Dear readers, we are extremely fortunate today to have a most marvelous gentlemen as our Smart Man Online interview. When Jane first met Nat Yogachandra we were immediately struck by his warm, welcoming attitude, and by his wonderful smile. Nat is a former corporate executive who is more down to earth than the boy scouts who sell popcorn around the neighborhood. Nat embraced our excitment about marketing to women and our goals regarding Windsor Media Enterprises as an author services company. He is a world traveler with a strong vision for a better tomorrow. We think you will be inspired by his words. Meet Nat Yogachandra...

Lip-sticking: You're a well-traveled gentleman. Do you have a favorite destination for work? For play? When you travel overseas, what's the biggest difference in culture...between say Europeans and/or Asians, and Americans?

Nat: I have visited more than seventy countries during the past three decades. Each country provided me with a wealth of cultural experience. I loved all of them. To be fair to all those beautiful people and cultures, I do not have any favorite destination. But, I love Thai food. The days I spent watching wild animals during a safari trip is still fresh in my mind.

Regarding cultural differences, there are too many. Just to give you an idea, as the world is getting smaller and the globalization brings business executives closer, there is a growing realization that we can take almost nothing for granted. For example, the word 'contract' has different interpretations in Asia or Europe or even in the Middle East. To Swiss or German, American or British, it is something that has been signed and all parties need to adhere to. A signature is final and period. But, the Japanese consider a contract as a starting document that will be revised; they expect it to be rewritten and modified as the work progresses.

Some in the Middle East consider even a handshake as a contract. Again, all these cultures see these differences as ethical.

Lip-sticking: We've read your book, Beauty, Bureaucrats and Breaking the Silence: The Status of Women in Asia and we are quite impressed with your research on women of other cultures. Why did you write this book? What significance does its message have to you, in particular?

Nat: My previous three books [ which you may find on his website at Key-Zen International, dear readers ] were on cross-cultural management. Instead of focusing on my business expertise, this time I turned to my religious beliefs. I am a member of the Bahai Faith, a religion founded in the mid-1800s that promotes the unity of all people as one family.

Bahais believe in the equality of men and women. So I decided to expose some of the worst injustices perpetrated against women. My purpose is to create awareness of the progress the women have made and the suffering they go through in this present time. Men and women are like the two wings of a bird. Unless both wings are equal and healthy, the bird of humanity cannot fly. It is an inescapable duty of every man to fight for the equality of men and women. The persistent denial of quality to one-half of the world's population is an affront to human dignity!

Lip-sticking: Tell us more about the Baha'i Faith. As an active member, can you explain the basis for the Baha'i teachings?

Nat: The Bahai's are part of a worldwide religion called the Bahai Faith, united by the belief that there is one God, one human race and one evolving religion. Bahai's are recognized advocates for spiritual solutions based on the teachings of Baha'u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Bahai religion, on issues such as the elimination of all forms of prejudice with an emphasis on racial unity, the equality of women and men, the spiritual education of children, the importance of family cohesion, and the establishment of world peace. Bahai Faith is one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

Lip-sticking: We know from experience that you take this faith with you in everything you do. As a former corporate executive turned entrepreneur and writer, what is your biggest daily challenge? What surprises you now that you are working on your own?

Nat: The biggest challenge for me is that there are only 24 hours in a day. I have to allocate time between my business, volunteer activities and family. What surprises me most is that I have to keep a calendar on my own and to stick with it because it is MY TIME and MY TIME, alone.

Lip-sticking: Do you believe shopping online is something that will continue to increase or will it level off and remain stable for the next few years? In your experience, how much do the women of Asia shop online?

Nat: Shopping online will be a big hit in the years to come, especially in Asia. It is easy and comfortable for them. More and more Asian women are now working; even the elderly women in Japan are going to work now. So shopping online will be much more inviting for them.

Lip-sticking: In thinking about Beauty, Bureaucrats and Breaking the Silence, we wonder... is the digital divide in Asia improving since you wrote the book? Can you make any predictions about women in Asian cultures becoming more and more independent? If so, would you say they are becoming Americanized, or would you say they are merely moving forward on a path of self-improvement and power within their own particular culture and family-structure?

Nat: The digital technology and Internet has now leveled the playing field, empowering Asian women by allowing them access to information and networking opportunities that were generally closed to them for many decades. It has been a boom for breaking Asian women's isolation by creating networks that crisscross national borders and the entire world. This means they will become more and more independent. While maintaining the core family values, I am sure they will get used to or learn some of the global or American cultural values too, via this interactive media.

Lip-sticking: You live in the Northeast (as do we). Don't you hate the winters here???

Nat: YES! I do hate the winters here. But, I love Fairport, where I live now with my wife Debbie and my daughter Natascha. Debbie is from this area and I have made this my home. This is a great area to raise children. Rochester is a wonderful city… just imagine -- from my house it only takes me about 20 minutes to go to the airport, to a beach, to ski in the Bristol mountain area or go into downtown Rochester... I cannot complain.

******************************************************************

We hope Nat's interview has added some sunshine to your day, dear readers. He is an uncommon man, a man who wears his sincerity on his sleeve, and who demonstrates what Lip-sticking is all about: men and women working together to build solutions in life, business, and the world.

What's not to like about that?