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Coach Mikki and Friends
The Most Courageous Thing You Can Do.. Is Be Yourself! - Coach Mikki
C'mon in and make yourself comfortable! Grab a cup of coffee and listen in as our Circle of Friends Guests share their stories! We hope to inspire you, make you laugh and maybe teach you something new.
Come as you are, no perfection is needed!
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Coach Mikki and Friends
Bananas, Blizzards, And Being A Decent Human- Melissa Johnson - S6E1
Welcome back Mel!! Listen as we swap stories about choosing presence over panic, from a tense checkout line during storm prep to why people are buying vinyl, CDs and even flip phones again. We share simple ways to read a room, spread calm, and enjoy real connection without screens.
• Mel returns for a monthly chat
• reading emotional undercurrents in public spaces
• small acts that lower crowd anxiety
• practical storm prep without panic
• games, conversation and offline time when power drops
• creative outlets: Mel’s word search books and journals
• digital fatigue, AI slop and the flip phone shift
• owning media again: vinyl, CDs and VHS nostalgia
• streaming frustrations vs tangible collections
• choosing presence, compliments and everyday kindness
Links to Mel’s books
We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS
Hey, how are you? I'm so glad that you're here with us. And if this is your first time joining us, come on in, make yourself comfortable. And for those of you that are joining us on the first time, we are excited that you are here. This is a podcast that is just fun. We give you kind of information. Sometimes we just have a good time. But otherwise, just come on and let's have some fun today. And I'm Coach Mickey. And I'm Mel. I'm so excited that she is back here with us today. And for those of you that have been listening to Coach Mickey and Friends for a very long time, you know that Mel has been a co-host uh for I think two seasons. We did two seasons together. And then uh as life would have it, we kind of did some different things. And I am I have been so excited to have you back on today. And and now for those of you that uh can be excited about this and always asking me about where is Mel? Um, we're gonna do this once a month. We're gonna do this once a month. How fun is that?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I'm so excited. I'm I'm I'm ready to be back.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I've missed you.
SPEAKER_01:I've missed you.
SPEAKER_00:So uh we want to kind of kick off. This is season six. Do you believe it? Season six, Mel. Wow, I can't believe it. It's crazy. I know, I know. And uh, you know, as the seasons have gone along, it's been great, it's been fun. I've had some incredible people that I've interviewed, and then I thought, you know, I think what this world needs is a little bit more upbeat fun and insight, you know. And you and I talked about that off air, and it was just like, my gosh, you're so right about that.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, absolutely. We need to have some fun and and positivity and you know, some laughter and and good, you know, in the world today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. So I came across this, and you you had told me off air that you had a story, and I thought this would be appropriate for this. And uh so we want to share with you guys, and this is gonna be something really fun that we're gonna do each month. We're gonna pick a topic and kind of discuss this, you know, and this is something hopefully you guys can resonate with. But they're saying that that psychologists say people who let go let others go first in line when they seem rushed display six situational awareness traits that most people are too self-focused to develop.
SPEAKER_01:Pretty cool, huh? Yeah. So I believe it. I truly believe it because I think um I've I have a little bit more intuitiveness as well when I'm usually out and about anyway. And um, you know, I I've seen I've seen in other people, you know, showing this type of this type of kind, I call it kindness, but and no, I know we've all done it at one point in our life though, too.
SPEAKER_00:To let other people go with first, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And you know what, I do that. If if I have like if I have a big grocery cart full of stuff and I see somebody behind me who's got like two or three or five items, I'm like, just go go ahead. Or if I see a mother who's like struggling because she's outnumbered by her children, I'll never go in for me.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I know. Well, the other day, I mean, we're getting ready to have a huge ice storm here. So for the last week, it's been extremely stressful just going to the store just to get, you know, simple basic items. And uh my mom and I had gone to Sam's and saw, you know, how how much stuff people can buy when they're at Sam's or Costco's, you know, buggies and buggies. And we were the same way. We were stocking up on some stuff we were short in, and literally we were there at the self-checkouts, and it was just chaos. It was just chaos. People were rushing, people were in a hurry, and you know, they were trying, you know, not knowing what's coming up with the storm, and they just wanted to be prepared, you know. And there was this lady who had pulled in behind us, and I saw her, you know, she's a little older lady, and she had like maybe four items, and she was juggling as it was. It's like I, you know, I don't know if she couldn't get a buggy or forgot to get a buggy, or was just in a hurry and wasn't thinking. But bless her heart, I just watched her. She was just kind of looking from aisle to aisle to aisle, just trying to gauge which one was going to go the fastest. So, you know, I told mom, I said, you know, let's hold up a minute. We haven't started. So we just let her go in front of and she you could just see it, just I could just see the stress in her face. And then you could just see her, like, oh my God, she just like closed her eyes for a second. So, you know, it, you know, I do the courtesy too, but I could see at that moment that she was, you know, on the verge of a panic attack or something. So I just said, you know, and mom's like, oh, absolutely, you know, having so many, you know, just a handful of items, but uh, you know, that kind of hopefully made her day and and made it a little easier. She didn't have to worry about that and waiting in line. And so, I mean, I think it's I think it's a good thing to practice, you know, if you if you know, if you're to especially to just look around and just kind of gauge what what people's reactions and and you know where they might be at that moment in life, because we don't know what they're going through, you know.
SPEAKER_00:You know, you you're right. And you know what's the I'm glad that you shared that because one of the first things that they say in this is that the people that are willing to let others go in front of them or aware is they read emotional undercurrents before they become obvious. And the fact that you could see this woman was struggling and she was having, you know, whatever was going on and why she was rushing or whatever the reason may have been, you know, you caught it. You you you actually tuned into that, you know, while everybody else was so self-focused on getting out of there and getting hauled and and knowing if they've got everything that they need for however many days you you may have to deal with this storm. Right. You know, the fact that you caught that male, I mean, that just makes you exceptional. You know, the fact that you could actually see her her struggling and you know, her age. And so it's a lot of things that you actually took into consideration, you know, to let her go. And um, that's that's really cool. Uh, but you know, I I see that all the time too, or I'll see people that are just um, you know, they're they're rushing or they're oblivious or they're on their phone, they're just not really aware. And I think that our society has become a lot more that way where we're not really in tune to what's happening around us with other people emotionally, because we're so so I don't want to say self-absorbed, but maybe distracted, maybe that's a better word, to really recognize on what other people are are dealing with or how what's happening around them.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I totally believe that. And I know that with um, you know, social medias and phones and things like that, we always we kind of little have a little bit of a disconnect anyway. And it is hard um, you know, when you're out in public to, you know, just to stop a moment and kind of look outside that and just try and read people and because you know, it I'll just remember this one time I was I personally was going through a lot of of grief, um, you know, losing family members and things. And I remember, and then this is kind of sad, but I remember this, you know, and I've told my mom about it, that I'm walking along and I was thinking about um, I was thinking about it, and it was very sad. And I must, you know, I show my emotions on my face really easy. So you know whether I'm confused or mad or whatever. But I guess I was looking pretty sad. And I had some someone just walked up to me and just said, Hey, you dropped something. And I and I'm looking around and I'm confused. And he said, Your smile. And I it made me even sadder because I thought, oh, that made me feel bad because it didn't make me feel any better. It's like I know that they I don't know if they were just trying to be mean or or maybe they were trying to be nice. I didn't really know at the time, but I think the key was like I told mom, I said, you never really know what someone's going through. And, you know, you try to be nice, just a smile would help, or helping somebody pick something up if they can't reach it, or or um, you know, just holding a door for somebody. If you see, you mean just trying to connect one form and another, at least you can try and do it once a day, you know. Just if you're out and about and you see someone, just try to make that little bit of human connection and look at their eyes and try and read a little bit about maybe what they're going through. Or if you don't know, then just just smile, you know?
SPEAKER_00:Little things. I agree with you. And I think also the other thing too that we we um we'll look at people, and like you said, it a lot of times we are so wrapped up in what's going on with us that if you notice it or you see it, like you write a smile. I just read uh an article, which is one of those quick articles that had said when you compliment somebody, even a stranger, whether you say, you know, night, nice shirt, nice shoes, you know, or wow, your hair looks nice, or just anything that gives them a compliment, it raises their it raises, I guess I I for lack of better words, the happiness in them. Um just that split moment. And we don't do that, and it just makes them feel good about themselves. And when you don't know what someone's going through, maybe just a kind word can make all the difference in in the world. Absolutely. And we can do that uh without taking away, like you said, it's free, it takes a split second, and all it does is it does something good, which is interesting because the second thing that they say is that the people that let other people go in front of them in line is they maintain peripheral awareness without losing focus, meaning that just like you said, you're walking by somebody and they they drop something or whatever, and you just take a split second, it doesn't really take away from you, it doesn't take away from what you're doing, but you have that ability to recognize that and see it, and then you know, help them in that that moment, I guess. Right. Yeah um what do you what do you find with these people that are rushing around? Because the third one is so they understand time differently. You know, and you said that you and your mom just let that gal go ahead of you or that woman go ahead of you, and but you said everybody else was like rushing and they were like they had like deadlines and schedules, you know, in the grocery store. Yeah. What do you think actually made that that sense of urgency, you know, than any other time?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I think it's just well, for one thing, I think that because for one thing they're being inundated um, you know, over the news and the radio and and people just talking around them about, you know, in this particular case, you know, all the bad weather is going to be dangerous, it's gonna be icy, you might lose power. And I think with, you know, I'm just trying to think of it sometimes, even if I was, you know, full day at work and I'm stressed out by deadlines at work, and then all I can think of is, oh my gosh, I need to, now I need to drop by, you know, the Walmart or wherever and deal with finding parking. And then that's stressful. And then all you can focus on is getting what you want and getting what you need in case of something happening and getting out. And I think it's it is, you know, just a lot happening in the mind. I mean, I know we've all been there. It's like I'm I just can't think except for this one thing. And I have lost, you know, the whole, you know, um sightings around me. And it's like one time I always said it's like, you know, have you ever have you ever been so kind of like in your own thoughts or in your own head and and thinking about everything that you didn't even know how you, you know, got to where you were at, you know, if you were driving your car. So I think that sometimes you kind of zone out a little bit because you're so focused on, you know, these tasks and the you know, the anxiety of what's going on around you, because it's not just you, because I think I think if you're in a crowd of anxious people, you're gonna be anxious. If you're in a crowd of calm people, you're gonna be calm. So I I feel that that could have a lint to it. Cause when everybody's in the store and they're all rushing around, I think that just adds to, you know, your anxiety. And so you start doing it. But um, I try to I've tried to not allow it to crowd crowd me or stress me out too much. But I I if I lose power, I lose power, you know. I'll just eat crackers.
SPEAKER_00:But I know, I know. I notice that too. A lot of times when we have a lot of storms, and I remember at Back East, you know, because of the ice storms and everything, you know, and now granted back east, most houses have got fireplaces. So you have that ability to keep warm. I would say, you know, unless you're heating your house through uh, you know, electric or whatever, you know, and I've experienced that. I've experienced it some really bad winters where we've had like a week without power because we've had these bad ice storms. Oh, yeah. And you just, you know, you just prepare. I mean, whether it's, you know, um keeping the fireplace going, if you don't have a fireplace, then you work it where you've got the ability to stay warm and keep warm, you know, candles, you know, things like that. So you I mean there's a way to do it. I think we go into panic mode because we realize that we're gonna be inconvenient for inconvenience for a couple days. Uh but the other thing too, I want to go swing back to what you said. I think people feed off of other people's emotions. Everybody goes into a panic and they're grabbing things off the shelves. Like I just saw an article this morning because I'm aware of your ice storm that's gonna come and that's gonna hit like Texas and Georgia. I mean, it's gonna be pretty significant and it's going pretty far south. And these are people that are not used to uh things like this that are that cold and that you know devastating. But it's like all the bananas were gone, and I'm and they showed how and they can't keep bananas, and I'm like, how many bananas do you actually eat? Whether whether it's on a regular basis during the week or um for an ice or snowstorm, do you did you really need to have the run on bananas?
SPEAKER_01:Well what's so funny about it is people always ask the question, why do Southerners always run to the grocery store and get bread and milk? And it always comes back to uh it always comes back to it. Um, you know, if you do lose your power, you know, for one thing, you if you don't have gas, you have electric, then you can't use your stove, so you can't really cook anything, but you can make peanut butter sandwiches, banana sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And then the milk, of course, is to make, you know, snow cream, but you can't do that out of ice. But um, it at least it's just like a basic staple. Um, this is usually what I tell people. Now, in today's turn times times, I'm sorry, in today's times, there's all kinds of stuff. So, um, like I said, crackers, cheese, you whatever you name it, I'm not, I don't, I'm not gonna worry too much about it. It's it it's not something to really stress overly much, you know, because I think that they're they've got they've prepared. And so if people know that cities and and things are preparing for it, and even if it's you lose your power, it hopefully it's not as gonna be as bad as the hurricane that happened in the mountains where people were out for for months. But um, you know, I think that it's like sometimes just slow down, take a deep breath, and just don't go out, just stay home. Don't don't go to the grocery store and stress yourself out, just stay home.
SPEAKER_00:But that explains the bananas because the peanut butter banana sandwich, I didn't think about that. Um, but I am gonna swing back to the milk though. Oh, I guess you can put the milk outside. Because if your power goes out, and as a matter of fact, now that I say that, I thought about that. We had an ice storm. I remember as a kid, and you know, we lost everything that were, you know, the no electricity. Now we had two fireplaces in our house, which was great because at least kept the house warm. You know, even if we had to sleep on the floor, you know, in the living room by the fireplace, which is great. But I remember, you know, I remember saying, okay, my dad would go, okay, grab grab what's ever going to go bad and let's put it out in the snow. And at least it stayed cold. And for people that you know don't recognize that or don't know that, maybe this is a tip for you. If you're gonna deal with ice in Texas or Georgia, and you're like, I have no electricity, well, put it outside as long as it's below what, as long as it's 32 or 40, I guess you're good, right?
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. That's what we used to do anyway. We'd put it out there, but with the with the ice, you know, it's it's a little different, but you can't even go anywhere. I mean, nothing goes in ice, so you're kind of stuck at home. So just get a book and and a candle, or maybe a, you know, now they got battery operating candles. So but yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I don't know. Well, here's a thought. How about maybe just spending time with each other and actually having a real conversation to play in a board game? Absolutely. Something that doesn't require you being on uh on the internet. And it's um actually maybe that's the next thing we can cover because what I realize is a lot of people don't know what to do when they don't have their phones. It's it's like foreign to them. You know, they don't have their phone or they don't have the computer. Like if their internet goes down for one day, you know, life is over.
SPEAKER_01:I know. There's there's whole there's whole generations like my niece. Uh, she's always known you know, the internet. Uh she's 11 years old, so she doesn't know anything past that. So anytime there's a power outage, is it's like a moment of panic. What do I do? I'm like, come on, I'll show you. We grew up when we didn't have but one channel on TV and no internet. Oh, I dated myself.
SPEAKER_00:It's time to learn a card game, to play cards. Oh my gosh, and actually converse with each other. What a concept, right? Exactly. It is it's so interesting, but you know, we've we've uh as a as human beings, and based on the different time frames, like you said, you and I grew up without internet, you know, and it and it just evolved and now it's become a huge part of our life, and it's you know, even becoming more substantial in what we're doing and how we view things and what we are what we're looking for. But also on the other hand, we know how to deal with stuff, like example, we don't have the internet, we don't have the phone if the power goes out, and we're able to to say, okay, this is no big deal. We can move on and do something else. And actually, I want to lead that into something because I want to give you a shout out. I know during this time frame, you've been doing something, actually, something that everybody could do if the power was out. So I care about the little books that you've been making because they're awesome.
SPEAKER_01:I uh yeah, I have been I have been like dipping my toes in all kinds of little entrepreneurial things, and um uh other than I haven't written like fiction novels, but I have been digging into creating word search books and um just some really cute little journals using my own photography, my own um photos that I've taken and putting them on some covers of some journals. And yeah, I've just been trying my hand at a something a little different creatively.
SPEAKER_00:So what's your what's your word search books? What what are those like? What are you doing?
SPEAKER_01:Um well um there I did a Halloween one and it's just specifically Halloween, and I like to make mine, you know, where they have like a little theme, like uh like Halloween songs or something, and then you go and you search for the words. And I did a winter one. I'm getting ready. I'm probably within the next week or so. I'm getting ready to do a spring one. So I'll have that one up and ready within a couple of weeks. So I'm excited about that. I'm very proud of those. Those are those have been fun to do.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think I've got your I did. I got your Halloween one. It was cute. And what I'll do uh for you guys, just like any other time, I'll make sure that when you click on Mel's name, it'll drive you right to Amazon so you can find her books. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that that would be fun. But you know, and how fun that you're doing something different. And I think a lot there's people I've been Notice a couple of my son's friends, my son's 25, and um he has a couple of friends that I have met that have said that they have switched over to the old flip phones, they don't want the smartphones anymore. Really? It's too distracting, it's too much. And they said it was overwhelming between working and some of that are still going to school, that they just want to have a conversation. And I thought that was interesting. Wow. That that that group of you know individuals or that that uh age group is looking at going more to the flip phone. So I think there's going to be a switch. I don't know if I want to say or shift, maybe that's a better word, a shift, in how people are getting frustrated with social media, getting frustrated with just the the crap that's being put out there. Because now, now, first of all, let me preempt it with this. I like AI, and there is some things I use for AI for, which I think is amazing. But then there's also the AI slop. Oh gosh, yeah. And it's the the things that are made on all the social media platforms that are just entertainment for what 30 seconds, and a lot of them are all just AI made, but it sucks everybody in thinking, oh, you know, oh, this must be real, but it's not. And I think the ones that recognize that it's AI are are like not they're not having it, they're not doing it because I've heard my son say it, I've heard a lot of his friends say it, and they're like, I'm not looking at the AI slob, it's crap. I'm not gonna get sucked into that. And so I think we may see a shift. And I again, I I have nothing to back this up. This is my own humble opinion, but I don't know. What are your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_01:Well, actually, I actually seen it. I also um do reselling on eBay and Poshmark and things like that. And the one thing that I have been following is this huge resurgence of um this you know, the younger generations wanting CDs, uh VHS tapes. They're I mean, uh VCR is crazy to find today. And because they they want to get away. They want, they want, I think in a way, maybe they want to experience a little bit of the nostalgia they hear their grandparents or their parents talking about. Back in the day, you know, back in the 80s and the 90s when um we listened to to CDs and um I mean I I was just shocked just doing research on the demand for it. So I do think that there's a resurgence that people want music that was um written. Because my uh Kylie and I were talking about a song that she was listening to and she kept calling it by a name. It's it's just been remixed today. And I said, Well, no, that's a song from the 80s. And I had to go pull it up and play it for her. She's like, Oh my gosh, that's it. So she she had a new a whole new appreciation of wanting, you know, to hear that song as well. So I think I think it's there is um a little bit of pushback that they they do want to to be authentic. I guess that's maybe not what I want to say is go back to the ground, root the roots of it, you know. I I agree with you.
SPEAKER_00:And so I was up in Northern California, uh this a couple well, I was up there this past week, and there is a huge record store, and I could not, and I'm talking about vinyl albums. And what I did notice was okay, now you and I know when we had albums, I mean we were listening to stuff like um I'm trying to go back. My albums can were so eclectic. I had everything I had Me too. I I had from Madonna to Pink Floyd to you know Led Zeppelin to uh Scar Jim Peppers only Arts Club. Yes, okay, we're probably showing our age now, but I know however, but what I did notice because I was I went I was looking through it and I saw Lady Gaga. And I thought, how in the world does Lady Gaga have an album? She wasn't even around when we had vinyl. But what I'm finding is these artists realized that vinyl is now becoming a huge trend. I bought a record player. I bought a record player and I grabbed all my old albums that I had since I was a kid when I was back east, and I was like, but I did notice that people are buying again the CDs. Yes, they're buying the vinyl, and I was wondering about that, and there were two things that was presented to me. One, people are so sick and tired of paying for streaming, and it's like so they want to buy something and own it. And it was said to me the other day, and it hit me pretty hard. They said, You will rent everything and own nothing and like it. And I thought that sucks.
SPEAKER_01:That is uh that does suck because it's not like you're even it's not when you buy it to use it, be it a movie or a book or whatever, you're paying for it, you know. I mean, you're paying pretty decent money, I would think. It's not like you're getting it for free.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but I mean, and not that Amazon's ever gonna go down, but I mean, think about it. All the books that you have on Kindle, if Amazon ceased to exist, or again, you didn't have it because you're in a snowstorm. You can find out the physical book.
SPEAKER_01:So much for my books to read.
SPEAKER_00:But the one that gets me is uh all the streaming services, and that could be why people are now buying the videos and the things that they want VHS or just the CDs, because I've got a stack of CDs that I've had from when my you know I had my kids were little, I have favorite CDs. My dad has still had a CD player, and we would he'd pop them in and we'd watch that. He didn't have the streaming. I mean, even recently, you know, right up until when he passed away, which was three years ago, so it tells you how current that is. But and you're right, because I'm thinking about this. Every time I want to watch something, I have to go back and buy it. And then I'm like, okay, now it's not on this one, it's on this one. And then I'm like, this is really frustrating. I just want to watch the damn movie and not have to try to find it or pay it for it again because it's no longer on that service. Right. So I can I can see how this is a shift because I while these companies think, oh, you know, you'll buy it and and not and own nothing, I don't think it's gonna last very long. I don't go, uh, I don't think so. I'll go back to that. And I I'm okay with that. And you're right. I'll grab your CD player or your or a way to um listen to your music. Now, the music CDs, I don't even think they make the ability to listen to your car anymore. I don't think it's in my truck. I have a screen, but I don't think I have the ability to listen to a C. I'm sure I'm thinking this too. Do I? I don't think I do. I don't I don't think I have my one in mine. Yeah. But do you remember that where you could actually just pop in a CD and listen to it in the car?
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you remember, you know, you'd carry them all with you to you'd have a big big thing sitting on this the passenger seat and you flip through. You pop them in there.
SPEAKER_00:You had to strategically have them in order because back then, because you had to actually take it out of the case and pop it in, you know, or you did it when you stopped and you made a choice, you were like, okay. And then if you wanted to skip back point by the track or skip by the song you want to listen to, you had to almost know what order it was in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, exactly. Oh my gosh, can you imagine how much we remember that? It's it's the third song, and you just go you just remember that even to this day. Go on to this CD, it's the third song I want to hear, and that's it. Oh my god, those are the days.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh. Well, I'm excited that we had a chance to connect today, and I'm so looking forward to doing this once a month. And if Mel's schedule allows, I would love to have you back as often as you possibly can come on because everybody has missed you. So many people ask about you, and I've missed you. And uh my I have to admit, and I'm gonna say this out loud some of the best and fun podcasts I've had have been with you, Mel, and you just crack me up. I love the spirit, I love who you are. You're an incredible human being. And uh I I just uh I'm so happy to have you back on air with us.
SPEAKER_01:Well, thank you. You've made my day. Thank you so much. I have missed you. I missed everybody, and and um hopefully we get to do this again soon and have some more fun chit chats.
SPEAKER_00:All right, you guys, uh let's uh let's give uh Mel a well a warm welcome back. And uh again, I'm gonna put the links to her books um in her name when you see in the description in the podcast. And uh for those of you again that are joining us for the first time, if you're not familiar who Mel is, go back to our other seasons where you can see and you'll hear some of especially our our our best one. I like I told you off air, our best one that we have that still gets high rating is tell me something funny. Oh my gosh, because we just laughed at the whole thing, and our stories are just uh fun and it'll brighten your day and it'll give you an idea of who we are and what we do. So all right, girl. I love you. I look forward to seeing you next month. Awesome, thank you so much. I love you too. All right, you guys. Remember, the most courageous thing you can do is be yourself. I'll look forward to seeing you next week. Until then, see ya. Bye, y'all.