Pageant Platform Magazine March/April 2018 pageant platform magazine march april 2018 final | Page 6

Last but not least, competing in pageants helped me
realize that hard work doesn't always mean success.
There are different facets to your life that are going
to bring you to whatever level of success is for you.
So in summary, learning to work hard, learning to be
persistent regardless of failure(s) and learning more
not only about yourself but about people and the
world around you are the biggest positive outcomes
from competing in pageants.
PPM: Do you have one or two tips that you would
like to share about how other contestants can go
about picking their platform?
CY: No platform is out of reach. Let's say someone
wants to participate in animal rights and awareness,
but they have little to no knowledge about it. Taking
the time to learn about different causes and their core
values is an excellent way to learn about the world
around you, regardless if they end up being your
platform or not. I think it's important to experiment,
think outside the box and take interest in things you
may have never thought about before.
PPM: Can you give our Readers an example of how
competing in pageants has made you a better
Entrepreneur?
They can see their progress and as an Entrepreneur
you have to be willing to put in the time and
dedication and also know that it's not going to be
picture perfect the whole way. The journey is the
most important part.
PPM: During your pageant years who helped you
the most?
CY: My mother, when times got tough, she reminded
me why I was doing this, she was my rock.
PPM: What are three things you would like
contestants to take away from this interview?
CY: I found it difficult to exit the industry. There’s
are a lot of skepticism about pageantry and it’s
merits, many people think its superficial and
sometimes it can be hard to defend especially when
you don’t place and you are bummed out. It's about
coming to the realization that it was all about the
hard work. The hard work, the dedication,
acknowledging failure, learning from your mistakes
and continuing to do what makes you happy.
Whatever it is that brings you to the best version of
yourself, is something that made a positive impact
on your life, crown/title or not.
CY: As an Entrepreneur you realize that things are
not easy, everything takes a lot of work. You are
going to encounter competition, other people who
are trying to do the same or similar thing as you and
it's not always going to work out. The end result is
not going to be exactly what you pictured it to be and
I think that pageants and their competitive nature is
similar in a sense. You work very hard to be the
winner and oftentimes, especially in the larger
pageants you are competing against 40 to 60 women
who have been working just as hard as you have. PPM: If you could only offer one piece of advice
what would it be and why?
At the end of the day, there is only one winner but I
believe that everyone ends up winning if they put in
the time and the work. They see how far they have
come, they can see their journey. Catherine Young is the Owner of Pageant Package a
subscription-based pageant box program. You can learn
more about the service at
https://pageant-package.cratejoy.com/
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Pageant Platform Magazine March/April 2018
CY: One piece of advice I’d offer is to not get
distracted. Today, it's very easy to be distracted. As
an Entrepreneur it's easy to get distracted by
competition, as a woman it's easy to get distracted
with all the false messages of body image that are in
the media. That will ultimately lead to happiness and
success, distractions are merely pot holes on the
drive to success!