A Guest Lecture

Yesterday, I gave my first ever guest lecture at the Arts and Commerce Women’s College in Hubli. In front of 70+ second-year commerce students, I passionately shared my presentation titled “Change Through Business: My Journey as a Social Entrepreneur”. Although my pulse raced as I took the stage, my words flowed calmly and my mind stayed pin-point sharp. For all the while, I recognized the great magnitude of what was happening and I needed to “bring it”; this was an amazing opportunity to inspire, if even just one person in the crowd, to see entrepreneurship as a tool for social change, but more importantly to live with Pure Aloha.

In my presentation, I gave a “Crash Course on Social Entrepreneurship” that went over the “what”, “how”, and “why” of the concept. I talked about my definition of social entrepreneurship, the “three Ps” and “triple bottom line”, and pioneering social entrepreneurs like Muhammad Yunus (Grameen Bank) and Bill Drayton (Ashoka: Innovators for the Public).

Following this crash course, to really bring the concepts home, I shared the story of Uncle Clay’s as a real-life and personal example. First however, to truly understand Uncle Clay’s I wanted and needed everyone to understand and experience Pure Aloha: the absolute core of Uncle Clay’s.

To do this, I prompted an “experiment” that aimed to connect hearts by opening them to one another via expressions of gratitude. The hope was to fill the lecture hall with Pure Aloha to provide everyone the experience of being in such a special space. I started the experiment by directing my sincere thanks to Hema, the head of the Economics Department and organizer of the event, “I appreciate you for being a great teacher that truly cares about her students and empowers so many through education”. A huge smile formed on Hema’s face.

“Now, you see how it works? Now you try. Go for it,” I announced. At first, only a few pairs of students embraced the experiment. The rest of the crowd remained unmoved. Yet, only a small part of me worried that this experiment was going to disprove the hypothesis I was “testing”: 1) that Pure Aloha goes beyond all distinctions--ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion--as it exists in the heart of every human being, and 2) spaces of Pure Aloha could be instantly created anywhere in the world--even a large and sterile college lecture hall--by the simple opening of people’s hearts and minds. I just need to try a little harder.

So, I asked one of the girls who did catch on to the experiment to share what she told her partner. She hesitantly agreed, slowly stood up, and took the microphone, “I want to say thank you to Sophie for being such a great friend who has always been there to help and support me”. The room filled with applause. The Pure Aloha energy meter spiked.

Now, with hearts a little more open and hesitations a little more subdued, exchanges of gratitude initiated here and there in pockets throughout the audience. I could feel the room filling with more and more Pure Aloha. It felt great. The experiment worked. The hypothesis was validated.

I continued the presentation explaining how Uncle Clay’s aim is to create a restaurant where Pure Aloha flows powerfully and easily. At Uncle Clay’s, ohana members (customers) can taste the flavors of the world through a multicultural menu that brings the best of the best foods from different countries across the globe. More importantly, Uncle Clay’s will bring people from all walks of life together, under a single roof where each person is recognized as a member of our one world ohana (family) in space of Pure Aloha.

To wrap everything up, I ended the presentation by introducing “The Pure Aloha Oath”. I passed out pocket-sized copies printed on yellow paper to each person in the audience. Stanza by stanza, I explained the meaning behind the Oath, as everyone followed along, some reading the words with me.

Finally, I asked each to take out a pen and draw a heart on the back of their Oath, write their name, and finally write an action of Pure Aloha inside the heart. Minds plunged deep in thought and pens scribbled away.

“Finished? Could everyone show me their hearts?” I proclaimed after waiting for about a minute. Yellow Oaths sprang to the air as I peered across the crowd smiling. My eyes met hearts of all different shapes and sizes, each filled with something personal, meaningful, and unique. At that very point, the hour was up. So I gave my sincere thanks and descended from the stage with a profound feeling and absolute knowing that, in that moment, Pure Aloha truly lived in me and every other person in the room.

-Bronson