Our latest Career Changers TV show features origami artist Won Park, whose specialty is folding dollar bills into unique pieces that are quite amazing. It takes intense focus, yet he must be relaxed at the same time... sort of like zen, which suits Won's low key persona. If you watch the segment, you'll see that we shot it at the Tea Farm Cafe in Puck's Alley, which Won himself suggested since he likes to hang out there with Tiffany, his girlfriend/business manager.

While I was waiting for Won, I got to talking to the young guy behind the counter. It turned out he was the owner. Ervin Gong, age 29, started an online biz about six years ago to offer a wide variety of teas from all over the world. There weren't many competitors at that time, he said, and he did well enough to put aside money to start his cafe in Manoa. He says the inspiration for that came from tea cafes in Beijing, where his family is from. It's a very relaxing environment -- heaven for tea lovers. There are dozens of small sample containers that you can open to smell the aromas of different teas he offers, hot or cold. You can also buy breakfast foods, sandwiches and delicious desserts.

Look closer at the photo above, and you'll see samples of Won's origami art. He leaves them as tips for Ervin. But they're also a selling tool. Patrons see the intricate dollar bill creations, then ask Ervin where they came from -- and how they can get in touch with Won to order custom-made origami pieces for themselves or to give as special gifts. It's a nice match for the two entrepreneurs, who have both found niches that fit them to a tea (pardon the pun). Here's the link to The Tea Farm Cafe site.

BTW, you can order Won's new book, "Dollar Origami by Won Park" on Amazon. The publisher actually contacted him and proposed the book idea, which is pretty rare since it's generally the other way around.

You can watch the Career Changers TV segment on OC16 (click here for daily viewing times) throughout the month of January, or view the low res version on the CCTV YouTube Channel.

Okay, for some reason my post from yesterday on Feedback Loops and Shopping Psychology never appeared in the little blog box on the Star-Advertiser home page... which means most visitors to the SA site never had a chance to read it or the links I provided for two fascinating articles I came across in Wired magazine related to my topic.

If you missed it and this makes it into the blog box, click here for that post. Mahalo!

There's been some buzz about Michelle Obama's planned visit to MA'O Organic Farms in Waianae this Sat., Nov. 12. We did a feature about the farm on Career Changers TV last year, which focused on how they are training a new generation in the ways of Native Hawaiian culture and agriculture (click here for that video link). They also offer college scholarships to financially-needy kids. Yet there has been some negative comments in letters to the editor and blogosphere about how this organic farm caters to the wealthy -- the so-called "1 percent." Huh?

You know, I sort of expect negative comments from certain factions related to anything the President or First Lady are involved with. But to criticize a local farm program that is trying to get our youth interested in sustainable farming seems so far off target, I don't know what to say. True, "organic" is one of those labels that conjures up images of affluent, educated consumers who can afford to shop at places like Whole Food Supermarkets. In reality, organic is stuff grown without a lot of chemicals.

However, there is a human cost to sustainable farming. I've become even more conscious of this while working on the videos for the 808HALT.com project to promote awareness about human trafficking in Hawaii. While the Aloun Farms/Global Horizon case has gotten much media attention, what has been overlooked is the fact that similar exploitation of immigrant workers is happening on smaller farms too -- not just on Oahu, but other islands as well. One trafficking victim, who had been sent by Global Horizon to "five or six" different states on the mainland to work at various farms, told me the worst conditions he encountered were actually on the Big Island.

The biggest problem though is us. Because we want cheap produce, farm owners are pressured into cutting costs wherever they can. Unfortunately, human labor is one area where they can save money by bringing in immigrants who do the math, and figure they can pay off the $15K - 20K "recruitment fee" in a year, then send back money to their families in the next one or two years and come out ahead. In many cases though, the laborers aren't paid what they were promised or charged additional fees and living expenses that wipe out any potential savings. Or there simply isn't as much work as was expected due to weather conditions... and then their temporary visas expire, leaving them in limbo. Many of these men have been separated from spouses and their children for years while trying to get help with their legal and financial problems.

Of course, it's easy to say farm owners should pay them decent wages and provide health benefits (many wind up getting sick from handling chemicals and pesticides, but can't afford treatment). The question is, are we willing to pay more to buy local produce that is supplied by socially responsible farms? Do you even think about it when you're at the supermarket?

******

On a related note, our current Career Changers TV show has a short segment about Waimanalo Country Farms, where we shot our segment intros. Not included in the piece was some news the owners shared with me: in the next year or two, they will have to move off the 50-plus acres the family has been farming since 1948 to make way for 200 Hawaiian Homestead Lands houses that will be built on that site. On the plus side, they will be getting about the same acreage near their existing farm operations, but they seem to have some doubts about the impact of having that many homes constructed right next door.

Another interesting tidbit: one reason they diversified by growing pumpkins and offering farm tours is that their sweet corn crop was being affected by weather... and wild pigs. Shawn Kadooka said last year there were as many as 80 pigs that did a number on the corn fields. They tried to enlist local hunters, but had to go out and shoot the pigs themselves. Oh, the joys of farming!

******

For daily viewing times, please visit www.CareerChangers.TV or check out videos from past and current episodes on the CCTV YouTube Channel. Mahalo for watching!

Wow. When I first saw this on the news, I thought it had to be a typo. Do Hawaiian Tel workers really get 26 WEEKS fully paid sick leave each year? But even 26 days seemed like a lot to me. I can't recall ever working for a company that provided more than a week or two at most for illness or personal days.

Yet here is what the official statement from Hawaiian Tel says: Employees currently may take up to 26 weeks fully paid sick leave each year. The company's offer provides up to 8 weeks fully-paid sick leave annually, with an additional up to 18 weeks of temporary disability paid at 58% or base wages, plus adds company-paid long-term disability and long-term care insurance.

Am I nuts or does even eight weeks sound extremely generous? My wife used to run her own small company, which offered good benefits. But if she had to pay for up to 26 weeks paid sick leave, her business would have been devastated if one or two employees took advantage of that policy.

Am I missing something here? Can any Hawaiian Tel employee explain why they need 26 paid weeks of sick time? In other words, they could miss half a year of work, still collect a regular paycheck, and the company can't replace them. That seems insane to me... and one reason unions have been getting a bad rap of late.

I have been a long-time supporter of unions, but the existing Hawaiian Tel policy makes if far too tempting for workers to abuse it at company expense... which ultimately gets passed on to consumers, who then stop doing biz with that company, resulting in layoffs when losses mount due to having to pay workers who aren't showing up for long periods of time.

Anyone out there have similar sick leave policies where you work? Sheesh, I remember one company that used to give us one whole extra personal day off, paid, if we went the entire year without calling in sick or showing up late. But it was more of a pride thing to accomplish that goal. I guess we were naive or chumps to think you only called in if you were really, really ill.

******

Our new November show premieres on Thurs., Nov. 3. But you can still watch or record our special Halloween episode on  OC16, Weds. 2 pm or watch videos from it on the CCTV YouTube Channel. Please visit www.CareerChangers.TV for daily viewing times and other useful links. Mahalo!

Over the weekend, 60 Minutes had an insightful piece on Steve Jobs, which was followed by a segment about how the iPad is helping people with autism communicate in ways they never could before. I wonder if even Jobs could have imagined the myriad of applications and uses his inventions have inspired. To me, that's the real genius of what Jobs did: he gave people the tools to create things that could help solve problems, be it small or big in scope. He gave ordinary people the ability to express themselves artistically, and share stuff that could be sublime or silly.

That's what is missing in our current leadership at every level of government, and in most businesses. Great leaders don't simply dictate agendas. They inspire others to contribute their own ideas to provide solutions for both big and small problems. I read somewhere that Jobs preferred working with well-rounded individuals who had a wide range of intellectual interests and personal experiences, because true creativity comes from being able to make connections between disparate subjects. Finding simple, elegant answers to complex questions takes a flexible mind that isn't bound by conventions and self-imposed boundaries.

When Gov. Abercrombie took office, I wrote in this blog that I hoped he would pick a team of free thinkers from different backgrounds -- inventors, artists, academics and entrepreneurs. Instead, he stuck with the status quo. Even the new blood he brought in from his campaign were pretty much cut out of the same cloth as the older suits in power. So why should anyone be surprised there hasn't been much in the way of new ideas that inspire or give us hope in these difficult economic times?

I'll give you a perfect example: the controversy over the rail project. From the start, the supporters did a lousy job of creating a Big Picture that people could get excited about. It's not really about just building rail. It should be about master planning communities for the future. This was a chance for government and civic leaders to work together on a vision for the entire state that would make rail just one part of a much bigger goal. We could have been talking about building more affordable rental housing around transit terminals, and opening up commercial zones near those new housing areas while preserving ag lands. What we got instead were pencil-pushers and accountants coming up with rigid, fixed plans and politicians squabbling over who gets what first. No wonder even supporters of mass transit don't like what's come out of the process. They don't feel invested in it, because they don't see a Big Picture that makes sense in the long run. They only see taxes and how much it's projected to cost.

The funny thing about Steve Jobs is he said when he was poor and working out of his garage, he didn't worry about money because he didn't have any. When he became rich, he didn't worry about money either because he didn't have to. So he focused his energy on creating things that could improve our lives. His Big Ideas begat literally millions of small ideas that collectively changed the world we live in. And that led to wealth creation for Apple, plus thousands of other entrepreneurs who focused on making things that fulfilled a need -- not just worrying about money.

That's what we need right now. More visionaries. Less skepticism and cynicism. In my upcoming blogs and Career Changers TV show, I'll be telling you about people who are moving in that direction, despite all the negativity and pessimism you hear in the daily news media. To tell you the truth, I've stopped watching most national news because it has become a negative feedback loop that has poisoned this country's mindset.

*******

And now for something completely different, to borrow a Monty Python phrase, here's the link for www.CareerChangers.TV to find OC16 viewing times, along with other useful job-related information. You can also watch videos from past and current shows on the CCTV YouTube Channel. Got a thought or response to my rant? Go ahead and post it in the comments section below.