Friends from Wild Places

Lisa's Inspiring Path to Reinvention

• Shireen Botha/Tanya Scotece ft Lisa Meade Romero • Season 5 • Episode 8

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Lisa shares her transformative journey from educator to entrepreneur and police officer, emphasizing the importance of overcoming struggles to achieve personal growth. Through self-care practices and mentorship, she empowers listeners to embrace their unique paths and find their voices.

Lisa Meade Romero


• Lisa’s business focuses on personalized skincare education 
• History of early life challenges affecting personal growth 
• Overcoming negative thought patterns through therapy 
• Advocating for self-care as a vital component of mental health 
• Transitioning from teaching to law enforcement and the lessons learned 
• The value of seeking mentorship in overcoming fear 
• Encouragement for listeners to embrace change and pursue their passions

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Tales from the wild, stories from the heart. A journey into the mind and soul of fired up business professionals, where they share their vision for the future and hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion as we join our host, Shireen Botha, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

Shireen Botha:

Can you tell the listeners, Lisa, what is it exactly that you do in your business?

Lisa Meade Romero:

My business is making you feel beautiful. I'm it. My business is. I'm in the business of making you look good, right? Whether it be educating you, which is 95% of my business, is I educate individuals on what proper skincare is for them, right? Because there's not a one size. There is not one product out there that's going to be the miracle product for everybody. So, if you think, like the next Instagram, tiktok, whatever fad is going to be it for you, it's probably not. Everybody has unique skin. Everybody has unique chemistry and it's about having that personal coach that's going to walk you through that.

Lisa Meade Romero:

Because my focus is if you are a busy mom of six kids and you're going to work, you don't have time to do like 30 steps of skincare. It makes no sense. Why would I be like this is the skincare plan for you? It doesn't make sense. I want to make something fit into your budget. Number one, because you have to feel like you can afford it and fit it to your time and your lifestyle. If it doesn't fit into that, nobody. You have to feel like you can afford it and fit it to your time and your lifestyle. If it doesn't fit into that, nobody's going to do anything.

Lisa Meade Romero:

So I'm educating you on what's the proper steps.

Lisa Meade Romero:

I'm educating you on if you want to update your makeup look, or what's even the proper way to put makeup on that's going to enhance your bone structure, enhance your looks, and some people just don't even know what's a professional application of makeup that's going to make you seem professional versus hey, this is a glam, this is an appropriate date night, probably not appropriate for the office, but there's a difference in some factors.

Lisa Meade Romero:

So I educate and then, like that last like 5% is I've partnered with the product line Mary Kay because I believe in them, I believe in what they stand for and I can sell you products that I believe are great quality. But 95% of it is me educating you on what's the best steps for you, what things actually do to your skin, what these products actually do, and just making you have a good time. So sometimes it's about getting people together and having a spotlight, because you just need like 60 minutes away from the craziness of your life and that that adds value to you. You now know that touching your skin reminds you that you're a human being and you're worth that investment 100 percent.

Shireen Botha:

Tanya thatanya.

Tanya Scotece:

That's beautiful. That's beautiful, Lisa. Couldn't you give?

Shireen Botha:

me a gift from um, from Mary Kay, and ask beautiful mint foot cream.

Tanya Scotece:

Oh, the footsie rolls, the footsie rolls, I love that. Yes, yes, yes, it's one of my favorites. It was funny.

Shireen Botha:

Thanks, tanya.

Tanya Scotece:

I love it.

Tanya Scotece:

I have, um, I have a question.

Tanya Scotece:

So it's so interesting when we have the podcast because you know, I know you from, you know as a friend, as a colleague, you know business partner in the dimension that we know them and what they share, right.

Tanya Scotece:

So all the time that I've known you for you know several years now you know it's always I always see you as, like you know this, entrepreneur, different, you know backgrounds, and it was actually interesting it took me by surprise a little while ago when you shared you shared the word struggles that you've had and I'm like wow, I never thought Lisa had any struggles, like I mean it's, and I don't mean to like you know, you know, shed light on maybe a sensitive area, but can you shed some light as far as cause, just from the career aspect? It's like you've been a teacher and you've been a police officer and business owner, entrepreneur, community figure, and I know you shared a little bit about you know just basic skills, you know, with having, you know a young mom, you know, and not having those fundamental skills, can you shed a little bit deeper into other struggles? Because I'm just curious, I mean I always see you just as this like admirable person in the community. So, if you don't mind, I'd just be interested in knowing.

Lisa Meade Romero:

So if you don't mind, I'd just be interested in knowing. Yeah, well, I think we all have struggles, right, and it's what defines us. How we move through those moments is what defines us. So my parents were super young. My mom was 16 when she got pregnant with my older sister. She got married as a junior. She got married to my dad when she was in junior high school. I had my sister in her summer break and went back to school to finish it.

Lisa Meade Romero:

So my parents were always struggling financially. Not in the fact that we never I will say this, I never wanted for anything that I needed, right, and because of that, things were stressful at home. Right, you have kids, raising kids, and everybody has their own individual struggles. My dad has his own struggles and at times, you know, there was some physical and emotional abuse growing up, because anxiety and all of that usually comes out in some form of anger, which was a became my default emotion. That became my normal. I grew up like just like angry, not understanding things right, Like you're a kid. You're like well, I can't think. I mean, I prayed for my parents to get a divorce when I was little. My parents are still together, but all of these, these things.

Lisa Meade Romero:

I left home when I was 16. I went to live with my aunt and uncle because I was like I just can't handle this anymore. I literally made the decision to go to college away from home because I was like, listen, like either I will kill myself or I'm going to kill somebody else. Because, like, I cannot live like this. You know, it was just not a healthy place, which is not uncommon. You know, like I don't think my childhood was necessarily it wasn't horrible. You know, I still had love, I still had, you know, lots of other things and pleasant experiences, but it definitely caused me to adopt a negative thought pattern. It caused me to adopt this idea of I'm not good enough, I'm too emotional, I'm too this. You know, if I just tried harder, I would do it better. Like there was all these little you know the negative self-talk that happens and I'm grateful that, even through all that, like, I watched my parents be able to put food on the table. My mom would waitress at night, She'd come home and she'd count her tips and cash and we would go to the grocery store the next day and that's how we bought our food. So I was always learning about how life happened, like how life really is. So when I went to college, my mom was like you go anywhere. You want to go. I have $2,000, which I didn't expect my parents to give me anything, you know. Um, and so I, I picked the University of Miami. So I went and got myself like a $150,000 education.

Lisa Meade Romero:

But it was this because in my mind there was no barrier of like, even though I had that negative self-talk of like me as a person. Right, I had always achieved, like I, because it was expected of me. Right, Like you get eight, you do this like I had achieved and I had seen my parents achieve in their struggles. So, even though internally I had a negative self image, externally it was this find a way, make a way attitude. Like I got to find a way out of this house, I got to find a way to make this out. Like it was just like almost like a survival, like find a way, make a way to make things happen with a hard work ethic.

Lisa Meade Romero:

And so I found a way to go to college for four years and with leave of $10,000 in student loans and three grand on a credit card, like that. That wasn't a accomplishment. Now, at the end of four years was I broke, mentally spent, um, emotionally drained that I couldn't even continue, like. So my degree is in geology and physics, totally random, um, because I loved it, right, I love. I'm more like, if I'm going to study, I'm going to study things that I love, and I wanted to learn about our groundwater system and you, you know the earth, and I still love all these things. But I could not go get a master's program because I was like I mentally cannot handle this any longer and I've been blessed to have supportive people around me.

Lisa Meade Romero:

So, like, I think one of those struggles, like dealing with learning to deal with that emotional, like internal, negative self-image but to survive externally, was a real like dichotomy and it took me, you know, years to overcome that right, Obviously with some therapy and other stuff, and I, we still struggle with that right. So even now my husband will say something and I'll like trigger that thought pattern and I'll be like that's, that's not a healthy thought pattern, right, Like I have to step out of it. I'll be like, yes, he doesn't intend to hurt my feelings, Like this is, you know, I still have to talk myself out of those things, Um, but being able to, I guess, achieve externally. Uh, gave me that space for for me mentally and emotionally to wow. It's just one little part. I mean, we could talk all day about the problems but it's amazing.

Tanya Scotece:

It's amazing and so I'm gonna just probe a little deeper in your uh in the journey here. So when you said you know obviously we, you know shereen and I talked a lot about mental health, mental wellness, um therapy you know different modalities what other things had you found helpful or do you find helpful that maybe you could share with the listeners in addition to therapy that has been beneficial for you?

Lisa Meade Romero:

So I'm a big proponent, right, of self-care. Big proponent of self-care and not just like, okay, skincare and beauty Self-care in terms of carving out pockets of time for yourself, even if they're small pockets, right? So even in law enforcement, if I had a small pocket in the day and for 15 minutes I could read, like that trashy novel in my car. I'll read to trash it Like it shuts my brain off it, it transports me to another place where I'm not thinking about all of the stressors in my life, so small and find out what that is for you, right. So for me, I know I can read a trashy novel and I'll feel better. I know that I can take a walk outside, like I love to be outside. I can sit there and just watch the trees I can. I can watch the water on the ocean even better If I can just close my eyes and listen to nature. Those are all things that will fill my cup, right. So it's about finding what your, what your place is. That kind of gives you that moment to breathe and to just be still in that moment and kind of like let everything fall away. So I love that. I also love um exercise. I actually like stretching more than anything. I love to stretch to just like breathe and be in the moment, let that tension leave your body.

Lisa Meade Romero:

I think is great as well, and I do believe that a lot of it has to do with my, my faith that there's a greater power out there and understanding that I'm not in control and I just don't understand what's going on. But I am where I am. Even though all of these things have happened to us along the way, and things haven't been pleasant at all times, I am grateful for where I am. I live a great life. I have a loving husband, I don't struggle financially, I'm in a place where I get to add value and be of service to other people. Like what else could I want for, you know?

Lisa Meade Romero:

So I think having that perspective too, you know, thinking about that, like we live in a country where we're not dealing with bombs every day, you know, like these are all things like, when you put yourself in that perspective of gratitude, I think helps your mental health a lot, because when you're struggling you're always just looking inside. It's about what's happening in my sphere, what's happening to me, and it's almost like that, that victim hood, you know, and that's why I think that quote right of choices is so powerful to me because it gives me that power back. The power of choice is so impactful and that gives people that, that self-worth, or that, hey, I have some control in this situation where it feels out of control.

Tanya Scotece:

Hmm Interesting.

Lisa Meade Romero:

And the education piece you said you, you know you studied at University of.

Tanya Scotece:

Miami. Congratulations. I mean that's a very difficult school to get in and be successful in, so congratulations on that journey. You said you studied geology and physics, and I'm just trying to kind of bridge the gap here. How do all things fit together, right? Yeah, what's the puzzle? What's Lisa's puzzle? So the education piece how did you get into education and what did you teach and how did you get out of it? Because most people that get into education don't leave education.

Lisa Meade Romero:

Yeah. So I got into teaching and I taught at a private Catholic school in Fort Lauderdale, florida, because the University of Miami has this amazing program where they have faculty families that live in the dorms and so they're like your mentors. And I got really close to one family and he was a marine science professor and his wife was in the school system in Broward County and obviously they knew me. We talked about what's going to happen after Am I going to go back to Massachusetts, where all my family's from? And she said to me you have a science degree. If you just need a job, they need science teachers Like you will get hired, like, just, it's a possibility. And I was like, okay, like, like, kind of like that, okay, it's a possibility. And I was like, okay, like, like, kind of like that. Okay, I have, I have something, I have a marketable skill and I just need to eat something other than ramen noodles. So what, what? What are we here? So I got hired at this private high school and I taught chemistry and physics right at my wheelhouse. I loved it. And I even loved more when a student struggled in my chemistry class and they chose to sign up for my physics class, which is like an elective. I'm like, ah, like I've made a science person out of somebody, like it was just like, yes, and I loved to transfer skills, right. So I saw kids, which I think is interesting, right, right, so I saw kids, which I think is interesting, right.

Lisa Meade Romero:

Schools are so different across America. The schooling system is so different. I came from a public school in Massachusetts and I was like wait a second, this is private school, like what is going on in Florida, that this is private school. So I was like these kids need some life, life skills. So, yes, I taught chemistry and physics, but I taught more like how to take notes, because I was like kids need these skills, right, kids need actual skills. And at the going into my fourth year there I was already. There was some friction, let's say, between me and the administration, because there was a slight bit of hierarchy at this school. Like you, were a man.

Lisa Meade Romero:

Okay, then you were a woman who had graduated from that school, so you're like a female alum. And then there's all the other females. So I tend not to do great in environments such as that. I have a little bit large of a personality, I will say, and one of them was like it's not right, it doesn't you know which. The world is not fair, it doesn't matter. And so a bulletin had come out from the FBI.

Lisa Meade Romero:

The FBI was looking for math and science degrees to apply to the position of special agent and I was like oh, you know, like this is one aspect of geology I was really interested in, because forensic geology in World War II was used. A lot were sending over hot air balloons to bomb the western coast of the United States and the ones that did not explode had sediments still attached to them and so they could determine what beaches they were being launched on overseas to coordinate attacks. So to me it's all about a puzzle, right? Science to me is like the ultimate puzzle. It's like how do we figure things out? And I said, okay, things aren't really. I'm not feeling my jam here, right? So I chose not to.

Lisa Meade Romero:

We always had a I think we had a like in mid, mid year sign a contract for the next teaching year. So I had applied in like October for this program with the FBI and I had started going through the process, which is really interesting. You actually have to do several tests, like written tests, which which kind of makes sense, right, like then a math test, which you're kind of like why do I need to do a math test? But it is and then like a reading comprehension, then get an oral interview. Well, I was still going through all those different processes and they said oh, here's your teaching contract. I'm like, yeah, I'm not going to sign. They're like, oh, no. And I'm like, yeah, no, I'm not going to sign. So I ended up not getting the job with the fbi. Do you know why? Because they told me I had no law enforcement experience. And I was like, hold up, you asked for a science or math degree. Like, what type of law enforcement experience did you expect me to have? Right, um?

Lisa Meade Romero:

but at the time I was dating a guy who worked for the sheriff's office and he's like listen, you are too smart, but you can be a cop. If you want to be a cop, like go. But at the time I was dating a guy who worked for the sheriff's office and he's like listen, you are too smart, but you can be a cop. If you want to be a cop, like go, get a couple of years of experience and they'll hire you. So they came back to me the school and was like are you sure you don't want to have your teaching job? And I was like yeah, no, I really don't want to. And like things happen for a reason. Right, like I was ready to leave that job for a reason. I was struggling there just being in that environment. So I went on this journey and decided I'm going to be a cop. Why not Again? Find a way, make a way, right, like, ah, this is the next logical step, let's just make it happen.

Lisa Meade Romero:

I got hired by the Boca Raton Police Department and within a year I was on the bomb squad and I was like science-y stuff, so excited, get to solve puzzles. And then I was like wait, I can do my 20 years and be done and be in my mid-40s and retired, I think that I can just do this right, and the reality was, people were so confused that I could go from teaching to law enforcement. They're like, that's so different. And I was like is it, though, because you're trying to communicate with people who don't want to hear your message and get them on your team, like that's really what you're doing, right? I'm trying to feed this information to high school students who don't want to know it and get them to learn it. Or I'm trying to deal with an angry criminal or angry neighbors, get them to to you know, resolve their problem, and we all move on.

Lisa Meade Romero:

It's the same thing, it's. It was all about communication, different styles of communication and in different, I guess, arenas, but it was all just about communication, and I was so excited I got to do all my science-y stuff with the bomb squad. So to me, life is like a puzzle, like if you get like, oh, I love to figure it out, I love to figure it out, and so that's really what, what it's been the connecting factor, maybe through everything, but I loved, I loved being a cop, I loved being a bomb technician. Like I loved that. I loved looking at x-rays and being like, okay, that's a spring and that's a switch and it looks like it works this way.

Shireen Botha:

It's just fascinating to me example of you are painting your canvas. And right now your canvas is you've got some water paint, you've got some acrylic paint, you've got a couple of photos thrown in there. It's all. It's yours and it's unique and absolutely beautiful. And I have another question, but I just want to pop in here with a buzzsprout ad.

Shireen Botha:

Ladies, brains from Places is a place to share stories from other business owners and professionals, a safe space to show support for everyone that's all over the world when it comes to being a business owner and entrepreneur. We feature nonprofits every month to try to make a difference and give a helpline to someone in need. Do you have a message you want to share with the world? Or maybe you just think it'll be fun to have your own talk show? Podcasting is an easy, inexpensive and fun way to expand your reach online. So to start your own podcast today, follow the link in the show notes. This lets Buzzsprout know that we sent you and it does help support our show. So just remember that the team at Buzzsprout is passionate about helping you succeed.

Shireen Botha:

Back to you, lisa. I have this question what is a piece of advice to give someone who is at a later stage in life that wants to go out on their own and they're not sure, or they've got so many doubts in their minds. What is that piece of advice to help them make that decision and leap of faith?

Lisa Meade Romero:

leap of faith for me it would be find a mentor and do it anyways, like if you have a calling on your soul, like if you have an urge to do something like that was put there for a reason. Like you have a skill set, you have a message share, you have a way to be of service to people, you have a product or whatever it is. Whatever that thing you want to step out in is, you're thinking about it for a reason, and so the fear is just the fear. It will go away when you start working through it. But finding a mentor who has walked the path before you takes away a lot of that fear and gives you a support system.

Shireen Botha:

I like that and I think that's so true, just from practice and experience for myself. Yes, I think that you've hit the nail on the head there, because I don't think the fear ever goes away. But I think courage is feeling that fear and just doing it. And part of my road actually is getting a mentor. And there were many times it's a lonely road being a business owner and entrepreneur and many times there were I wanted to give up because it's the imposter syndrome, it's the fear of failure. There's so many things that run through my mind that I just want to throw in the towel and step away and choose an easier way of doing this, because this is mentally quite taxing. But with having a mentor involved, that really helped um, talk you off the ledge, encourage you, motivate you, tell stories from their experience. You know, like shereen, this is, this is normal, it's not linear. Being a business owner, you've got ups, you've got downs, you've got to feel them and go through them, um.

Shireen Botha:

So I agree with you, lisa, that's, that's a great piece of advice. Thank you very much. It's just because and, tanya, you can obviously um either agree, I think you agree with this, but a lot of our listeners, you know, we aim for people that have decided later on in life to no longer work for someone else but to go on their own road and be an entrepreneur and business owner. Um, and this specific platform that we've created is a safe space for these business owners and entrepreneurs all for those listeners that want to go out on their own and they don't have the courage. And this is exactly why we bring guests like yourself on the show, so that you can actually share it for our listeners and go hey guys, this is my road, this is my journey and this is the advice I can give to you.

Shireen Botha:

Uh, so we really appreciate you, lisa, for um, for that advice and just being here again, because your story is so unique and it is. It's not. You didn't stick to one road and maybe change it halfway. You just decided who cares? Who says you can only be this? Who says you can only be this? I can be whatever I feel like it and choose to be, and maybe next term you'll see me riding for vice president. You know, tune in next week for part three of friends from wild places you've been listening to friends from wild places with shireen buetta.

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People on this episode

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Shireen Botha

Host
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Tanya Scotece

Co-host
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Lisa Meade Romero

Guest

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