Oakland Tribune, Apr 11, 2007 by Martin Ricard SAN LEANDRO -- Shortly after Saitia Faaifo moved to the Bay Area in 1988, he began looking long and hard for a Hawaiian restaurant. In vain. For a young Hawaiian native who grew up in a small town on the island of Oahu, it was an isolating experience. "It made me realize our culture wasn't in the mainstream yet," said Faaifo, now 41. Fast-forward 20 years, and it's no surprise that nearly every city in the Bay Area has a Hawaiian restaurant and that the Pacific Islander community has nearly tripled. While Faaifo, a motivational speaker and author who now lives in San Leandro, sees that milestone as a testament to the growth of his culture, he has a greater one in mind -- something that he hopes not only will make him a leader for the next generation of Pacific Islanders, but also touch millions of other people through one simple message: respect. "I see how my mom and dad worked very hard," he said. "And I thought ... I can be the next messenger of hope and diversity (for) our culture because we're all over the place in terms of restaurants but invisible in leadership." In the two decades since Faaifo arrived in the Bay Area, he had gone from being a dishwasher making $3 an hour to becoming a manager at Comcast making close to six figures a year. Coming from a poor town in Hawaii with few models of wealth -- his mother was a janitor, his father a dishwasher -- he knew that he had finally made it in life. What he didn't expect, however, was that another dream was tugging at his heart, he said. One day, Comcast sent him to Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City to represent the company in its "Principal for a Day" program. After going from class to class to speak to the energetic seventh- and eighth-grade students, he felt his gift begin to shine when a teacher tracked him down in the hallway and told him a little Samoan girl had been captivated by his words of inspiration. At that point, Faaifo said, he realized his success up until then at Comcast was just a stepping stone to his true destiny: motivational speaking. "At Comcast, I had a total of 150 (employees)," he said. "But I said, 'I can impact 150 people for the rest of my career or I can be a motivational speaker and impact 150,000, if not more." It has been four months since he left his job at Comcast, but already he has published one book, "The Riches of Respect," has another set to be released next month, and a New York publisher recently signed him to publish a third book. He already has audiences lined up to hear him speak, as well. Faaifo, who also is known as Dr. Aloha, will travel to Hawaii on Thursday to give one of his first talks before the mayor of Honolulu. While his message of respect may seem mundane, it is nothing close to being ordinary. He draws many of his lessons from the teachings of his parents, who were not rich in material things, but who respected everyone and demanded respect by the same creed. His most extraordinary concept is radical. Faaifo says the only way people can succeed in life is by being selfless and by finding the "heartbeat in someone else's chest." Its effect can be felt in people's homes, workplaces and community, he said. "Respect is something earned. ... This comes from a deep place of compassion, love, and imaginatively knowing what it is like to walk in someone else's shoes," he says in his book, "The Riches of Respect." "I am not suggesting that the world is such a simple place that all problems are cured by the single practice of respect. However, I am saying respect is such a fundamental and powerful behavior that, if embraced, will change your life, your relationships and your world." Even with all his recent success, Faaifo knows that his mission is just beginning and won't be complete until he walks into a boardroom or turns on the television and sees that he isn't the only Pacific Islander who has made it to the top. He hopes to do that with his unprecedented approach, which is part Les Brown, part "Chicken Soup for the Soul," but all Island spirit.