Megan Swanson Rhodes

30/08/2023

Learning to LISTEN made be a better business owner. Here's How:

I get it, you like to talk... [and that's cool, so do I]...

But thriving in business is actually LESS about talking, and more about saying the RIGHT things to the RIGHT person, based on what they NEED and WANT.

And you can only do that by active, sharp, acute listening skills.

Here are some other benefits:
👑 This is how I train my pageant clients to answer tough political questions on LIVE TV wearing 6 inch heels in an evening gown. ( ) Yes, they're incredibly intelligent... but even more so... they're SAVAGE listeners.

🥰 You're welcome in advance, that your spouse will want to spend more time with you, you'll feel closer to one another, and they will continue to look to you as their first source of companionship, not outside of your relationship. ( )

💸 Your sales calls will be shorter, negotiations will be easier, and overall... you'll be more likable. Sorry-not-sorry... no one likes the person that talks 24/7. Listening builds connection, empathy, and makes people literally feel closer to you.

So give pausing + listening a try! I promise... you'll notice people treating you differently!

28/08/2023

Do you ever wish you could erase your mistakes and start over?

For years as a little girl, I dreamed about what my husband would be like...

Okay, dream is probably too light of a term... I definitely planned, vision-boarded, made a business proposal, and told God exactly what I wanted, who I wanted, and WHEN I wanted it...

If I were to look back now at my "husband journal" (yep... where my Christian ladies at who had one too? 😂) there are certainly qualities that haven't changed over time...

But if you would have told me that I was going to marry a blonde farmer's son from an entire town of 550 people (the size of my high school graduating CLASS btw) who used to chew to***co + live a lil on the wild side... 😉 (ok let's be honest, I knew I'd marry a bad boy but that's a story for later)

I would have laughed in your face.

Yet, God has a way of knowing what we need WAY better than we do, and I'm grateful every single day that I ended up with the most perfect person for me that He could have ever designed.

I made a ton of mistakes in dating along the way...

I almost married the wrong person, twice.

I was impulsive, nearly gave my parents heart-attacks in my 20's on a regular basis by pretending curfew's didn't exist (what can I say... I'm an Enneagram 8 this is to be expected)...

And once even galavanted off 8 hours away to spend a week with someone I'd just met.

Yep... REALLLLLY living up to the whole "PK" stereotypes here... 🤣

And yet through each of those stupid, careless, immature mistakes...

God covered me.
God comforted me.
God helped me.

God showed me wisdom, and kept me safe.

God would speak softly at times, and other times he'd be a bit louder ( )

And I think about all the times I was 1% away from making really dumb decisions...

He'd save me each and every time before it happened.

So I don't know where you're at in life. Single, married, divorced, situationship...

But I do know that you can't do this alone.

And I do know for absolute sure that waiting is worth it.

God doesn't torment you w/ the desire to find your person and then hide them from you on purpose.

You've just gotta keep doing your part. They'll come.

24/08/2023

Can I make a confession? I'm not the best at work life balance.

Being married with no children (yet), we have a LOT of time to dedicate to .

Sometimes working a lot gets a bad rap.
Sometimes, it's over glorified.

And while I'm on team as a Kingdom Entrepreneur with God's strategies at my back...

I do think it's important to tune into the frequency, season, and strategy that God has for you in this present hour.

And aligning your business strategy with that in mind.

Business, marriage, your faith-walk... there's no one-size-fits all. However, it's important to know YOUR size for your YOUR life.

Have you listened to this week's episode yet on this? Follow for the episode details, and make sure you subscribe to get a fresh episode on Faith, Family, and Finances every Wednesday at 7am! 💸👫🙏

22/08/2023

May I make a confession? 🤞 It's not always easy for me to balance time with friends during busy work seasons... but I'm making an effort to work smarter instead of harder. I always feel better when I take my lunches in the sunshine, so that's something I try not to miss.

I also like to have "CEO Time" once a week to manage my business and enjoy a monthly self-care or family ritual. It takes constant consideration to keep all the proverbial plates spinning, but I realize there's a greater likelihood they will all start to tumble if I'm not maintaining a solid work-life balance.

Here's a typical day of how I do that:
6:30a - Jesus Time + Caffeine (No emails, no social, no slack... 100% focus + no "world noise")
7:30a - Gym w/
8:30 - 9 Shower + Get Ready For The Day
9a - Look over my vision board + week
9:30a Dive into focused work til noon
12p - 5p Clients / Sales Calls
5p Work Day Shut Down Routine (30-45 min To Look Over Rest of Week, Track KPI's, Slack w/ Team)
5:45p -9:30p Cook Dinner + Hang With Landon (5 Intentional Q's About Our Day, Watch A Show/Sermon, or Walk)
9:30p Shut Down Routine For Bed (Tea / No Screens / Read / Shower)

✨ So tell us... How do you keep things balanced? Share your best tip below! 👏

17/02/2023

New month, new mantra! “Never tell a story without making a point. And never make a point without telling a story” — the words I'm living by this March!

How about you?

14/09/2021

[READ HERE TO:]
1. Find out why I love Sept 14 when I took my two biggest LOSSES of my life on this day
2. Why pursuing winning can actually make you LOSE!

One of the most common pieces of Western Society is a culture of “winning.” Everyone is obsessed with “winning the day,” “winning the guy,” or “winning the pageant.”
And don’t get me wrong… I LOVE winning. In fact, I’d go far enough to say that I HATE losing, too.
But what most people don’t know, is that pursuing winning alone is also one of the BIGGEST reasons why people fail.
Because when you’re so caught up in winning, sometimes you miss becoming the person you needed to become to win along the way.
Today, I had an amazing conversation with one of my clients who has been first runner up at state pageants many times.
She’s AMAZING in every way, and rightfully so, just wants to know what’s going to make her “the one.”
First of all - there has to be something inherently about you that carries the IT FACTOR.
Which has TWO parts - partially objective, and partially subjective.
It’s objective - because people who suck at what they’re doing WILL score lower. If you play football 🏈 with a tennis 🎾 ball, you will not succeed. ❌
It’s ALSO objective, because there are 6 defined leadership qualities EVERY titleholder must have to succeed at a high level. Period.
And it’s subjective - because there are always going to be “intangible” things about humans we like or dislike just because of our natural bias.
SO WHY is this like dating?
Because you can write your man on paper over and over and over… but when he shows up, there are inevitably going to be things you NEVER thought you’d like, that you don’t just like… you LOVE! ❤️
And that… yes… happens in pageants too.
So WHY on 🌍 am I happy about LOSING Miss America and The Belmont Christian Showcase?
Well - because to GET to compete in those two events I had to do, believe, and become a MILLION other things.
I had to win a local, win my state pageant, and GET to Miss America. 👑
And I had to audition out of a gazillion applicants to become one of four artists at the age of NINETEEN to sing my first ever original songs in front of recording execs and 5,000 people.
Now… am I really going to call that a “loss?” I don’t think so.
Life is about perspective. Who you become always wins.

28/06/2021

🎥 If people knew how long I looked up to this (fellow Amazonian) woman, you’d realize why I cried throughout pretty much half of our first segment.
On this Episode of The Nicole Crank show, my episode, *pinch me* “Dare To Dream,” we talk about what happens when some dreams happen, and some don’t. Eating disorders, abuse, and disappointment couldn’t stop me, and I want to help others know how to do the same!
We discuss how to get back up when you get knocked down, have fun, and still choose to live out your purpose.
There will be lumps along the way, but those lumps are normal! *see how to watch at the bottom*
In fact, many or even most of you wouldn’t know that being connected to Pastor Nicole was something I started dreaming of and put on MY vision board in 2018-2019. I was still healing from the abuse I encountered, feeling hurt by church and church leaders, and would worship to Faith Church services from my small apartment hoping that God heard my prayers and would heal my heart. Pastor Nicole didn’t even know I existed!
But God KNOWS YOU and hears your cries. And will call you up when you’re ready!
*side note of praise* Pastors David Crank and Nicole are more than the real deal y’all. They are the same people at home as they are on stage, and being from a family of pastors and performers… I have a 6th sense for that.
They’re taking bullets for millions of people worldwide and dreaming on their own to do what most religious people would say is impossible.
Thank y’all for helping me progress on my own journey without even knowing it. This was a dream of mine come true.
God’s perfect timing is so beautiful and magnificent. Thank y’all for being obedient.
To Watch!!!
NicoleCrank.com/NCS

Hillsong Channel Monday 10:30 PM PST / Tuesday 1:30 AM ET

The Victory TV Network - Monday & Wednesday 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET,
Friday 11:30 AM CT / 12:30 PM ET - Dish Network Channel 265

Faith USA Tuesday 5 PM ET / Faith AFRICA - Tuesday 5 PM CAT / Faith UK - Tuesday 5 PM GMT/BST

Sunday mornings on Real America’s Voice News

Life Network For Women

Pluto.TV & ROKU

01/06/2021

You've had the best weekend of your life at Spring Mastermind 2021. Or maybe you just won your pageant. Emotions were running high, you felt happier than you've ever felt...

And all of a sudden WHAM! Negative feelings start to creep in.

Thoughts of loneliness, fear, anxiety, sadness...

But... they don't make sense! I'm happy! I just experienced a ton of growth, joy, and accomplishment!

You think: "Is there something wrong with me?"

Answer: NO. You're experiencing an event hangover.

A drip of emotions that acts as a pendulum to the HIGHEST high you were just on.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HEAR: This is normal. There's nothing wrong with you.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN: Because your body is balancing itself back to normal. Oftentimes people forget that feeling super high or super low can be EQUALLY exhausting! This is normal. You just need to listen to your body!

WHAT TO DO:
Rest, sleep, journal, eat healthy, drink lots of water, and give yourself GRACE!

You are human. Your body is TOUGH and STRONG, but also needs what it needs.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HEAR:
It's okay to take a day of rest. You've earned it. Listen to your body, don't false-medicate it with adding more work or condemning yourself for being tired.

I'm telling myself this too.

If this helped, send to a friend who you want to feel a little happier today.

17/05/2021

Congratulations to your NEW Miss Nebraska USA 2021, ! You are so incredibly deserving and I know you are going to represent us SO well! Love you! @ The Rose Theater Omaha

14/05/2021

🤫 ... hehehe. Surprise. 😏 I’m singing!!! Watch Miss NE USA this weekend on PageantVision.com !!

11/05/2021

Me = 🍦 ICE CREAM 🍦 BEBEEEEE! Wbu?? Comment with a word + emoji below!

07/05/2021

What girl doesn’t love a good trampoline??? Only 9 MORE DAYS as Miss Nebraska USA and its starting to hit me!!!!!
Who is ready to see who takes over as the next AMAZING queen in the Vanbros family??
While every ending is bittersweet... I am SO joyful to know that every single Vanbros queen is instantly surrounded by the most AMAZING directors, incredible mentors, and prep team.
We are SO lucky! Who do you think she will be!?!?!? 👑

Location: Selfie WRLD Omaha
📸: Hayley Christel Photography
Megan Swanson

07/05/2021

“Point Your Foot! ‼️‼️‼️ It took me 0 seconds to start criticizing myself in this photo before I even realized the genuine joy .photo had caught.

Here I was, wearing ALL PINK *so fun* in a bathtub of pink and white play-bin balls we used to jump in as kids.

And I’m sitting here looking at ... my foot?

A dancer growing up... I couldn’t help it. Toes MUST be pointed.

Then, another thought floated in...

“Why in the WORLD am I being so hard on myself?”

*cue v good Charlie Puth & Blackbear song*

Aren’t we all? Hard on ourselves?

A few months ago, my therapist started encouraging me to do EMOTIONAL MAPPING.

My first thought? “I don’t have time for that. I’m happy. Why?”

She said: “Trust me.”

So after about a month of doing that... she was right. I had massive revelation.

A revelation SO huge that it changed the course of how I get up in the morning, live my days, and go to bed.

SO massive that I’ve been able to increase the number of things I get done in a day by 50%, and I’m less tired, less anxious, and happier.

Self criticism monster? 👹 Crushed.

Want to know what it was that changed everything??

Getting up 3 hours earlier.

Yep. 3.

Now, this won’t work for everyone and this certainly isn’t medical advice.

But it worked for me.

Because, I realized that I was criticizing myself by 9a if I didn’t get a certain amount of tasks done by then.

Because yes, a lot of my value comes from the work that I do.

But when I DID get up early... I basically skipped through my whole day like a giant ball of positivi-tea.

This may not be right for you... but the self awareness of WHY I was harassing myself in my own mind unlocked the mechanism to begin to be healthier and happier.

Have you tried any life hacks or changed your schedule lately??

I want to hear in the comments!!! ❗️❔❗️❔
FOLLOW: for more weekly motivation and mindset!

05/05/2021

Read it again.

04/05/2021

Tomorrow!!!! This past year we’ve all been desperate to be together. On Episode 98 - I show you why you SHOULD and how you CAN. 😏
LIVE at 5am.

23/04/2021

What is time with your significant other worth? What’s your peace worth? What’s getting the most crucial work done worth?
You get what you allow. Thank you for an amazing speech today setting us up for greatness!

21/04/2021

Me dating be like...
1. Do you radically love Jesus?
2. Are you 6’2 or taller?
3. Do you have ambition that would literally scare most normal humans?
4. Are you okay with being psychoanalyzed out of the pursuit of knowledge and understanding humans and the way they work, constantly?
5. Do you love other humans more than most people ever will?
6. Can you beat me in basketball? At least HORSE?
“May the odds ever be in your favor.”
*blessings on your journey*

17/04/2021

17/04/2021

"And God Bless The Mister That Comes Between Me and My Sister, And God Bless The Sister That Comes Between Me And My Man" - White Christmas⁠⁠
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I can't believe today is FINALLY here! (Officially!) Though you've been married legally for 6 months already, today is the BIG day of your dreams! My best friend and sister gets MARRIED in front of all the people who love her most!⁠⁠
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Allie, you're my best friend in the entire world and so deserving of the love and success in your life. I am so incredibly lucky to be your big sis, your boss, and to be working alongside of you in life.⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Thank you for being the most incredible human being I know. You are an incredible leader, detail-oriented, compassionate, discerning, and kind. You are a fantastic wife to joe, and fantastic human. You've been there for me in all the biggest moments of my life, and now it's time to honor you!⁠⁠
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I can't wait to bawl my eyes out for the second time.⁠⁠
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Love, Big Sis.

15/04/2021

Gratitude or Bad-atude! It’s your choice! What you focus on gets continually bigger in your brain good or bad! So choose wisely, and let’s be grateful and positive today! You’ve got this!

12/04/2021

The GLOW UP - not just physically, but in EVERY way! 👑
I legitimately don’t know what we did to deserve getting SO LUCKY, the 6 of us getting crowned together.
We’re actually friends. No, sisters. Like... legit. We stayed up talking til 3am even when some of us *cough, boss lady megan renee* had to get up an hour later and be up ALL DAY and drive 3 hours home on 1 hour of sleep. (Did you even sleep, Meg? 😂)
I am so forever blessed to have gotten to know the unique stories and personalities of each of these world changing women. As someone who struggled with female friendships until all the way into her twenties, I have to pinch myself that I get to have the coolest, smartest, prettiest gals in my life now.
Thanks for letting me wrangle us all together to recreate this picture. Can y’all believe it’s been a year and that in pic #1 we legit didn’t know each other?
Thank you for bringing us together! ❤️
Ps - my girls ALL PLACED TOP FIVE!!!! I am ecstatic! And congrats to our absolutely amazing new Miss Kansas USA!!! What an incredible weekend. Yay! @ Shawnee, Kansas

07/04/2021

Episode 95 - The bluntest Megan yet - and i like her. 😉 “Seven Birthday Lessons & a Surprise.” Out now! 💕

06/04/2021

Did a HUGE update on our Highlights - check them out! 💕💕💕 Also... an extra special episode of the podcast comes out today!! Give her a listen! 💕
💕 💕 Can you guess what my fave color is by these cute covers?? 😉 💕 💕 @ Omaha, Nebraska

04/04/2021

Yes He did!!!!!

02/04/2021

Let us not be able to handle looking at bloody demonic shoes more than the Blood of Jesus on the Cross.
Let us remember everything He did, and what that blood, the true Blood did.
Thank You to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for dying on a cross for all of our sins. We are so incredibly unworthy and imperfect. You never sinned, and yet out of Your complete obedience to the Father and Great Love for us as sinful creatures You died the most gruesome death so that we could live in eternity in heaven with You.
FOREVER.
Thank You for rising on the third day, hallelujah! The ONLY “religion” where our God is ALIVE!!!!
Let us never reflect upon the bunny, the Easter eggs, or other pagan traditions MORE than You. (Even though... girl go getchu some eggs too...)
♥️ Jesus Over Everything. ♥️