One of the wisest thoughts my pageant coach shared with me when I was competing was this: in order to improve in pageantry, you need to advance to the next level of competition.

There was no way I was going to become an elite pageant titleholder if I continued to compete in small pageants where the numbers were small and there was limited competition. Please don't miss understand what I'm saying. All you really need are two strong contestants and you have competition.

However, your skills are really tested and brought to a new level when you compete with 50 or more polished contestants from across the country. I've seen it time and time again where contestants will stay at the festival or small pageant level because they feel comfortable there and generally do well. Small pageants are at the entry level position, and the numbers tend to be smaller with most of the contestants having little to no knowledge of what is expected of them. It's easier to gain confidence and win a title at this level with little to no help. It's a great place to start. That's where most people, including myself, started.

But the growth at this level is very horizontal not vertical. A contestant usually stays the same with few challenges that stimulate growth. Again, I'm not knocking small pageants. They provide a very important and needed opportunity for the mass number of contestants who want to try pageantry with minimal expense. But if you want to capture a more prestigious crown, you need to step up your game and enter the big leagues.

 
True personal growth takes place when you constantly raise the bar and keep putting yourself out of your comfort zone. Contestants need to attend and ultimately compete in a national pageant so they can see the caliber of contestants outside of their local and state pageants. There are many advantages to attending a national pageant, but I have chosen three to highlight in this article.

• Overcoming your fears. Most of the fear we experience is fear of the unknown. We think of every possible thing that could go wrong at a pageant and at some level feel we're not worthy of being there. By immersing yourself in the top levels of pageantry, you begin to picture yourself in that environment and suddenly the reality becomes a possibility in your mind instead of the impossible dream. You start to realize, if she can do, so can I.
• The standards are much higher. Everything at a national pageant is bigger including your nerves. The wardrobe, hair, makeup, communication skills, stage, lights, production and caliber of the contestants are unlike what you experience at preliminary state competitions. If a contestant isn't expecting this, it could really throw them off, and they will quickly spiral downward into the land of "I'm not good enough. Why did I ever come here?" We want to stay far, far away from this land.

• A better understanding of what is expected of the titleholder, their responsibilities, and broader opportunity for appearances and service.Riding in parades and helping with grand openings for businesses are only two opportunities for titleholders to make appearances. Some people think these are the only types of events that they can participate in. But, let's be honest, riding in parades are more of a fun PR opportunity than they are for personal growth. Your speaking and mental toughness skills are not developed sitting in a gorgeous convertible.

National titleholders are well spoken, well rounded and professional put together young women or ladies. The only way you'll improve and grow is to move up to the next level of competition, associate with people of higher standards, get out of your comfort zone, and work with a skilled pageant coach. Yes, titleholders have pageant coaches. I'm going to cover the topic of pageant coaching next week, however, please don't be deceived by anyone who tells you that they have made it to the top all on their own. It simply isn't the truth.

The cream of the crop is supported by a foundation of family, friends, hairstylists, makeup artists, wardrobe consultants, speaking coaches, directors, photographers, fitness trainers, and multiple pageant coaches. Some people use a few or all of the above professionals; but everyone has help. The label you put on the help doesn't matter. Help is help. Paid for or free. The end result is the same.

I would love to help you go to the next level in pageantry and in your life. If you're ready to take it to the next level, visit my website at www.WinningThroughPageantry.com to see how we can work together.

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My girls learned so much this past week by going to the Ohio State Fair for judging of their 4H projects. Multiple times, I heard them say, "Wow, that was a lot better than what I saw at the county level" or "Look at all the detail and depth that person put into their project. No wonder they placed so well. I'll do that next year."

You see, we need to expose ourselves to new people and opportunities for us to continue to grow and learn how we can improve. Keeping things the same is fear based, not building of one's confidence. What area of your life have you kept the same from "fear of the unknown?" What one thing could you do this week to step out of your comfort zone and open the door to possibility?

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC certified personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world, was Mrs.Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels.

Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

Our family of five just returned from a week at the America's National Teenager Scholarship Organization (ANTSO) pageant.

Two of my three daughters competed and I know firsthand how stressful and crazy it can be for a family at a national pageant.

We drove 8 hours to Philadelphia for the pageant and I wanted to share some tips with you that made our pageant life a bit easier this week.

Tip 1: Fill one suitcase with food. Put the food in a large suitcase for a couple reasons. First, it looks more professional than a bunch of plastic bags when you're checking into the hotel; and secondly, things won't fall out as you're taking them into the room.

My pageant food list is instant oatmeal, vacuum packed tuna, raisins, plain almonds, peanut butter, whole wheat/low sodium crackers, energy drink (Ocean Spray Cranenergy low sugar/low calorie) cases of bottled water, plain Cheerios, Goldfish crackers, and snack pack of prunes.

Except for the water, I pack this even when I fly. This food doesn't require refrigeration and will fill in the gaps with protein and complex carbs when you don't have time to eat at the restaurant, or when a restaurant isn't close enough to the pageant sight. When I drive, I also bring under ripe fruit like bananas and peaches. Trust me. You'll save yourself time, money and stress by bringing some of your own food.

Tip 2: Make sure you have AAA or some auto plan before leaving home if you're driving to the pageant. Dead batteries, flat tires and locked in keys happen more often than you think. Also, take about $200 in cash for toll roads, fast food and other misc. expenses that don't take credit cards, or if their computers are down.

Tip 3: Get food for contestants while they're in rehearsals. If you don't bring food with you, then get carry out food while the contestants are in required activities. This is a great activity for husbands, dads, boyfriends or other family members who are there to support you. That way when the contestants break, they can eat and relax a bit in the room before they start activities again. Always have bottles of water with you. You don't want the contestants to get lightheaded or get a headache due to dehydration.

Tip 4: Buy a box of gallon and quart sized storage zip lock bags to take to the pageant. Use these to organize everything from jewelry to wardrobe malfunction kits. I put all parts of each competition into a separate baggie and labeled it. You see, no one was allowed backstage at the national pageant. The contestants had to be completely self reliant and organized-even the nine year olds. Baggies will save your sanity.

Tip 5: Put some safety pins, double stick tape, tissue, and moistened towelettes in a baggie to send back stage with your contestant. Stuff happens. But if you're ready for it, the stress is almost non-existent. I always have a small sewing kit with me too.
Tip 6: Pack a small rolling suitcase, one lightweight hanging bag and extra hangers for each person that is going to the pageant.

This way, each person can handle their own luggage. Even a small child can pull a small roller bag and wear a back pack.

Write an inventory list of what is in each suitcase so anyone in the family could pack or unpack the contents to make sure nothing is left behind or forgotten. I even use to take a picture of the contents of the suitcase for my kids when they were little and couldn't read. All they had to do was look at the picture of everything that needed to be in the bag, and they could pack themselves.

Tip 7: Buy a makeup carrier that can organize and hold all of your makeup in one place. Set up your makeup area by the window in your hotel if you can. Natural light is the best source for you to get the right amount of color on your skin.

Tip 8: Consider two hotel rooms if you have young children or a large family. Contestants need time and space to prepare and get ready. If baby Sally is getting tired and fussy, dad can take her to the other room so mom can finish getting Susie ready for the competition. Or if dad wants to watch TV, he can do that and let Susie practice interview or talent without the distraction and noise. If you only have one room, then have a second adult available to take the other children out of the room to do something while your contestant is getting ready.

Tip 9: Allow extra time for elevator congestion. If your pageant is in a big hotel, you need to allow extra time to get on and off the elevators. When everyone is trying to get to the same place at the same time, this creates a problem. At pageants, you don't want to be late. When the production crew or directors say "be here at 10AM", they mean 10AM. It's better to be early than late. 10 minutes early is considered being on time. 

Tip 10: Do your complete hair and makeup for the day before you leave your hotel room. Allow for touch ups for remainder of the day. Many times in pageants there is very little time in between events. If you think you'll have plenty of time to completely do your hair and makeup before the show, think again. The only control of time you have is the early morning before the pageant schedule starts. Plan accordingly.

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Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. She was Mrs.Ohio America 2005, and has held multiple titles at the local, state and national levels. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

The pageant interview suit, swimsuit, fitness wear and gown are always the first items pageant contestants shop for. However, sometime between a couple weeks to days before the pageant, a few people hit the panic wall. They realize the pageant is here and they still have a list of outstanding pageant necessities they need to buy. In a frenzy, they drive all over town hunting for these items.
Because of the urgency, contestants (and their mothers) may experience very high levels of stress for a couple reasons:

1. The selection isn't as good, or they don't have your size or color.

1. 2. They have what you need, but you have to pay full price for it.

2. 3. You can't find what you're looking for because it's either been

3.     discontinued, out of stock or out of season.

As a former pageant contestant, titleholder, pageant coach and pageant mom, I know and understand all too well the level of stress this creates. This is not where you want your energy to be focused right before the pageant. So, where this list is by no means inclusive, it will serve as a starting point. If your intension is to compete in multiple pageants over several years, here is a list of items to keep in your closet. By shopping ahead, you can get the size and color you want, get things on sale, and rest up before your big pageant weekend when otherwise you would be spending your time zooming all over town.

SHOES

• Clean white tennis shoes with clean white socks. These are needed for the opening number and rehearsals in most children's pageant systems; and fitness wear for teens and ladies.

• Silver, black and nude open-toed strappy high heeled sandals. Realize for teens on up, the height for high heels is at least 4". These shoes are used for swimsuit and opening number productions at state and national pageants.

• Closed toe nude or neutral shoes for interview.

• For little girls, an assortment of flats in white, black and nude colors to go with your gowns. The hardest put about having a child who enjoys doing pageants is that they GROW! And, as a parent, we don't know how much or when the growth spurts are going to take place. So, what I have done for years, is when I find a pair of shoes that fits, I buy multiple pairs in a couple sizes too big. This way I have them when I need them. If they outgrow before they get to wear them, I sell them. The reason flats are great is because the child can wear the gown with an age appropriate height heel to start with. If the growth spurt takes place between state and nationals, put the flats on them so you don't have to buy a new dress.

UNDERGARMENTS

• Nude and black strapless bras.

• Nude dance trunks or body shape to wear under fitted dresses or the opening number outfit.

• White and nude camis (especially for younger girls and tweens).

• Pantyhose that match your skin tone perfectly and don't shine on stage.

• Clear straps for convertible bras.

• Silicone bra pads and an assortment of breast petals and nipple concealing items.

• Hollywood tape to secure a neckline that may open up. Remember, we want to keep it a family show.

Black leggings, white Capri pants , and a clean well-fitted white t-shirt are always good to have in your closet , too. These are seasonal items so pick them up when their available, or watch the clearance racks.
If you have a pageant coming up within the next 60 days, make your list and get it done. Your nerves will thank you.

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What have you been putting off? Tomorrow, break it down step by step as to what needs to happen and then start. Like the famous slogan says "Just Do It".

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

For the person whose only exposure to beauty pageants is from what they see on television, it’s difficult to understand why anyone would choose to do a beauty pageant. After all, showcasing the benefits of doing a beauty pageant wouldn’t get the ratings that the drama does. But there are definite benefits or else pageantry wouldn’t be a multi-billion dollar industry.

Of the many benefits to participating in a pageant, I’m going to share my top five reasons.

1. Recognition.

People feel valued and appreciated when they receive recognition for their hard work. Some pageant systems offer cash prizes along with on-stage recognition for optional areas of participation such as talent, speech, commercials, modeling, community service, scholastic, letters of recommendation, career achievement and creative arts through scrapbooking, ad pages and decorating contests .

1. 2. Personal Development.

   The more a person recognizes and understands their strengths, values, likes, dislikes, beliefs, and personality style, the greater fulfillment and satisfaction they’ll experience from their life. The greatest self discovery and personal growth can come from working with an expert pageant coach who understands in depth how to use pageantry as a tool to develop the excellence within you.

2. 3. Communication Skills.

   The ability of articulate ones thoughts into written and spoken words is priceless. We live in an age where masses consider quality communicate as texting or posting an update on Face book. The skill of having a meaningful face to face conversation with another human being is being greatly diminished by technology. As an expert pageant coach and judge, I regularly encounter contestants with poor writing and verbal communication skills. This is very apparent in the paperwork that is submitted. By developing your communication skills, the relationships in your life will also develop in a life giving way.

3. 4. Confidence.

   The ability to face ones fears and take action anyway develops great confidence. It’s common knowledge that speaking in front of a crowd is the number one fear of people. Well, in pageantry there’s plenty of opportunity to get in front of large groups of people on a regular basis and develop a comfort level with being on stage. Through the interviewing process and introducing yourself to many people, your speaking skills will blossom in this arena.

4.  

5. 5. Handling Stress, Pressure and Disappointment.

   These reactions are a part of life. Your attitude and thoughts around these reactions can either move you forward towards fulfillment or break you down. Stress, pressure and disappointment don’t have to be viewed as negative things. In fact, they can be powerful motivators to accelerate you to the next level. It all depends on how you look at them. In pageantry, you will experience these to the fullest extent, and with guidance, you can learn how to flip them to work to your advantage.

Recognition, personal development, communication skills, confidence and handling the stress, pressure and disappointments in life are the benefits you’ll take with you from doing pageants. And if you really enjoy modeling, hair, makeup and fashion, oh the fun you will have learning these life lessons.

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Take a moment to list the benefits you receive from each of the activities you participate in. If you struggle to come up with benefits, decide if that is an activity you want to be spending your time doing.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website . For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

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What are three things that make you special? Last week I spoke about the importance of recognizing your gifts and choosing how to use them. When you have a clear picture of your talents and discover which activities make you feel completely alive, you can easily figure out where to spend your time.

As a titleholder, you will have less than 365 days to make the most of your experience. Having a plan ahead of time will greatly increase the FUN FACTOR of your year, and potentially open the door to future opportunities. The strength of your “why”, “purpose” or “platform” is the key to unlocking the door.

There are 3 keys to forming a solid platform in pageantry.

Key 1: BELIEVE: It must be something that you emotionally believe in.

No matter how impressive a platform may sound, if a contestant’s heart is not there, it will come across flat to the judges. This is one time when I say take it personally and make it personal. Find something that has emotionally moved you to take action in some way. A platform doesn’t need to come from some devastating event that happened to you. It’s about making connections. First it must connect with you, then with the judges.

Key 2: INVOLVEMENT: You need to be actively involved in your service.

A strong platform is one where a contestant can demonstrate to the judges a history of devoting time to her cause prior to the pageant. For example, a girl who has had an eating disorder as a middle school student overcomes her challenges as a teenager. As a result, in the past 3 years she has spoken to over 50 girls’ organizations about the importance of self-respect, health, and wellness. She volunteers one day a week at the local teenage health clinic and plans to become a nutritionist after high school. This platform clearly demonstrates active involvement and gives great insight to the judges about the character and goals of this young lady. The judges also get an idea of what she would do as a titleholder.

Compare this to the contestant who says her platform is for cancer awareness. On her bio she states that her cheerleading squad put together a Relay For Life team last month and raised $500. This was her first activity with this organization and was so inspired by the people, she says, she decided to become more involved with cancer awareness.

OK, I’m putting on my judge’s hat for a moment. First, I would acknowledge the second contestant’s efforts in raising money with her team. However, I would view this as a one-shot event and wonder how long her interest would last for this cause. The first contestant would get my vote in the interview round because of the depth of her experience, knowledge and personal conviction for her platform.

Key 3: INTEREST: Your topic needs to have a narrow focus but be broad enough for public appeal.

At first glance this statement may seem to contradict itself so let me go into some detail. Let’s start with the “narrow focus” part of the sentence. Would you agree that it is hard to hit a target when you don’t know where to aim? If the pageant’s focus is on a strong platform, a contestant needs to aim for the bull’s-eye and not let her attention get pulled by multiple distractions.

There is more strength in choosing one topic and totally exploring all facets of it than bouncing from one activity to another. Organizations, businesses, and people are more willing to support a cause when the message is clear and the benefits are obvious. It is your job to make your message as clear as possible, which means focus. The message will be diluted and vague if a contestant is all over the map with her activities.

However, your platform needs to have broad enough appeal so that many people are interested in having you make an appearance or speaking to their organization. Pageant systems want their titleholders out there making appearances and being in the public eye. Not only does this increase the awareness of your cause; but also it helps the pageant system continue to thrive from a business standpoint. So the judges are looking for the platform that will serve both purposes, advance the message of the titleholder and promote the pageant.

Even if your pageant system doesn’t require a platform, spending time developing your purpose and focus will benefit you and the pageant system. Because I feel so strongly that a solid purpose is the backbone to a quality pageant experience, I’m introducing my new A.I.M. Session. This session will include an in depth training teleclass, downloadable worksheets, an individual mock interview and a mini-feedback session with me at an awesome price. The session will cover in detail the Application, Interview and Mission parts of your pageant experience. At the end of this session you will have a solid pageant bio and vision for your platform that you can use in multiple pageants. The session is January 20th so don’t delay if you want to get focused and hit your target in 2010.

Click to register

Each week has 168 hours in it, subtract 12 per day for sleep, eating, and misc., you’re left with 84 hours. What will you do with those 84? Most people give very little thought to what they do weekly, daily or even in the moment. How about you? What purpose do you want your “84” to have? Which areas of your life do you wish were different? The A.I.M. Session will benefit not only pageant contestants but anyone who is wanting to gain clarity on their values, gifts and purpose. There’s something about seeing your life on paper that is very revealing. This week, think about your 84.

Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates her children, has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

In December, most people turn their attention to the holidays with all the shopping, gift giving, parties, baking, cleaning, concerts, and volunteering. Before they know it, the New Year is upon them.

Personally, I love the Advent season which begins after Thanksgiving and extends through December 24th. Not only does it give me time to externally prepare for the season; but more importantly, I take time to reflect on the events from the past year and plan for the new one.

In these daily moments of silence, I quiet my mind of all the racing thoughts and put aside the endless “to-do-list”. This can be really hard for me at times, but I’ve learned through experience that it’s imperative for my health that I do this on a consistent basis. I appreciate the gifts God has blessed me with and ask what I can do in the upcoming year to live life to the fullest and give to others.

Some days, listening to my favorite song by Chris Sligh “Empty Me” while I’m driving my kids from one activity to another helps me focus on the big picture. Other days, my reflection may happen in the last 5 minutes before I drift off to sleep. I actually look forward to this time. I know without a plan and action steps to go with it, next December will arrive and I’ll have nothing to show for it.

Perhaps this year you won the title you were seeking. What is your plan for making appearances and taking advantage of the opportunity you’ve been given? Or maybe, you’re planning on doing a pageant or two in the upcoming year. Either way, how can you make the most of the next year? Start planning now by asking yourself and answering these three questions:

1. What do I want to experience this year?

2. How will I achieve it?

3. When will I start taking action?

Organization and time management will be your best friends in making the most of the upcoming year. Whether you’re planning your appearance schedule or preparing for a pageant, there is certain information you must have at your fingertips and ready to access at a moment’s notice. This type of thorough preparation will not only keep important information from falling through the cracks; it will greatly reduce your stress level so you can fully enjoy the process and focus on what’s important.

CALENDAR

• Find an organizational system that works best for you. I have both my electronic and paper planners synced because where I live, it is common for the power to go out and the wireless service is unreliable.

• Take your year-at-a-glance calendar and block the entire year. Yes, look at the entire year. You want to get the big picture so you can start breaking goals down into bite size pieces. You don’t want to be cramming at the last minute.

• Write down all your known obligations and seasonal events. Then decide how much time you are going to spend on preparing and making appearances.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Keep the names, titles, phone numbers, snail mail, email and website addresses to all your sponsors, directors, coaches, photographers, salons, and tailors you work with in one place.

EXPENSE TRACKING

• Keeping track of your mileage and pageant expenses can benefit you in a couple different ways. You may be able to deduct some of your expenses from your United States income taxes. Always check with your tax advisor. The government is constantly changing the tax code.

• By keeping track of your expenses you will have a better idea of how much time and money it takes to compete and become a titleholder. This will come in handy when prioritizing and planning your budget for your next pageant. It’ll also give you a realistic dollar amount of how much money to raise when looking for sponsors.

PAGEANT DETAIL CHECKLIST

• Deadlines are very important to directors. Documenting when your fees, forms, ad pages and photos are due will keep you on schedule.

• Write down all the areas of competition within the pageant, and the rules associated with each of those areas. Include all wardrobe needs - be as detailed as you can.

EVENT DETAILS

• The time, contact information, phone numbers, location, and directions are necessary for each appearance that you make.

• A requirements checklist will aid you in making sure you’re properly prepared in terms of wardrobe and materials to bring. Business cards, camera, crown, banner, note cards, magnetic signs for parades and a pen are just a few staples every queen needs to take with her.

• After the event, you’ll want to document what you wore if it’s important for you to look different each time you make an appearance. Taking photos, collecting newspaper clippings and sending thank you notes will present a professional and gracious titleholder.

These are the categories I used when I was a titleholder, and I continue to use them today. A while back, I found the Holden Pageant Planner that has all the above information in one place. It’s wonderful and I am making it available through my website. The amount of time and energy you will save by using this tool exceeds the $30 value of the product.

Spend some quiet time with yourself this holiday season. Reflect on where you are and get really clear about where you want to be. Sometimes this will involve letting go of certain things in your life in order to move forward. How dedicated are you to removing the physical and mental distractions that are keeping you from living the life you want? When you’re ready, I’m here to be your biggest clarifier, motivator, supporter and cheerleader.

Rhonda Shappert is a pageant expert, personal development life coach, and owner of Winning Through Pageantry™, a business she created that not only helps her clients achieve winning results in pageants, but helps them Succeed From The Inside Out™ in their lives. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three who has been married 20 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

Have every article I write delivered directly to your email. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Just click the GET YOUR FREE REPORT button at the top of this page. Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.