Here She Is....Ms. World Elite 2017-18

I'm elated to announce that on May 28th, 2017 I was crowned Ms. World Elite 2017-18! 

Below is an article written by Janee Law from the Long Islander News and published on June 5, 2017.

Native Crowned ‘Ms. World Elite’

By Janee Law

jlaw@longislandergroup.com

As the sash was wrapped around her shoulder and hip and she was handed a bouquet of red roses, Lidia Szczepanowski’s grin quickly widened as she knelt down to be crowned Ms. World Elite 2017.
The Ms. World Pageant, held May 26-28 at in Everett, Washington, featured 21 contestants, including Szczepanowski, of Dix Hills, the daughter of Polish immigrants who was crowned Ms. Poland in March. Both Ms. World title and Ms. World Elite were crowned. Szczepanowski said the elite designation is awarded to the highest scoring contestant who is over 40 years old.
“It’s empowering for me because age is only a number,” Szczepanowski, 52, said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are and the judges saw that beauty is not about being the youngest it’s just who you are as a person. It’s the total package.”
Szczepanowski was elated when she heard her name called.
“I didn’t think I was going to win. There were so many beautiful, intelligent, well spoken, and experienced women,” she said. “The fact that I won the top prize in my category, I couldn’t be happier.”
The pageant consisted of an interview before six judges, an opening gown portion, a fitness wear, evening gown and onstage question and answer session.
Along with her crown, Szczepanowski earned a cruise to the Bahamas, luggage, jewelry and a couple of other gifts.
“I believe Ms. World Elite is this smart, stylish, stiletto clad woman who exemplifies success, independence and glamour,” Szczepanowski said. “What I’m going to do is incorporate the title into my current lifestyle, which I’m so proud of.”
Szczepanowski, a veteran of pageantry, has promoted a message of women empowerment through her career. But she said that earning the Ms. World Elite title marks an end to her pageantry days.
The Melville-based litigation attorney will continue both her professional and charity work, however. She’s also the founder of both Everything Lidia, a multi-platform lifestyle enterprise, and the National Organization for Women’s Safety Awareness, a nonprofit that helps prevent crime and violence against women of all ages.
Throughout her experience in pageantry, Szczepanowski said, she’s learned that being authentic and genuine is one of the most beautiful and attractive features that any person can carry.

She added, “Everyone has their own beautiful way about them and if more people were true to themselves I think we’d all be better from it.”

Tips, Secrets & Proven Strategies On How to Develop Your Personal Brand

Personal branding is “the art of building a unique brand around yourself as an individual” and it is just as important as your company’s brand and image.  Personal branding requires you to “find a signature image, a unique voice, and a recognizable standard that your readers, fans, and clients can grow to recognize”.

“Personal branding is becoming increasingly important because modern audiences tend to trust people more than businesses. Audiences are used to seeing advertising everywhere, and they tend to believe corporations and organizations take actions and speak with only sales in mind. Personal branding allows you to establish a reputation and an identity while still maintaining a personal level of trust and interaction, usually through social media.”

Additionally, people want to do business with other people, not with companies. A strong positive personal brand can dramatically improve the number of users who take a desired action i.e. retain you or go to your website and buy something.  

(Quoted sections above extracted from Inc.com article by  Jayson DeMers, Aug. 27, 2014)

Here are some tips, secrets and proven strategies on how to develop your personal brand.

1.) Become an “EXPERT” in at least one professional field or focus on a topic that you are knowledgeable about and start blogging and posting about it  

• Develop yourself in a very specific niche and try not to come across as the “Jack of All Trades...Master at None.” Also consider discussing a hobby, sport or organizations you are involved with.  

• Consider signing up with HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and answer applicable queries...you never know, you might be published in a newspaper, magazine, or on the internet  

• Have someone pitch you and your expertise to local media, colleges, groups, etc., especially if your topic was recently in the news. Try not to self-promote...it annoys people.

• Also have someone submit your name for consideration for awards and acknowledgments.  But remember that these events usually have a “cost” attached to them and you will be expected to sell tickets, seats or ads.   

2.) Set up and link accounts on various SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Plus +  

• Set up both personal and professional accounts but do not pitch them too frequently. Let people become interested in YOU first and YOU as the professional second.  Social media lets people discover who you are...and it’s free.  You control the information that is posted.  Be careful not to post inappropriate content or too many random and uninteresting photos. 

• Anytime you speak or are mentioned in any article, share/post it and thank the host or author.

3.) VOLUNTEER your time with a CHARITY you feel connected to

• You will meet like-minded individuals and you will expand your potential client base.

• Offer pro bono legal services when appropriate. 

4.) Take at least a few PHOTOS at every events you attend

• Post the photos on your social media sites and remember to acknowledge the event, the venue, the host and the people who were with you.  Most people love to see themselves in photos...and it’s great PR! 

• Be careful not to over expose yourself by attending too many events or posting too many photos.

5.) Create and email a NEWSLETTER

• Take all those business cards you’ve accumulated over the years and create a data base and email list using Mail Chimp, Constant Contact or a similar service. These services all offer templates to design a unique Newsletter. 

• Cover topics that highlight your professional acumen but also include some human interest content.

~Lidia Szczepanowski, Esq.

I Demand a Weiner Withdrawal!

Oops..he did it again? I think not!
 
I was sitting at DMV and the thought of Weiner popped into my head ...no, the other Weiner.
Tony, Tony, Tony.  You embarrass yourself, your wife and your family when you share photos of your "package" with strangers.  Then you ask for forgiveness...and you get it.  All good, right? You're cured.  Nope...even after you're "caught with your pants down", literally, you DO IT AGAIN even AFTER you are humiliated and AFTER you resign from Congress.
Oops?? That's no "oops"! Everyone makes mistakes (some more than others) but multiple offenses, that's no mistake. Is it your lack of Self-Esteem? Huge Ego? Narcissism? Who knows and I guess who really cares.
I don't know about you but I want the new Mayor of NYC to be, among other things, a respectable, polished, up standing citizen...(Bloomberg "you did good").
Weiner...you clearly have an "issue"....Despite the humiliation, the jokes, and all the controversy, I just don't understand why you would "do it again"!?
How do you expect others to respect you if you have absolutely no respect for yourself, your wife or your family. If you were indeed elected Mayor of NYC, I wonder how long it would be until the next Weiner pics manifested themselves.
So I say, Weiner...forget politics...just pitch a reality show to Bravo featuring you as the "star" so you can satisfy your need for attention and "exposure" (pun intended). The title of the show? Maybe something like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" but "Keeping Up the Weiner"... oops... I mean "Keeping Up With the Weiner". How could I resist!

I'm Going To Have FUN Even If It Kills Me!

We're all guilty...and some of us more than others.  We focus our lives on all the things we're supposed to be doing, like taking care of everyone and everything around us, i.e. kids, spouse, animals, job, etc., and we forget about the things we want to do.  
When did we stop going to our playground? At what age did our "fun" die?


FUN...According to Susan Biali, MD it means "anything that connects us with our childlike energy and joy".  Dictionary.com defines "fun" as "something that provides mirth (gaiety or jollity, especially when accompanied by laughter) or amusement".    

We've all heard that all work and no play made Jack a dull boy but did you know that life without fun and games isn't just dull, it's down right unhealthy. Research shows that "playing" has incredible health benefits.  Playing and having fun helps us blow off steam, deal with stress, learn, experiment, and be a more social person, among many other benefits.  Recent Japanese research found that spending as little as 2 hours a month laughing or listening to your favorite music has as big an impact on your blood pressure as eliminating salty foods or even losing 10 pounds!  

If you can’t remember the last time you had some real honest to goodness FUN, tap into your Fun Zone by trying some of these.

• Put on some loud music that makes you feel like you’re back in high school and “Just Dance!” (if you’re in high school…well you’re probably still having fun and good for you!)  
•  Do something spontaneous and out of your ordinary (keeping it legal and moral, of course) 
•  Go out and play with your friends (if it’s a nice day, go outside a throw a Frisbee, have a catch, go bike riding, go to the toy store and pick up some classic toys like a jump roll, hula hoop, “Skip It”, Chinese jump rope, kick ball, water balloons, and the like) 
• Paint, write, draw or do anything creative 
•  Learn some jokes and share them with your friends (they will probably be even funnier and perhaps more memorable if you botch the punch lines)
• Get dirty (this one is subject to your own personal interpretation; the original thought was dirt...)  

Thank you for visiting with us.

Lidia 

Lidia Szczepanowski, Esq.