Opening Soon
Thursday October 9th at 9 (or 9:30) AM Brighton Collectibles will open their first company owned store on Oahu. I dropped in on Saturday, and store manager DeAnne Imamura welcomed me and invited me to say a few words to her team.

Team Brighton Ala Moana
It’s rare (never before) that I get to meet a group of Brighton salespeople before a store opens. I didn’t stay long as I was there for other reasons.

Room With a View
My mission was to deliver keys to a condo at Moana Pacific to Brighton District Manager Nikki Wride that I was able to secure for “Jerry’s Angels” to stay in while in Hawaii next week getting ready for the store opening.

Nice Ride
I invited Nikki and “Jerry’s Angel” Leslie McClure from the Pasadena Brighton store to go to dinner in the Uraku 1 limo.

Girl’s Night Out with Ron
On the ride to the restaurant Masae showed Nikki and Leslie some of her newest mini original oil paintings that are selling well in selected galleries.

Mexican Fare
We had a wonderful authentic dinner at Los Chaporros in Honolulu, scene of a recent Dog the Bounty Hunter episode. I told Nikki what’s on my shopping list and that I want to be the first customer at the new store on Thursday morning, and she agreed to have the goods there for me.

19th Annual Memory Walk/5k Run
I was pleased to join a fun loving group of people who gathered this morning to supprt the Hawaii Alzheimers Association.

Peter Skaaning
The Honolulu Design Center and Peter Skaaning sponsored a team of about 30 people to walk the 3.1 mile course around the scenic Ala Moana Beach Park. We were blessed with good vibes and warm weather.

Ready, Set…
Hundreds of people lined up and took off at the sound of the cannon at 7 AM sharp, and then crossed the finish line in 40 minutes to one and a half hour later to enjoy music and food.

UPDATE:
This post originally appeared in April of this year. I received this e-mail from Karyn this morning;
Hi Ron - Just wanted to pass this along in case you haven’t gotten any info about it….  I am in Kenya right now, and I am posting updates of progress we are making bringing clean water to the largest slum in the world.

-Karyn    

You can see the latest by clicking right here. I continue to salute her for efforts and dedication toward this amazing project. Go Karyn Go!

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Water Does Wonders
April 9, 2008: Jerry and Teri Kohl were very proud of the inspiring heart warming message that daughter Karyn delivered to the 135 Brighton managers on their final day of the Maui retreat.

People Dying
Karyn showed a slide and film presentation that made us all aware of some facts easy to ignore. Facts like children dying every 15 seconds in Africa as a result of drinking dirty water. The fact that the average American uses 150 gallons of clean water a day, while people in Kenya struggle to get 5 dirty gallons of dirty water to stay alive. We use half that much just to flush a toilet. Karyn showed us pictures of these people and what they go through to get water none of us would drink on a bet. You have to see it to believe it.

Imagine Giving This to YOUR Baby! 

Karyn gave me a disc with the photos like this one, and as soon as I can figure out how to shrink them down to a size suitable for this Blog I will post them.
In the meantime you can click HERE to see Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly give you a glimpse of what it would be like in our country if we had to live this way.

Brighton to the Rescue
The answer is drilling deep enough to tap into a supply of fresh, clean drinking water. The technology exists; all that’s needed is money; about $50,000 per well. Brighton is known for giving away bottles of water in their stores, but from June 27 to July 27 it will be Brighton Charity Water and the price will be $20 with 100% of it going to well digging in Kenya.
Jerry has set a goal to dig water wells at 10 hospitals in Kenya, currently drinking dirty water. He has come out with Water. Brighton T-Shirts that you can buy.

Kazuri Beads from Kenya
While in Kenya recently the Kohl family came across a small factory making Kazuri Beads by hand.

Brighton Kazuri Bead Jewelry
Being the creative, generous guy he is, Jerry is introducing a line of Brighton Kazuri Bead jewelry to sell in the stores.
And to make it even more exiting, Jerry announced that the store managers who raise the most money through the sale of these things and donations will be sent to Kenya to watch the drilling of a well at one if the hospitals. What a great way to end a great week.

Food For Thought
Another interesting fact that Karyn gave is that it takes 2,900 gallons of water to grow enough cattle feed to make ONE HAMBURGER!!! Think about that the next time you drive by Mc Donald’s. 

Who gets It?
As always, the successful continue to succeed. Those who maintain positive attitudes and bet on success get it. They attract it. The opposite is true of the paranoid who start “tightening up their belts” betting on less. They get it. When customers come in to buy, they are low on goods, when customers read ads, theirs have been eliminated. Money attracts money; to get more; spend more.
I’m in a wonderful position to see the results of hundreds of companies on the Morning Report every day. Not a day goes by that I am not sending out a congratulatory e-mail. I was particularly moved by a reply I received today from Kent Izuka, the founder and owner of Security & Sound Systems. Kent sells a product that some might consider the type of luxury product that people could do without. I asked Kent for permission to show his e-mail, and he granted me permission to share it with you.
Here’s what Kent said, word for word;

“Thanks Ron!  Last month was pretty awesome.  I told the guys that if the bonus amount reaches $1000, then I would let them have and split my share, so it happened in May! :) 
May was our third highest month ever.  I think it could have been our highest month if one of my guys didn’t go on vacation for a week, but I guess there’s always next time.”

Thanks again!
Kent Izuka
Security & Sound Systems
2131 South Beretania St.
Honolulu, HI 96826
ph: 808-947-8799
fax: 808-944-3955
www.securityandsoundsystems.com

When you are ready to add a luxury sound and or security system to your car, give Kent a call.

Curtis Willmington

John on Guitar
When Hawaiian Accessoriries owner Curtis Willmington and wife Leslie throw a party, it’s a party! I was pleased to be a guest at this one last Saturday in their beautiful beachfront home. And in the Hawaiian tradition there was a lot of food, music and love. Mahalo Curtis and Leslie.

It’s The New Rage
Stand Up Paddle surfing started right here in Hawaii. As far back as the 1940’s when Hawaiian Beach Boys used to paddle out to the breaks standing up to avoid getting their camera gear wet when taking photos of tourists.

Learn How
Surf-n-Sea is always right there when something new takes off, but this one is the most natural of all. They are giving Stand Up Surf and Paddling lessons and claim that anyone can do it.

It’s Easy
Store manager Eddie Crawdord says, “If you can walk down a three foot wide sidewalk you can learn to stand up paddle.” With a semi-private beach right behind the store adjacent to the scenic Wailua River, Stand Up Paddling at Surf-n-Sea is the best place to learn. They will even be having a Stand Up Paddling Clinic during Memorial Day weekend.

You Can Help
Charles Zhang is the son of Michael Zhang, our long client at Blue Hawaii Surf and now Blue Hawaii Life Style; both in Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Charles decided to raise money for the victims in the China earthquake. He worked with his family to make 4 donation boxes. He started collecting in his own neighborhood, then at school and with his Cub Scouts. His father will place boxes at his 4 retail stores.

Dad adds;
“If you cannot visit one of our stores, please write a check to China Red Cross Foundation and mail to me at 437 Maono loop, Hon Hi 96821. I will include your donation to help Charles raise $1,000.”

I think it’s good in times like this for everyone to play some part in helping our fellow world neighbors. Many people making small contributions can make a huge difference to the unfortunate ones.

Friday, May 7, 2008

We are proud to announce that two Success Dynamics clients received the “Best 2008 New Commercial Development” award at the 2008 Kukulu Hale Awards Presented by National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP). This is a very prestigeuos award as it includes competition on a national scale.

The Honolulu Design Center won the best New Commercial Development Project out of seven other projects greater than 40,000 square feet.

The Wedding Ring Shop took best in it’s category for a New Commercial Development less than 40,000 square feet.

Nice Setting
Conducting Success Rallies at Surf-n-Sea on the 1st Monday evening of the month (tonight) is always a real treat.

Goal Setting
Joe, Eddie and I go over the numbers and set the goals.

Happy Sells!
This team shows up happy, eats the pizza, soaks up the information and then goes out there and sets records.
April was another record month and they are on the way to a record year.

Breakfast for All
Every day of this Brighton event started with a full blown breakfast by the beach meticulously prepared by the Hyatt Regency Maui kitchen staff.

The Pam and Ron Show
Once again Pam Chambers and I had the opportunity to lead two sessions with 135 excited people. Our only “complaint” is that the tight schedule doesn’t allow us to hear each other speak.

8 AM Sharp
My first session started promptly at 8 AM. There’s no such thing as arriving late for one of these sessions. If there is ever an empty seat it will be in one of the front rows. You have to get there early to get a back row seat.

Reaching Upward
This group knows what to do when I ask them to put their hands over their heads as high as they can.

It’s Not Work
I get the opportunity to speak to groups of people assembled against their will every day of my life, but that’s never the case at a Brighton function. We all have a great time and I think that I enjoy the experience more than anyone. I sometimes actually feel guilty taking money for this. Find something you like to do and you will never work a day of your life.

9:15 AM
There’s barely enough time to catch your breath before the next group comes in. I compared this to the challenge of selling in the store where you have to say the same thing over and over as if you never said it before.

A Bunch of Losers
How’s this for a contest? Jerry announced some exciting prizes to anyone who voluntarily entered a contest to see how much weight they could lose from the 1st of the year up until this event. They had to weigh every day (witnessed) and send the numbers in to the company. The people you see here lost from 11% to 15% of their own body weight. They were treated to a catered dinner with Jerry this evening along with cash prizes amounting to as much as $400 each.

Now What?
It’s a bit anti climatic when the last meeting is over. One of Jerry’s goals is to get all of the business out of the way before noon and give everyone the rest of the day to just relax, meet each other by the pool, and sign up for this evening’s array of restaurant choices and dinner cruises.

Mr. Generosity
I am always honored to be a part of a Brighton event and to be in the company of Jerry Kohl. Jerry spares no expense to make these events life long memorial experiences. We are proud to have Brighton as a long time Success Dynamics Client.