Ka lā hiki ola and Ho‘ohiki

The first time I went out on the ocean with the Alaka‘i Nalu, I was in seat five of their first and oldest canoe, the seat where the steersman could best keep an eye on me. The canoe was named Ka lā hiki ola, the dawning of a new day.

My kaona (hidden meaning) in that day was that she represented my hope in all we would do together as an ‘Ohana bonded by our Aloha and Mālama for each other. When I climbed into that canoe, I was making a deliberate choice as to what I was going to give my attentions to.

That day figured prominently in my own search for Pono, and it would be a turning point in my relationship with the Alaka‘i Nalu: They didn’t believe I could understand them completely until I had been out on the ocean with them.
—from Ka lā hiki ola in Managing with Aloha

I now suspect that the Alaka‘i Nalu were much wiser than I in knowing that I needed some of that “Can do” confidence in the canoe for myself most of all. It wouldn’t be the first time I had much to learn from my employees, nor the last!

Within Ka lā hiki ola is a little word that is immensely powerful: hiki.

Hiki means Can do.

It implies both possibility for lā, the day at hand, and ability, the ability to ho‘o, make something happen.

Therefore, what Ka lā hiki ola means is that you have the ability to do what it takes to make your life (ola) happen in the way it delivers best possibility to you.

Values are what we lay claim to: We own up to them because we believe in them deeply.

Thus, to lay claim to Ka lā hiki ola as a value is to say you deeply believe you can do whatever it takes to improve your life, your work, your future.

I am quite sure that the bird which labored to build this nest,
never for a moment stopped to worry that it could not be done.

Ho‘ohiki

As we begin our month with Ka lā hiki ola, put that kaona (hidden meaning) of ho‘o, to make something happen, and hiki, your confident knowledge in your own ability to get it done —always Can, and never Won’t— together as Ho‘ohiki, the promise you make to yourself.

The promises we make to ourselves are powerful, for we don’t accept our own excuses. We ‘fess up’ to ourselves more readily than we do to anyone else.

Now think about that dawning of a new day, and the new we spoke of on Day One of this month:

“New” is always so tantalizing, isn’t it. By nature, though some cynics who wax nostalgic will seek to temper our enthusiasm (ignore them!) we know that “new” means a fresh energy of some kind, and the hope and promise of some extraordinary difference.

New is innovative, new is bold; new is never lowly or unimportant.
New is novel, new is contemporary; new is never tired or old-fashioned.
New is new-fangled. New is up-to-the-minute. New is original.
No matter our age, no matter our circumstance, new can always be us.

We can be tantalizing.
We can be fresh.
We can be innovative.
We can be bold.
We can be novel.
We can be contemporary.
We can be new-fangled, up-to-the-minute and original.

We can, and we will.

Until next Tuesday...

In the coming week, consider writing a Ho‘ohiki statement of intention for your Ka lā hiki ola; the dawning of the new day you have the ability to create for yourself.

You can do it as a personal exercise, or you can do it together with your team. I have an example for my company, Say Leadership Coaching, that you can look at as an example: My Ho‘ohiki. It is something I have always publicly published as a public commitment to make good on my own word.

You will notice that it is written as a collection of “we will” statements for me and those I consider to be my ‘Ohana in Business.

If you wish to, use the comment conversation here to make your Ho‘ohiki a public commitment too, for you have the entire Ho‘ohana Community available to support you. If you have written statements like this before and can make suggestions for others, or share your own experience with them, please do.

We can also talk story here about the “New.” What will that be for you, or for your business or workplace? What kind of ability will you be drawing from to feather the nest you confidently create?

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Mahalo, thank you for reading today.

Our Value Study for the month of June is Ka lā hiki ola. If you are just joining us, you may want to start with my short Day One Essay, Ka lā hiki ola and the New Us, and take a look at our June publishing schedule.

From the Archives:

1. An article I had written for Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching, called On Ho‘ohiki: Keeping your promises;

You should consider your credibility and your reputation with keeping your word to be one of the defining hallmarks of your character.

However life happens. There will be times when you’ve fallen short of delivering on a commitment you made.

What is the best way to make up for it when this happens?
Click to Talking Story.

2. I highly recommend a review of the MWA Key Concept of Palena ‘ole: Discover your 4-Fold Capacity.

Palena ‘ole: Create abundance by honoring capacity; physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Seek inclusive, full engagement and optimal productivity, and scarcity will be banished.

Comments

[Steve Sherlock]

Reading this while sitting at my desk, inside the cubicle, on the 8th floor, here in Boston I am no longer here... I am being transported to some other place, a place of wonderfullness, a place of beauty, a place where I choose to be. Thank you Rosa, anything is possible!

[Rosa Say]

Those are the magic words Steve - "a place where I choose to be." Good for you!

Anything IS possible, for we can think of it this way: EVERYthing was IMpossible until the first person did it!

Mahalo for sharing your Ka lā hiki ola spirit with us this morning :)

[Dianne]

Rosa, thank you for sharing Ka lā hiki ola!

An important rule in our house (we don't have many) is to always be open to the possibilities life offers us. The word "can't" is not allowed ... I always tell the girls, "If you can't do something, you can learn how to!"

But I have been guilty of breaking the rule recently, telling myself I can't, without even realising ... so I really appreciate your lovely reminder.

:o)

(I have also been thinking about how inspiring birds are:

http://moondreaming-daisy.blogspot.com/2008/05/lessons-from-garden.html

[Rosa Say]

Ah Dianne, love it! So “can’t” is one on Starbucker’s list of no-no words you agree on! http://snurl.com/2dte3

Wonderful parenting that I am sure your daughters will grow to sincerely appreciate, if they don’t already. And you can think of your own “breaking the rule” as an opportunity to show them you can practice what you preach too! I love how you make the learning connection.

And thank you so much for your wonderful post, and for sharing it here!

[Dianne]

Thank you Rosa! I agree with *all* the words on Starbucker's list! And those in the comments. I added 'failure' because I think using it encourages the fear of failure and in turn makes people less likely to follow their dreams. I'd rather use the word 'lesson' or 'opportunity' and be glad that I at least tried something.

I hadn't thought about my 'rule-breaking' as a way to show the girls I practice what I preach (thank you!), but am always happy for them to see me struggle with something and realise I'm not perfect. Plus they get to see me problem-solving and developing coping skills, so it's all good!

My eldest daughter made me laugh last week when she walked into the kitchen to find me with my head buried in the keyboard, saying "I can't do this ..." (out loud too!), and she just said, "Mum, you can't say can't!" She picked up what she'd come in the Kitchen for and left, throwing another comment over her shoulder, "And anyway, you know you can!"

Reminded of that again, I gave her a huge hug when she came home this evening!

I'm so glad you liked my post, as it was partly inspired by your wonderful Lōkahi image :o)

[Rosa Say]

Mahalo for sharing your short story Dianne; our own children are the best at reminding us of our own preachings to them, aren't they. I know mine are really good with those zingers... I don't pull it off as well!

On failure: Those last 3 letters can really change the whole complexity of the word fail in such a final way. A few years back, a Chef friend suggested John C. Maxwell's book Failing Forward to me, and I enjoyed it, appreciating the shift it gave me with that word forever forward. The entire premise of the book was this:

"The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure" and Maxwell proceeds to teach what he calls "straightforward principles for overcoming failure." I'm taking these quotes from the book jacket, and to be honest I have forgotten his "fifteen solid steps," but the book was successful in getting me to always pause at hearing the word failure: I don't think of it as final anymore, just another step in something.

Here is the book page if you want to check it out:
http://astore.amazon.com/sayleadership-20/detail/0785274308/
Always interesting reading at Amazon's review pages sometimes, even without buying the book right away!