look just like this in my headshot, so you'll know it's me.

If you want to learn more about TEDx events, you could go to tedxmanitousprings.com if you're interested in applying for an event that we're hosting, or if you just want to reach out and ask, like, you know, a couple questions before you apply, feel free to go to our website and message us. And we'll get back to you.

PATRICK CASALE: Really cool staff and group of people there that are volunteering their time. I highly recommend, you know, applying for the next TEDxManitouSprings opportunity when it comes up, if it feels aligned.

For everyone that's listening, new episodes are out on Saturdays and all major platforms in YouTube. You can like, download, subscribe, share. Doubt yourself, do it anyway.