Kūlia i ka nu‘u is the Hawaiian value of personal achievement. Literally translated, kūlia means to strive, or to reach for, and nu‘u is the word for summit, or highest place. In my book, I translate the complete phrase, Kūlia i ka nu‘u, as “Strive to reach the summit” and I tell the story of this being the motto of Queen Kapi‘olani (1874-1891). It was her gift to the people of Hawai‘i, a coaching now part of her legacy.
From Managing with Aloha;
[The links I’ve inserted are to past editions of my monthly Ho‘ohana essays since we currently are working on a monthly value progression here on this blog.]
Kūlia i ka nu‘u. Define what achievement is for you, and strive to the highest summit there is.
Pursue personal excellence. Be the best you can possibly be.
Seek achievement that allows you to Ho‘ohana, work with purpose and intent, within ‘Imi ola, a life lived for its highest form.
You will find you Ho‘omau; you persist in a way that will cause the good to last, for in striving for the best, you have become your best. As you grow, your Aloha has captured more abundance to be shared with others.Kūlia i ka nu‘u is the Hawaiian value of achievement, and it promotes personal excellence. Excellence is never an accident: It is always intentional, and it always demands more than the norm. Excellence in the achievements you set your sights on will set you apart.
And you thought that June marked the beginning of summer, and of slowing down!
Well, it can mean both.
[Click on the photo for the Flickr credit.]
I do think we are wise to nalu it, to go with the flow of Mother Nature’s calendar, for the seasons do have an undeniable effect on us. Those who have followed my blogs for a while may remember that Kūlia i ka nu‘u was our value of the month in March of 2006. Then, just barely into the third month of a new year, we went with Spring Fever and declared war on mediocrity, pursuing the excellence of this value, and striving to be remarkable. We got all fired up, and I encourage you to return to the comments there to see what fun and energy this value can create!
That was our blast from the past. This is our NOW.
This year, I have set my sights on coaching our Ho‘ohana Community through the MWA progression chapter by chapter (more about that here if you are a newcomer), and it’s intended to go the route of calmer confidence-building. However believe me, calm is no less powerful.
It is quite true that Kūlia i ka nu‘u is the value of BHAGs (Big hairy audacious goals, coined by Jim Collins) and magnificent dreams, however it is also one of unleashing personal breakthroughs, and this time, fortified by June, that will be the Ho‘ohana we work on here kākou, together.
Kūlia! Break thrū!
In preparing for this month’s Ho‘ohana, I called one of the leaders I coach, for he has always told me that Kūlia i ka nu‘u is his favorite MWA value. Achievement is a strong personal driver for him; he is one of those people who get strengthened when they collect wins, big or small doesn’t matter. He’d initiated our coaching relationship because in his words, “after reading your book, now I want to get those wins in the aloha way that’s a win for everyone in my company, and not just for me.” That was something I couldn’t say no to!
Add to this that achievers are great fun to coach: I’ve learned that high achievers are those people who always seem to have this internal fire burning within them; every day starts at zero —every single day— and you can bet they’ll go for some score before that day is over. They tend to love ideas, for again, big or small doesn’t matter; far as they’re concerned, every small idea has the potential to be a big win.
Fun to coach, and very coach-able. Capacity palena ‘ole (without limits). Reeking of optimism, where there’s no can’t, just a bunch of it’ll happen patience, and best of all, heaps of follow-through.
So I asked Mr. Striver (we’ll call him that here :) this question: “Loving Kūlia i ka nu‘u as I know you do, what would you tell one of your managers preferring to milk the dog days of summer, taking advantage of the slower pace June can promise her, and hoping you’ll ease up and give her a break?”
His answer was why he is who he is, and why he is so successful. He said, “I’d tell her, ‘this is work and we’re here to earn our keep.’ These days, they know that when I say ‘this is work’ I mean it should be their ho‘ohana the way you’ve taught us. So then I’d say to her, ‘Kūlia with your ho‘ohana; don’t just take a break, break through something. A breakthrough is a big, big win, and it can happen in just a day of your summer.’ As her boss, that sure would make me happy.”
Then, almost predictably, knowing him as I now do, he said, “Hmmm. You’ve just made me think about one of my managers. I think I’ll give her a Daily Five today.”
Don’t just take a break; Break through something
Love it, love it, love it. You will too.
For the first time, one of the execs in my coaching program is collaborating with me on the idea generation behind my ho‘ohana postings, and I hope you’re ready!
This month, we Kūlia! We break thrū!
Do join us; let’s Ho‘ohana.
~ Rosa
Are you wondering what this Ho‘ohana essay is all about?
Ho‘ohana is a Hawaiian value, and the subject of Chapter 2 in my book, Managing with Aloha. Here is a complimentary pdf excerpt: Ho‘ohana, Working with Intention.
Ho‘ohana is also my personal mantra. Therefore, Ho‘ohana became the name of the monthly e-letter I began to publish monthly and distribute back in 2003. It has since grown to a distribution of several thousand subscribers, and it is still sent via email on the first weekday of each month. Enter your email here to subscribe:
Whether you live in Hawai‘i or are our global neighbor, we invite you to join our Ho‘ohana Learning Community, for we share very universal values: Our email updates and newsletters are free, sent to you with aloha.
ALOHA TO ALL!
As keiki - we seem to enjoy and benefit from an intrinsic energy flow that just goes and goes - and - keiki posess and benefit from that wonderful magical intention we call: Discovery! We all, as children, were mainstream with that!
I was visiting ohana one weekend and they had a little boy, about 5 or 6 years old. For some reason, keikis will just come up to me and start talking. This visit, the boy walks up - holds his hand out - and says "Uncle, see my new truck!"...his eyes were looking directly at me to share in my reaction...once he saw it, he then shifted his eyes back on the truck, and they were just aglow with that wonderment, pride, and happy to share vibe. He then asked "would you like to hold it?"...I shook my head, he shook his too, to acknowledge that "Wow, he likes my truck too!".
I examined it, and he began to tell me al all about it: where he saw it first, how he planned on asking his dad to buy it, and how he knew all along he'd get it...etc. His enthusiasm was off the chart!
Then, as quickly as he approached me, he did his best truck driving sound and ran off. Then something unique happened.
10 minutes later, the boy comes running up to me and beaming huge he says "Hey Uncle, look at my new truck!" At first, like most adults, I was going to tell him that he already showed me the 'new truck'; but, I didn't. In fact, I played along, and he was even more thrilled than the first time. He went through the presentation - just slightly different - but wow, was he fired up with excitement. When he finished, he ran off. And then...
About 15 minutes later, here he comes, big smile, and the look as if he has just found a new fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen unattended, and he was headed my way to share. But...it wasn't cookies. No. As he got close he reached in his pocket, and he whips out his hand and says "Hey Uncle, look at my new truck!".
Ok now, I had to check myself, and look at him a little sideways with a look of 'what are you up to?'
But...I waited; the instant I acknowledged "what a great truck!" - his excitement and explanation shot thru the roof! The story was shorter this time, in fact, he stopped and just looked at me and smiled; then he gave me a big hug and said "I Love You Uncle!" and off he ran.
I thought, ok - I'm going to see if I can guess how long till he comes back! I check my watch...I think about what I will say...I found my own excitement levels rising and rising!
What I didn't know, is that he had left with his parents to go home. And suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks - especially since I was now had joined in his energy...I joined into his: STRIVING TO REACH THE SUMMIT - and he displayed NO LIMITS!! Auwe...
AS I sank back into the chair, I thought about this experience. I realized that he was not playing me, or trying to be annoying or a pest...no...for him, each time he came back was 'brand new' and he gathered more and more mana, and excitement, which he enjoyed the sensation of successful acquisition - successful marketing and public relations - successful management of his presenatation and full control of his being. It was the final stare, big smile and hug with Aloha - that gave it all away! He was 100% genuine! He was practicing to see how far he could stretch, share, effect. Not for monetary gain, not for anything other than my joining in and sharing his excitement!
This 5 year old, took both of us to the SUMMIT - WITHOUT LIMITS! And we both just loved being there!
How many times have you heard someone say "I'm bored!"...my ten year old daughter likes that one. And don't you wonder how on earth anyone could be bored? No matter - I say "Rosa, you are absolutely correct, 100%!" with this months sharing!
We can still draw upon our little guy or gal inside...anytime...and achieve, breakthrough, and feel darn good about it!!! In fact, Mahalo Rosa, for the opportunity to join you, in your excitement to share and teach and help to make us more in touch with our true selves. We all should know 'who' we are, and never forget it or wander off. It is up to us, each and every approach, every time!
Anybody want to go to the swings? I'm out...John Keoni Monte, Aloha Nui Loa.
Posted by: John Keoni Monte | June 03, 2007 at 06:12 AM
Oh John Keoni, I absolutely love your story! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. We all can learn from your aloha - what a good uncle you are! And you wonder why the keiki, the children, will just come up to you and start talking ...
Posted by: Rosa Say | June 03, 2007 at 10:24 AM