As an 11-year-old, I was sitting on the floor at home in Brisbane watching television, when on comes this new program called “The Samurai.” How amazing to see samurai fighting with ninja, and seeing Japan’s bamboo forests, shrines, castles, kimono and fast-flowing rocky rivers — everything so, so different from Australia. Until that point, we had been watching cowboy shows from America. “The Samurai” was like something from a different planet.

“Bunbu ryodo” means both pen and sword in English. It encapsulates my love of martial arts and academic learning. In ancient times, a Japanese warrior should have been able to write beautiful calligraphy, compose poems and paint pictures. I have a sixth dan black belt in traditional karate and a Ph.D. in international relations, so I am pursuing both of these paths.

Just before the Great Hanshin Earthquake, I had helped sell a large amount of bottled water from Australia to Japan as a trade commissioner for the Australian Trade Commission and Consul in Nagoya. The citizens of Kobe had run out of drinking water and I was able to convince then-Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating, to buy it back and donate it to Kobe.

As president of Dale Carnegie Training Japan, I know that what we do in the soft skills training area can really help businesses and individuals to succeed. My goal is to help as many people here as possible improve their abilities in dealing with others, to be better communicators, leaders and salespeople. I want to grow 10 times larger than our current size so that we can help more people.

Japan has mastered the ability to coexist together in harmony, despite the high-density living situation. This has flowed into courtesy being an essential element of people-to-people interactions. There is an advanced understanding of personal discipline and restraint in order for everyone to get along together. The culture here also has a large component of thoughtfulness in relationships. Teamwork is executed very well, aligning everyone’s efforts in the same direction. Harmony, courtesy, politeness, discipline, restraint, thoughtfulness and teamwork are all attributes that in many countries are not as well developed. Absorb these attributes, and no matter where you go in the world, you will be regarded as a person of quality. 
Japan also has a highly refined sense of design, art and culture that is extremely subtle. The appreciation of this subtlety expands our appreciation of the beauty around us. We will see things in a different way through this prism and experience things at a higher level.