Relentless Romero Blogs

Jackson (aka Stavros), my neighbor Have you ever been told "You need to grow up" or "Act your age"? What is the orator trying to tell you?  Be old & crumudgioned. Well I disagree with the notion that getting older necessarily means we become mellow, serious, structured and boring.  I am surrounded by neighbors with young children and grand-children. And, as I witness these children experience life I witness Magic and Living! The kids chase each other, scream with exhilaration, carefully inspect a fallen leaf or stone, care for a ladybug, worm or rollie-pollie, and marvel at the sky filled with clouds, birds and colors. Everything is new to them. Everything is special to them. This inspired me to share some thoughts about how to stay young at heart, as Father Time works on our bodies.  1. PLAY - How often do you play? As a child, we played all the time. Our parents would constantly tell us "stop playing around." Play is extremely important to all peopl...

A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step To say I was inspired today by Rose McCarty is an understatement. As a friend and I peddled bikes around Denver and visited Washington Park, my friend spied a pop-tent with a banner that read "Run Rose Run." We stopped to ask the young man (Michael) what the cause was, and why he was there. And then, an AMAZING story unfolded. Michael explained that he was supporting a lady, Rose, who was in the process of running 1,000 miles in two months. He explained that Rose was currently looping Washington Park to log her miles for the day. Rose hails from San Antonio, Texas and is on a multi-city tour (https://runroserun.com): 2020 San Antonio, Tx - 7/10-12 Austin, Tx - 7/14-16 Dallas, Tx - 7/18-20 Denver, CO - 7/22-24 Salt Lake City, UT - 7/26-28 Las Vegas, NV - 7/30 - 8/1 San Diego, CA - 8/3-5 Los Angeles, CA - 8/7-9 San Francisco, CA - 8/11-12 Napa Valley, CA - 8/12-13 Eureka - 8/15-17 Eugene...

I turned 50 in March 2020. Since then, I have been wondering whether I am actually fit at 50. I've ran a little since my birthday: April 4, 2020 - 100 miles in 24 hours April 20, 2020 - 26.2 mile virtual Boston Marathon April 25, 2020 - 100 km (62 miles) virtual Canyons 100km After these long runs, I'm not in a wheelchair or hospitalized or on a 72-hour hold. Rather, I'm feeling pretty good - both physically and mentally. I'm not ripped with six-pack abs, but I never thought looking good in a picture had anything to do with fitness. I believe fitness is about being able to step out of your home, do something physically challenging, and returning home excited about what you just accomplished. I believe this is different for everybody, and the level of challenge we can accomplish is different. Each of us can be "fit at 50" if that's what we choose. I still have the desire to run for hours on end, play basketball with my kids, ride a bike ac...

This weekend I decided to go out for a run to think through some things I've been struggling with. Outdoor exercise has always been a good release of stress, and a way to get some Vitamin D and increase my dopamine and serotonin (our natural anti-depressants). As I ran for 24 hours I saw some kids at a local skate park doing jumps and flying through the air. Later on in my run, I saw two police cruisers parked next to the skate park. Then, I noticed that there weren't any people skateboarding. The next day, I was running past the skate park and I saw a Parks & Rec worker taping off the skate park with Yellow Tape, like it was a crime scene. I have heard a lot of people use the terms "self-quarantine", "self-isolate", and "social distancing". I think we are making a big mistake, if we take these words at their literal meaning. We are relational creatures, and we are supposed to interact with one another. We can be safe and still be socia...

1.       I don’t have the budget A motivational business speaker with Jason’s credentials and story-telling capabilities is not cheap, but nothing important and valuable is cheap.  What does it cost for your business to replace one key employee? The Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) has studied this point and estimates that the recruiting and training expense of a salaried employee is 20% of the position’s salary – for a $60,000 per year position, the cost to the business would be $12,000. For highly compensated positions, it is estimated that the recruiting and training expense can be in excess of 100% of the position’s salary – for a $150,000 per year position, the cost to the business would exceed $150,000 in recruiting and training expenses. The true cost of replacing an employee also includes 1. Advertising, interviewing, screening and hiring for the position; 2. Onboarding expenses – training and management time; 3. Lost product...

Click HERE to watch the YouTube video Be Outstanding. Outstanding is different than good. It's different than great. Good may start at 7 am, great at 5 am, Outstanding starts at 3 am, 2 am. You cannot rest. You cannot stop because you are so convicted. "To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine. Why does the standard need to be so high? Because that is what we are capable of. When you're Outstanding, you're going to be uncomfortable. We live in a life where we think comfort is the goal. It's not! Wrong! We have climate controlled environments, we have cars, we have telecommunication that give us instant feedback. Life is not supposed to be comfortable. Not if we are living an Outstanding life. Nothing great is easy. There are no short-cuts in this life.  In order to be Outstanding, you are going to need to dream. You are going to need to have epic dreams, grandiose dreams, bigger than you have ever thought; ...

Sometimes the most difficult thing a person can do is to ask for help. Ironically, many times when the request comes, we think we are too busy to help our family, friend or colleague who is vulnerable and asking for support. I recently found myself in a situation I could not fathom and my back was up against the wall. There was no way out, and I needed the help of every person I knew, and didn't know. My requests for help became pleas for support and aid. I was desperate. To my surprise, some people who I thought were very close to me, were actually very distant. In response to my request for help, one person told me "if this is an emergency, call 911." Another friend told me his travel schedule - I think that was an indirect way of telling me he was busy with work. A couple of other people never responded. I didn't have time to internalize the hurt or disappointment of this behavior, I had to try to solve the situation that was before me. The majorit...