Philosopher | Author | Adventurist
ORIGINS — KU PA’A
I am an orphan. I reveal this not to gain sympathy.
I believe my existence has provided me with a powerful perspective and empowering state of being. Yes… I had a mother… but she was never available… or present and I never knew my father nor had a fatherly figure.
I carry a sense of immense gratitude that I was afforded the opportunity to live my life in such a way that I alone could formulate my own ethos, my own character and a set of core values and beliefs without the influence of the dogma that persists throughout various social strata.
I believe I have a very strong moral compass and consider myself a humanist (student of Carl Gustav Jung, Joseph Campbell, Milton Erickson, and a multitude of others). I believe in a Grand Creator yet I possess a strong aversion to all forms or organized religion. I meditate and seek spiritual guidance daily. I accept others and their beliefs and do not denigrate those with different perspectives and expect, if not demand, a reciprocal relationship.
I will always be the one that runs towards the fire!
I engage others with a sense of passion and sincerity—an authenticity that is lacking in a world gone utterly insane with vanity and self importance.
I will not dumb myself down so that others are not uncomfortable nor will I act to impress for the same reason. Who I am when you are with me is who I am when I am with someone else.
Namaste!
Ku Pa’a is to stand firm in one’s own beliefs and values.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
I embrace the Islands of the Hawai’ian Kingdom as my home. I respect the land and the surrounding sea and the multitude of descendants of kānaka maoli.
As a child, I immersed myself in the history of the Hawai’ian Kingdom—as best as one could in a society ignorant of historical facts. Blinded by manipulated truths propagated down through the generations in order to rewrite self serving misdeeds into glorious and noble acts under a guise that the betterment of the whole had been some how achieved.
SERVICE TO COUNTRY
I proudly served in the United States Military with such service compounding an ever growing set of contradictions resulting in a sense of foreboding disillusionment that has presented me with various stages of self regulating realignment.
Within days of turning seventeen, I opted to not continue with what I was certain would be nothing more than a continuation of a disastrous set of High School experiences.
After successfully passing a GED administered at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, I joined the United States Navy as a Seaman Recruit.
My college pursuits did not begin until my sixth year of military service. On a dare, I attended a third year business course and found the experience amicable to my soul.
EDUCATIONAL PURSUITS
Experience is the greatest teacher. Never back away from learning. Never be afraid to ask questions. Smart entrepreneurs are always asking questions and are never afraid to look stupid. I have always been on the Dean’s List at every academic institution I have ever attended… yet I consider myself to be the dumbest guy at the table…
Being coachable is an incredible asset… remain teachable…
I am an Alumnus of the University of Hawaii, Chaminade University in Honolulu, and I graduated with honors from Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYUH), a beautiful and culturally rich campus located in the small North Shore town of La’ie, next to the Polynesian Cultural Center, on the island of O’ahu.
Focusing on accounting and computer engineering, I attended Portland State University (PSU), located in downtown Portland, Oregon, and Portland Community College located in Rock Creek, Oregon.
I believe I also attended Kapiolani Community College, although it may have been Leeward Community College in Waipahu.
I also graduated from Roosevelt University (RU) located outside of Chicago Illinois, in Computer Systems, during the early days of the computer revolution. During these days my first computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 that booted from a cassette tape. I upgraded to an Apple IIe with an eight bit 6502 CPU. I now run my publishing company from an Apple M3 Max 64gig MacBook Pro with a mobile recording studio built on a 2024 Mercedes-Benz 3500XD 144″ Sprinter.
I pursued Post Graduate work in health care, psychology, and law at Washington State University (WSU) and pursued additional software development coursework at Stanford University (my all time favorite campus).
MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES
I have stood on the Great Wall of China and seen a Cold War wall fall. I have had extended stays on remote outposts throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Perhaps my most memorable and fondest accomplishment was the accumulation of over 3,500 hours of flight time in the Lockheed Martin C-130 multi-engine aircraft:
MENTOR CAPITALIST
I built and sold my first company at the age of thirty-one.
I have pursued multiple ventures since then; with some being successful and others resulting in powerful lessons.
Winning resulted in a profound arrogance whilst my failures enriched my soul. The failures I have experienced were the most important events of my life and became the greatest influence on my humanity. I am more grateful for the hardships I have endured than all the revenue I have ever collected.
I have structured (formed) multiple companies and developed business plans and prospectuses that were utilized to raise capital (debt and equity) via Private Placement Memorandums (PPM).
I have succeeded and I have learned (failure is the best teacher).
With a plethora of formal education and real world experience, the only knowledge I have acquired is that I know absolutely nothing, and that with the cleansing roar of the sea or from the countless rivers of tears shed, all things do fade from view as the gap between what is now… and what shall be… extends beyond the horizon of what ever was…
BE KIND… ALWAYS!
Until it is no longer time…
to be kind!
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