In the novel, Lost Horizon there is a character named, Chalmers Bryant, who goes by the alias, Barnard*. We eventually discover that Chalmers "Barnard" Bryant is a fugitive on the run from the law. He swindled large amounts of money from stock investors and then was pursued for his crimes by the authorities. In other words he was a con man.
Similarly, on Lost we come to know James Ford, who goes by the alias, "Sawyer".
We come to know James "Sawyer" Ford very well through his back story. We soon discover that he too was con man guilty of taking people for their money. Furthermore he was on the run for murder and his other crimes.
In Lost Horizon, Barnard has no desire to return to the real world where he will always be pursued for his crimes. Therefore he soon decides he wants to stay in Shangri-la. Initially, his interests lie in mining for the gold that it is plentiful in the Valley of the Blue Moon, however, he soon realizes he has been given a second chance in and becomes a productive member of the community taking on responsibility and putting his engineering skills to use to help improve life for others.
Additionally, in the cinematic versions of Lost Horizon, Barnard falls for a fellow inhabitant of the Shangri-la, seen in the above photo.
On Lost, Sawyer is in an identical situation and though initially plays by his former ruthless ways, he eventually becomes a valuable member of the survivors by helping others. This is personified by his taking on the persona of LaFleur in order to protect the people in the Dharma Initiative, as the head of security, but also by maintaining a constant vigilance searching for and hoping to protect his fellow survivors including the Oceanic 6 if and when they return to the Island.
Just like Barnard, Sawyer eventually falls for his fellow Island inhabitant, Juliet and they become a couple.
In conclusion, it is clear that the character, James "Sawyer" Ford, the con man with an alias marooned in a hidden Utopia, is at the very least strongly similar to, Chalmers "Barnard" Bryant, as they both appear to be cast from the same mold. However, if you take this similarity in context with all the other similarities between the world of Lost Horizon and Lost, it is obvious that there is an undeniable connection between them and one that again I feel should ultimately at least be acknowledged by the producers of Lost.
*Barnard is also the same name as a character on Lost, only with one letter different in the spelling.
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