The Interview / By Kevin Voight

The Art of Strategy

One day she was lying in bed at her Los Angeles home a depressed

Chin-Ning Chu made a radical change in her like. The 27 year old decided to get a divorce. Ms. Chu, born in China and raise in Taiwan, had emigrated to the U.S. in 1969 at the age of 21 as the new bride of a U.S. Air Force officer. But as her English-language ability improved, she realized she had nothing in common with her husband. “Life was more than just breakfast, lunch and dinner; it’s a lot of things that, that at the time, I didn’t have the vocabulary (to express), such as philosophy, spiritual things,” she recalls. When her husband transferred to Chicago, Ms. Chu Stayed in California working days at a bank and nights at a toy store. “I was all aloneI didn’t really have money,” she says. “Of course my parents didn’t even want to hear about divorce, so I didn’t get any support from them.” After moving into marketing positions, in 1991 Ms. Chu published her own book. “The Asian Mind Game,” which explores how ancient philosophers such as Sun Tzu (author of “The Art of War”) influence modern Asian mindsets in business. The success of that book has spawned nine more books and today Ms. Chu Speaks at events around the world, earning as much as $20,000 a speech. She has remarried and divides her time between San Francisco and Taipei.

How did you become such a popular public speaker?

After I wrote the book, I investigated how people give speeches, and there are so many people (doing) that. So at was charging $500 a speech and wasn’t getting the work. Then I got lucky: my agent introduced me to (a representative from) a large professional speakers bureau saw my (book) and said, “You should be charging $10,000 a speech. That was quite a jump from what I was charging and actually he was correct. Because my message was very subtle, it has to be events and people at a higher level-people who have a $500 budget don’t get it, because they don’t get the message of the book. So I was actually misplacing myself in the market.

What advice would you give to others about public speaking in a second language?

It’s like (what) people say about acting: you’re going to be bad until you get good. And so if you can survive the hardship of doing bad, then you can understand how to deal with a crowd, you can understand the dynamics. If you can survive the troubled times, you’ll have many more victories than defeats.

What does religion mean to you?

When I was Young, I made it my First life objective to become a saint. I was brought up devout Catholic. I practice Hinduism now, but its inclusive of all religions, and that religious integration in my life has been the most important thing that I contribute to myself. Catholicism gave me the devotion it gave me the dos and don’ts, but Eastern philosophy opens up the experiential side of spirituality. I practice two branches: Self -Realization Fellowship and Siddha Yoga Meditation.

What does exercise mean to you?

I love to do Hatha yoga. I spend a half-hour to an hour a day doing it. Yoga, the very word means union. People think it’s about stretching, but it’s about finding through your body the union with the spirit. And I love to do ballroom dancing. When I’m in Taiwan, I plan to get a coach.

What books have influenced you the most?

When I was 10, my father began to read me “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” by Luo Guanzhong. I got a sense of strategic thinking from the book. More recently “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda. It’s a wonderful book, it opens your eyes, it was a turning point from Catholic to universal spirituality.

What’s your favorite holiday destination?

Taipei, because it’s my roots. I get all my strength from my Taiwanese upbringing. Because of the tough times I learned strength, endurance. I like going to the Shi Dong market  the farmers bring their good, fresh vegetables and fruits. They have merchants who bring their clothes to the marketplace. It’s so much fun to go through the piles for a shirt for $3.

What do you wish you’d known 20 years ago?

I would say don’t spend all your money buying frivolous clothes- buy real estate.

What is your greatest extravagance?

The older I get, the less willing I am to spend money on myself. In my younger days, I would buy dresses that might cost $4,000. But I still considered those a good investment because it was needed (for business). My latest extravagance was a house in Taipei, which I bought in December in the Tien Mu area, it has three bedrooms, two baths and a Japanese meditation room with wooden floors and cushions. It’s very cute.

If you could take time out to study, what would you do?

Two things. I want to go to Shaolin to study Shaolin Kung Fu. The other, I Would like to go to Argentina to study the tango.

What is your greatest fear?

Physical violence. It used to be my greatest fear was deep water. I went to the Caribbean to dive to overcome that fear by facing it. Now I have to face up to this psychological fear of potential physical violence. (In The U.S.) we have a cable station, called Court TV, (with) lots of murders, rapes, TV, (with) lots of murders, rapes, violence, some see it as entertainment, but I relate to the victims.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would like to be kinder with the world and kinder with myself. I think because I was brought up in a troublesome environment-Taiwan was ready to sink down any minute in the 1950’s and 1960’s there was always a sense of danger-so we tend to be more rigid. (That) gives us strength and discipline, as well as sometimes intolerance with imperfection on myself, my assistants. I’m trying to be more OK with imperfectionimperfection is part of perfection.

How do you make the world a better place?

Readers have told me that I’ve changed their life, but I don’t take credit for that, because I think my work is a gift of the universe that came through me, so it’s not really considered mine. I have a lot of readers in prisons I have a lot of readers in prisons. For some reason, (my book) “Thick Face, Black Heart” was really popular for prisoners. I got a letter from prison warden in Australia, he said it’s because prisoners are strategically oriented. They love strategies-it’s just that they use the wrong ones. But one thing I do (for the world) is help myself, because as they say a drowning man can’t save anyone. I just try to swim as best as I know how, and other people will benefit.

How do you want to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered for my books. I never write hoping it will be a best seller-the book pushes me to write it. Words have their own power, but I feel I’m just getting started.