Speaking @ Amazon - lessons learned

I've learned that people with forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel.

- Maya Angelou

The Amazon Smile with Kevin Burkhart ("Mr. Alexa")

Last week I had the great honor to be asked to speak at Amazon Headquarters in Seattle, Washington.    Amazon is the 4th largest company with a market capitalization of $466 Billion, 341,000+ employees and a 25,000+ employees at its HQ in Seattle.  I was excited, humbled, honored and a little nervous to be speaking at this cutting edge company, at their headquarters.  I did learn some very valuable lessons during this experience, however; and, I'd like to share them in this blog post.

EVERYBODY CAN USE SOME INSPIRATION

Amazon HQ in Seattle, WA

Amazon is the quintessential company driving a new type of corporate culture inviting employees to bring their dogs to work, dress is casual, break rooms have corn hole and fooseball games to cultivate a relaxed think-tank atmosphere.  Even with such a great environment for people to work in, the work of work can be a grind at times.  I had the pleasure of speaking with the sales and marketing team that works with ALEXA, the digital assistant whose main competition is Siri and Google Assistant.  Everyday this team is dreaming up and partnering with organizations that improve and utilize the technology in new and innovative ways to enhance our human experience.  Given what this team was paid to do, I wondered whether my story of transforming struggle into success could or would inspire them.

At the end of my talk, I sensed smiles on people faces and in their hearts.  I also noticed that everybody was standing and clapping.  Even at this extremely inspiring company, the story of an underdog coming out on top had a positive effect.  I have had some people tell me that "motivational speakers" are a dime a dozen with no real message.  I disagree, as I believe motivation and inspiration are at the core of what we need when we are in a lull or a trough in life; and, we are all sure to have lulls and troughs in our lives.

BUSINESS & LIFE LESSONS

Although my talk centers on my journey which culminates with running across America, it contains many side stories with personal and professional applications.  There are stories about the need to create complimentary teams, success and failure, mental toughness, how to weather downturns, eliminating non-value add processes and finding hope when one is feeling despair.  As I reminded audiences about these lessons with entertaining stories, I heard laughter and saw people light up with energy and "ah ha" moments.  A tale of adventure can lend itself well to a professional environment when that team is going into the unknown.

PAY IT FORWARD

@ St. Anne's XC practice

There is always an opportunity to give back.  Although I am a paid motivational speaker, I give back regularly by speaking free of charge to schools and service organizations.  When we are fortunate enough to have, we must always take time to give back.  My trip to Seattle would be no different, and I had the chance to speak to a St. Anne's School and run with the cross country team.  I have learned that each of us struggle with different things at different points in our lives, this includes children.  When we get the chance, we should share our journey of struggle with youth in a real and vulnerable way so that they will know their experience with struggle is "normal" and just part of the journey.  It is important for us to teach our youth that they can and will overcome their challenges.  We never know when we can change a life and help another person.

SUCCEEDING THROUGH FAILURE

The Success Cycle - ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

As with many of my corporate talks, I discussed my "Success Cycle", a theory I developed which proves that all things are possible.  Sometimes Pain and Fear try to make us quit, and sometimes we don't succeed on the first try, but success can be achieved despite setbacks.  When there is Adversity, we must Adapt to Achieve success.  By using my 4 tenants of Mental Toughness - Hope, Patience, Consistency and Forgiveness - one can be assured to stay in the game and, eventually, achieve Success.

I learn a lot from my audiences everytime I speak.  I am blessed to have been given the gifts and opportunities that I have received, and I am on a mission to help others see the vision I have developed.

ONWARD!

Jason Romero is a highly sought after inspirational speaker and the 1st and only blind person to run across America.  Jason is a member of the US Paralympic Team, holds 12 world records in ultra-running, a former attorney and business executive, and a single father of 3 children.  More information can be found on Jason at www.relentlessromero.com.