We’ve always believed that forming a strategy is impossible until you’re clear on what your values and principles are. Without values and principles to guide you, making decisions can seem impossibly difficult. Given how important setting values and principles is to decision making we asked folks we admire to tell us about the values or principles that matter most to them.

Jay Julio | Musician & Organizer

Integrity — whether it’s in the planning stages of a show, in pay scales, or on stage with an audience, there is nothing I prize more than a wholehearted and fair creative process. Nowadays, even the most corporate of situations can incorporate social justice-y vocabulary, but how and where one walks the walk is a true testament to someone’s character. I deal a lot with performances that revolve around a certain need in our world, and these shows serve as a blueprint for how I deal with situations in the rest of my life — if, while curating, Read more>>

Kesia Eng | Creator/Writer

In terms of art, a north star of mine is “to create beautiful things”. I know the term “beautiful” may seem subjective, but I think at the core of it, it isn’t really. It’s not hard to look at a sunset and know that it’s majestic and worthy of attention. So, I aim to create beautiful things like that, where the viewer is in awe of the beauty, where the art promotes a good value, and/or where the piece took a lot of thought/effort to be created. Read more>>

Greg Chinn | Laurel Canyon Design Dad

In my work as a creative, I value the principle of staying true to my inner aesthetic with everything I produce. Each project is a reflection of my personal brand of eclectic modernism which is a perpetual work-in-progress. I take inspiration from the various places I’ve lived or visited. Like a local chef who sources seasonal ingredients and creates regional dishes, I mix all the local cultural styles/iconography together and craft a unique visual vernacular. I am constantly exploring my neighborhood and the surrounding communities. The conceptual confluence of Hawaii and East/West Coast ideologies continue to inform my work along with guiding the aesthetic sensibility of my company, The Local Brand Co. Read more>>

Mimi Amaral | Human, No Better or Worse Than Any Other.

What I value most is getting out of my own way so I may tap into my inner truth and innate guidance from source. I believe we are all born with a connection to source [higher Self], but along our journey through conditioning, family and friend’s expectations, cultural and societal influences we are pulled away from that inner knowing. Read more>>

Jake Fraczek | Author, writer, broadcaster.

Being true to your art, being honest with your desires when creating something. We have ideas and visions, and they can take shape. Once they become tangible, becoming books, songs, films, whatever, they can get away from us. The allure of more praise, more success, is powerful. It can usurp our direction and misguide us, like a Ouija board controlling your hand. Not even just the big money, but merely the sensation of attention is magnetic, to the point where we begin to tailor our art and expression to make that appeal the priority. Read more>>

Monika Gabisi | Realtor

Gratitude, it keeps me grounded and optimistic. Life can be a whirlwind of emotional highs and lows however it’s important to pause, take notice, and appreciate the things that we often take for granted. Read more>>