There are three days left until we ring in 2011.
Are you ready? For those of you who have known me for awhile, you know I'm all about living each moment to the fullest and moving forward. Moving forward many times means change must occur. Ooo, does that word scare you?
Some people view change as a scary and negative event. I've always looked at change through the eyes of hope and filled with possibilities. What dreams and hopes do you have for 2011? How are you going to accomplish them? Remember, if you take (or don't take) the same actions in 2011 as you did in 2010, you'll have the same results at the end of the year. If 2010 didn't turn out the way you had planned (don't worry, life always throws us curve balls and keeps things interesting), then plan to make the necessary changes in 2011. First, you need to start with a basic plan.
It's a time when we reflect, re-evaluate, and ask ourselves the important questions: What worked this past year? What didn't work? What important lessons did I learn? What do I want to accomplish in 2011?
One of the best tools you could use to make your preparation and planning productive is a year-at-a-glance wall calendar. This will help not only in your pageant preparation and planning; but in your live as well. After all, that's what I'm all about. Together, you and I use pageants as a tool for self discovery and for the development of life skills that you'll be able to take and apply to your life to accomplish multiple dreams beyond the pageant.
This is the calendar I personally use and is hanging on the wall in my office. Most people think a year is such a long time; but take a second and look at the photo. There's the whole year in front of you- finite and in black and white (ok, there's some green, too). The point is, time is more real when you can see it. At a glance, those 365 boxes don't look like a lot. So let's take the bull by the horns and start to make the most of the upcoming year.
Your Simplified 2011 Planning Checklist
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Buy a year-at-a-glance calendar.
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Put all birthdays, vacations, sports events, extra circular dates, and pageant dates you are considering this year on the calendar. HINT* I use a different colored dry erase marker for each major category so I can quickly identify things on the calendar. My calendar is 24 in x 38 in. You need boxes big enough to write in.
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Set your yearly household budget right now so you can see how much money you'll have to do pageants this year. Now is the time to start earning money to fund your pageant experience.
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Sell your unused pageant wardrobe online. Gowns and clothing get dated quickly so the sooner you can flip them, that's more money in your pocket to use for the upcoming year.
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Hire help. Everyone needs and has help. Period. That's part of life. I don't know of one successful person who doesn't have help; and the really successful people surround themselves with a team. You'll want to take your time to find someone who clicks with you and helps you meet your needs.
If you would like support, accountability and encouragement so that your goals become your reality, I'm here to help!
I offer a range of programs to accommodate your goals and budget. Visit my website at www.WinningThroughPageantry.com if you want to get started on reaching your dreams today.
Don't feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Start 2011 with a clear focus and plan so come this time next year, you can feel confident in saying "I accomplished what I set out to do in 2011" instead of "Oh my, where did the time go?"
This is a perfect time to start working on your interview skills. If you haven't already done so, request my free interview card below. Each month you'll receive a new card with fresh questions on it. Becoming a great interviewer doesn't happen overnight. It develops over time so start right now.
The ability to answer questions about you, your purpose, current events, and controversial topics in a clear way is an important life skill that everyone can benefit from. The more you practice, the better you will get. These handy interview cards are a great way to practice with a partner or use by yourself to get you thinking about the topic.
The Beginning 10 Questions are the staple interview questions everyone must know the answers in an interview situation. Then each month you will receive a new card in the mail with fresh questions.
Now preparing for your interview is easy and for a limited time FREE.
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Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach, an iPEC Certified Professional Coach, an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, and a member of the International Coach Federation. She created Winning Through Pageantry® to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation, achieve winning results in life through pageantry, and to Succeed From The Inside Out®.
She has over 30 years experience in the pageantry world as a contestant, judge, emcee, staff member, mother of daughters who compete, and pageant coach. 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 22 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 .
