Perseverance, Dedication, and Authenticity – Lessons & Life After the Crown

It’s almost impossible to encompass a decade-long journey into a few paragraphs in a world as complex as pageant land. But there are a few noteworthy moments, experiences, and lessons learned that ultimately shaped the life I have today. As cliché as it sounds, the little things make the biggest impact — the few seconds you have to yourself while waiting in the wings backstage, the smiles on children’s faces when you wave from a car during a parade, and the times where you experience a lesson so profound you can’t help but decide to change your life accordingly. 

Like many women, I started as a shy, bright-eyed preteen. My parents were worried that I might never be comfortable talking to strangers or even making a simple phone call to schedule an appointment. Pageants were something I only saw on TV growing up — a world that felt like an unattainable fantasy. Every year, my mom and I would clear our calendars, cozy up on the couch, and cheer on our favorites during the Miss America broadcast — a foreshadowing of how small seeds can grow into something much bigger.

You can imagine the excitement and disbelief when a letter arrived in the mail, inviting me to an open call to potentially compete in a pageant. A real-life pageant?! Funny enough, my mom thought it was a scam. It was my dad who did a few quick searches and said, “she has to do this.” The rest is history.

Throughout those ten years competing, pageantry truly saw all the highs and lows of a young woman growing up year after year. Through wins and, more often, losses, there were a few lessons that became cornerstones of my life. Most importantly, these are the lessons I instill in my clients today. 

1. Dedication is the foundation of success, not the result. 

2. Persevere. There will inevitably be losses, moments that sting, and times where you question yourself entirely. If you have a dream that you can’t stop thinking about, persevere anyways. 

3. Authenticity wins. Every time. And I don’t just mean during your competitions. 

I’ve always said pageants are one of the few things that challenges and encompasses every part of a person. I like to emphasize not only to my clients but every young woman in pageantry – women aren’t necessarily “good at pageants.” As such an incredibly subjective competition, it’s not like scoring a touchdown and knowing you’ll get six points. Pageants are like scoring a touchdown and not knowing if the referee will award you three points instead. However, the women who do excel in the pageant world have worked on all these other parts of themselves and just so happen to showcase their growth through pageants. 

Communication, confidence, poise, worldly knowledge, style, mindset, public speaking, and so much more. When you pour yourself into bettering your life outside of the pageant world, your success within it becomes obvious. 

Now, sitting on the other side of the table as a coach, these lessons have never been more apparent or important. I see so many young women frustrated or confused by the pageant industry and my goal is always to be that guidance and clarity I felt I needed. Everyone deserves a support system they love and can trust. 

I began mentoring and coaching a few years before I became Miss Wisconsin. During my year of serving the state, I was grateful to have even more opportunities to lead and mentor young women. It has been not only fulfilling, but an absolute joy to officially create a business that is dedicated to empowering women. There is truly no better feeling. 

Lila Hui Consulting was founded on the idea that your success doesn’t end when you give up your crown. Our focus is to give you the tools to land that dream job, have your dream career, and get that life-changing scholarship. While we will always support you in getting that dream title, our success comes when you are able to use those life long skills after your crowning days are over. 

I will forever be grateful for my time competing – not because it brought me a few sparkly hats, but because of the lessons, the love, the tools, the skills, and the community that I will have in my life forever. 

Stay dedicated, stay gracious, persevere always. Never be afraid of being “the first” and remember that being authentic always wins, even if it doesn’t feel that way at first. Stay true to yourself, your style, your experiences, your goals, surround yourself with people who support your journey, and most importantly, bet on yourself. 

-Lila Hui Szyryj

Lila Hui Consulting

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