Just got back from Hawaii, where we were doing a lot of interviews and photographs for a communication audit for a client in Honolulu. More on that later.

I was blown away by one high-ranking individual who used much of my one-on-one time with him to educate me on the "spirit of Aloha." Of course, everyone knows that Aloha means hello and goodbye. But when the Hawaii license plate refers to the place as "The Aloha State," it's not saying that it is the "hello, goodbye state."

This very kamaaina gentleman explained to me, with great passion, that the spirit of Aloha includes things like loyalty and generosity. But those are fringe components. At its heart, the spirit of Aloha is "love, responsibility, and doing-the-right-thing." It is not a balance of these things, mind you. It is all three, all the time. It is love always. It is responsibility for what you say and what you hear...out of love. And it is doing the right thing...not necessarily the popular thing...out of love and responsibility. What a great and profound learning this was!

I love these people! Mahalo! And Aloha!