10 FENG SHUI TIPS. Productivity Teamwork Efficiency Wellbeing Creativity Relations Satisfaction Revenue. Elene van Ast Britta van Arman

Transcription

1 10 FENG SHUI TIPS TO BOOST YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS!! Productivity Teamwork Efficiency Wellbeing Creativity Relations Satisfaction Revenue Elene van Ast Britta van Arman

2 TABLE OF CONTENT WELCOME INTRODUCTION CHOOSING THE OFFICE LOCATION DETERMINE YOUR LUCKY DIRECTIONS THE FIRST IMPRESSION DECLUTTER LIGHTING ELEMENTS & DIRECTIONS THE POWER OF COLOUR PLANTS DESK PLACEMENT HOME OFFICE GUIDELINES ABOUT THE AUTHORS - MISSION & VISION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 2

3 !!!AUTHOR S NOTE WELCOME Dear reader, Over the last decades the way we live has changed tremendously: from working outside in the fields, we moved to fabrics and later into office spaces. We actually spend more than 30%"of our lifetime at work and therefore at the office. But do we make sure that the office environment has a positive influence on us? That we go to work healthy and happily? That it stimulates our productivity, relationships and success? In the home settings most people are trying to stick to at least some basic rules on creating a healthy environment to support wellbeing, rest, personal interests and other social aspects of our modern lives. But often enough offices are not set up that way. They are still often supportive of our need for balance between rest, focus, stimulation, creativity and interaction. With this e-book you receive tips and guidelines how to create a workspace that stimulates your mind and empowers effective use of your (and your team s) skills; all through the right location, layout and design of your office space to create balance. The advice given is based on the ancient science of Feng Shui, which teaches the art of tapping into the cosmic energies of spaces to enhance balance for wellbeing and success. If you ever wonder why, despite of your hard work, you are not advancing in your career or business, why your projects are facing challenges and obstacles, why relationships with internal/external partners do not run smoothly then you should continue reading to find some practical solutions. 3

4 !!!AUTHOR S NOTE With simple, inexpensive or even no cost solutions you can make your business more successful. This e-book will show you how! Increase your business performance and achievements through Higher Efficiency Higher Productivity Better Relationships More Engagement Whether you work alone or in a team, at home office or in a corporate environment, implementing the advice will help you (and your team) to be more inspired, motivated and creative and will lead you to more success! It is not without reason that even large organisations like Coca Cola, Shell, Sony and The Virgin Group (just to mention a few) are using Feng Shui in their corporate settings. So, what do you have to lose? Simply try it out! Good luck! Britta van Arman & Elene van Ast I don t believe in Feng Shui, but use it because it makes me money! Donald Trump 4

5 INTRODUCTION We are all seeking for harmony, health and happiness personally as well as professionally. Feng Shui can help you creating all of the above by looking at three different dimensions of life: The personal dimension The time dimension The spiritual dimension The personal dimension focuses on the personal situation and surrounding to help curing aspects of poor relationships with family, friends and colleagues, unstable financial situation, health issues, stagnation of education, career and/or business. Personal data, location of the home or office as well as sleeping and seating directions give indications of the current circumstances and lead us to conclusion how to cure them. The time dimension is taking into account that our cosmic energies are shifting. In Feng Shui we work with 20-year periods, annual and even monthly energies to review the impact of the energies in our surrounding. The spiritual dimension is the human mindset, conscious and unconscious believes. We can influence and change our mindset by practicing meditations and actively working on a positive believe system to support setting, visualizing and reaching goals in order to lead us to a happy and successful life. With this e-book we will focus on the first two aspects, but please be aware, that without supportive, positive mindset the success of all suggested cures will be limited. As a negative mind is blocking positive energies from reaching you, it is highly suggested to follow also some practice to stimulate and harmonize your mind. Considering a day without harmful incidents as success is sign for a negative and blocked mindset and limits the ability to reach your full potential. Incorporating Feng Shui cures might not cure all 5

6 ! problems, but it will help to create more positive energy and open gateways for solutions. If you have ignored your work environment so far, take some time now to pay attention to what is happening in your workspace. We will start with some general rules and tips and it will help you to answer some basic questions for yourself: What do you first see when you enter the office (for home office, the home entrance counts)? How are your relationships with colleagues or customers? How is your cash flow? Do you have people supporting your business? Depending on the problem, you can review the set up of the corresponding section of your office based on the Pa Kua, the eight affirmations of each space. Those can be applied to the complete floor plan, a single room or can even be minimized to only your desk this is applicable to any home office as well as corporate space. Working from a home-based office presents different challenges than working in a corporate environment outside the home. Some general Feng Shui rules will guide you to define the best placement of your office or home office desk, taking those challenges into account. Furthermore you will learn to determine your personal lucky directions to tap into the most supportive energies for whatever you want to achieve. Let s get started! 6

7 ! 1. CHOOSING THE OFFICE LOCATION We all know that the nature of a business is an important aspect when searching for a location. While a retail store is located best in areas where people go shopping anyway, an office might be better placed outside the pedestrian area with good access from highway, train or local public transport. Once you found a space that suits the requirements and is appealing to you, you should always try to find out what happened to the tenant or owner who occupied it before. Did the previous business expand and had to move into a larger space somewhere else? Or the opposite: the company had to downsize due to lack of customers and income or even went bankrupt? The first scenario is a good indication as it implies good energies bringing success into the space, but if the history of the previous occupant is negative, you might want to reconsider and analyse the space carefully before signing any contract! Another important indication is the age of the building or it s last complete renovations not only covering wall paint, but also flooring, ceiling and other installations. The newer the building the better! Choose an office or store location with entrance in one of your favourable directions based on the Kua formula best is always an entrance in the personal wealth direction! In the next chapter you will find an overview and explanation on how to find and use your best directions. 7

8 2. DETERMINE YOUR LUCKY DIRECTIONS There are eight directions (cardinal and sub-cardinal) and each one is responsible for a different aspect of our life and brings positive or negative energies, supporting or hindering our actions. There are personal directions influencing relationships and love, while other directions offer support for health, personal growth and prosperity. Learning and using your personal lucky directions is one of the most important Feng Shui formulas and helps achieving success in life! With the lucky directions in mind, you can rearrange your office desk to amend the direction you face while working. To find out which sector you should focus on, first check the table below for your personal Kua number; it is your blue print for life. Birth year Horoscope Male Female Birth year Horoscope Male Female 1960 Rat Rat Ox Ox Tiger Tiger Rabbit Rabbit Dragon Dragon Snake Snake Horse Horse Goat Goat Monkey Monkey Roaster Roaster Dog Dog Pig Pig Rat Rat Ox Ox Tiger Tiger Rabbit Rabbit Dragon Dragon Snake Snake Horse Horse Goat Goat Monkey Monkey Roaster Roaster Dog Dog Pig Pig 8 7 8

9 Once you know your personal Kua number, use the following chart to determine your lucky and unlucky directions. You should focus on your lucky directions when placing your desk and make sure to always face preferably your wealth direction for good financial income. For optimal harmony and success, you should always sit facing and sleep with your head pointing into the lucky directions to tap into the positive energies. The unlucky directions are better avoided; try not to sleep with your head pointing or sit facing any of these directions as they will bring obstacles. LUCKY DIRECTIONS UNLUCKY DIRECTIONS Kua Wealth Health Love Personal Growth Bad luck Five ghosts 6 Killings Total loss 1 SE E S N W NE NW SW 2 NE W NW SW E SE S N 3 S N SE E SW NW NE W 4 N S E SE NW SW W NE Kua 5 it becomes Kua 2 for males and Kua 8 for females 6 W NE SW NW SE E N S 7 NW SW NE W N S SE E 8 SW NW W NE S N E SE 9 E SE N S NE W SW NW Wealth: The energy from this direction attracts prosperity, vitality, respect and reputation. This is your best magnetic direction and a good location for your front door. Locate your work desk to face this direction and doing anything important, e.g. planning, interview, business negotiation Health: This direction supports a healthy body and mind so that one is able to achieve any goal in life. Love: This energy is required to nurture love and relationships. Personal growth: This is the direction supporting your personal development. It may be your professional, but also your very personal, inner and spiritual growth enabling you to cope with different aspects of life. Facing or sleeping in this direction is supporting education and your personal growth; whatever level you are working on. 9

10 ! Bad Luck: The least unlucky direction attracting small accidents, setbacks and disappointments. Five Ghosts: This energy brings the aggravation of bad people in your life, people who gossip or plot against you. 6 Killings: The energy brings six types of bad luck in the form of accidents, wealth loss, illness, loss of reputation, loss of loved ones and death. Total loss: This is the most harmful energy of all as it causes bankruptcy, long-term illness, injury and disaster, in fact a state of total loss. How to use a compass? To take an accurate compass reading it is important to avoid magnetic interference. Properly orient yourself and hold the compass steady at waist level and parallel to the ground (when you are standing). When you sit just put the compass in front of you. The direction you see is your facing direction. Clearly, by knowing which four directions are your good directions, you can maximise your luck by facing those good directions in most situations. In fact it will help you attract the Feng Shui energy being most beneficial for you. 10

11 3. THE FIRST IMPRESSION Create positive energy to attract opportunities Spending one third of our life in the office, it is extremely important to have a harmonious work environment. With the application of some Feng Shui rules to the space, productivity and personal relationships can be increased and getting to work becomes a joy! Harmony at the workplace reduces office politics and sick days, increases focus and personal achievements, which lead to personal recognition and success and contribute to the business results. How that works? The energy of the environment automatically influences the energy level of persons. Pure, balanced and high spatial energy causes the energy of a person to be pure and high too and people with high energy attract other people! Have a look at celebrities and successful business men/women they all have high energy. Besides attracting other people, they also attract opportunities and it seems like whatever they touch turns into gold. Right? So, if you learn to increase the energy of your work environment, it will increase your own personal energy and will make you more attractive to all the good things out there! But first, you need to make sure that nothing blocks the energy from entering your office space. For that, check what you see when you enter the office, on the desk, on the floor besides your desk, in or on the shelves, printer etc. and start to clean up if necessary. 11

12 ! 4. DECLUTTER You can t focus, tasks take twice as long, projects don t work according to plan, the team is arguing over small incidents? So, what can you do? Unblock the Chi in your office! Boxes in the entrance hall, jackets and bags on the floor, stacked up files and reference materials on the desk, drawers full of unsorted paperwork. Clutter is blocking the energy flow and can cause a series of misfortunes by blocking creativity and analytical abilities. Clutter creates chaos, confusion and stress, makes you inefficient and unprofessional. Having a good filing system helps finding things back easily. It allows to fulfilling tasks in a quick, efficient and professional way. Therefore, start looking around you to identify areas to sort out and clean. Throw away unused items to make space for new things, thoughts and ideas. Keep the office space and the desk tidy and clean. It will allow you to focus better and give you a clearer mind to tackle challenging issues. Order and organization helps you stay calm and productive. As clutter drains your energy and hinder your best intentions, you need to create a clear system and not let clutter ruin your health and your business. 12

13 ! 5. LIGHTING Light is a very important aspect to any space, for living or working, and having a lot of natural daylight is preferable. Offices located in the basement have usually no or very few small windows and are therefore not advisable as workspace due to lack of positive, lively energy. Bright lights initiate pressure and stress, can irritate, lead to aggression and make a person and his/her work very impulsive. Even though natural daylight is considered lucky; too much light can be overwhelming as it creates too much yang energy causing difficulties to concentrate and making us vulnerable. Full-length windows around the desk should therefore be avoided. Best solution is half windows to provide cover around your workplace. It is again about the right balance! Supplement natural light with light sources that create softer light and a more peaceful atmosphere. This can be reached with full spectrum lights integrated in the ceiling structure. They simulate natural daylight, bring good visibility and are efficient at the same time. In addition indirect light can be added for warmer atmosphere as well as cure wherever fire energy is needed. 13

14 ! 6. ELEMENTS & DIRECTIONS Colours have an impact on the psychological and physical wellbeing of humans and can create harmony, creativity, productivity and growth. But how to chose the right colour scheme to create balance between stimulation and relaxation? Based on the interaction of the five elements used in Feng Shui we can use colours in a productive way. We differentiate between fire, earth, metal, water and wood energy; they interact either in productive, exhaustive or destructive way, For instance wood needs water to grow while fire would burn the wood. As wood is synonym for growth and wealth, we want the wood element to be nourished with enough water and limit the fire energy to make sure we are not burning our money, right? This is an example to show that the right balance of colours is important. In general we use the productive cycle to define use of colours. But how do we know where to use what colour? Turn to the next page to learn about the home location of each element. Productive Exhaustive Destructive 14

15 ! Every element also represents a certain compass direction and based on this, we determine where to use which colour. This is explained in the so-called Pa Kua; a grid dividing a space into nine areas associated with a specific area of life and represented by a specific element or colour. Here an overview of the nine compass directions with their element, affirmation and colours. This knowledge combined with the productive cycle is the formula we use in Feng Shui to determine use of colours in specific spaces: NORTHWEST NO RT H NORTHEAST Metal element Wat er e lem e nt Earth element Mentor Luck Care e r luck Education luck Silver, Gold, Grey White Blue & Black Yellow, Orange, light brown WEST EAS T Metal element CENTER Wo od e lem e nt Descendant & Team luck Earth element He alt h & F amily l uck Yin & Yang Silver, Gold, Grey, White Gre en, Bro wn SOUTHWEST SO UT H SO UT HEAS T Earth element F ire e le me nt Wo od e lem e nt Love & Matriarch luck F ame & Re co gnition We alt h luck Yellow, Orange, Ocre Re d, P urp le, P ink Gre en, Bro wn 15

16 7. THE POWER OF COLOUR Colours have an effect on our minds and behaviours and can be used consciously to manipulate people s mind and performance. Lets start looking at the FIRE element, located in South. Fire colours can be used to activate earth sections, Southwest and Northeast, or in its home location. COLOURS GENERAL EFFECT Red - Orange Stimulates activity, excitement and passion. Too much causes aggression and restlessness. A more orange-red is less strong and is inspiring, stimulates diversity and teamwork, good communications, lively and light energy Bright yellow Associated with sunlight. In high doses it provokes anxiety. Used carefully and in small amounts it is energizing, clarifying and lifts the spirit. Pink Colour of romance and relationships and therefore not appropriate for office use unless it matches your industry (e.g. as matchmaker). Purple Symbol of royalty and spirituality. Small doses only and best avoided as wall colour. Cure to feelings of insecurity and deficiency, bringing abundance, wealth and power, stimulating creativity and fantasy. For office use, dark shades in small doses. Light lavender colour has calming effect. 16

17 EARTH is the element of stability, nourishment, and protection and is located in the Southwest, the Centre and Northeast. Earth colours can also be used to activate the metal sections West and Northwest. COLOUR GENERAL EFFECT Light yellow almost white or with brown undertones Creates cheerful energy and hope, improves selfesteem, strength, patience and tolerance, mental activity and focus. Nurturing and stabilizing. Induces fairness in a leader/manager. Beige, Tan, Sand With their grounding and stabilizing effect, the create security feeling and strengthen decision-making. Too much for these neutrals, can create lazy approach to tasks. The METAL element, associated with precision, clarity, and high efficiency, is located in West and Northwest. Metal colours white, grey, and metallic like silver and gold can be used in their home location or to activate the water element in North. COLOUR White GENERAL EFFECT Creates effective and highly creative spaces such as artist studios. Combining with silver or gold display influential position. White is providing focus and intensity, opens the mind to new opportunities and creativity. White creates confidence and trust, but when used in too high doses it creates distance, appears cold, hinders creativity and personal interaction. Grey Causes depression, scepticism, pessimism and negativity. Use only in small doses. With added metallic shimmer the effect is slightly lowered. 17

18 WATER is the colour of the sky and the oceans and brings freshness, renewal and a sense of calm. Water is also a symbol of abundance. COLOUR GENERAL EFFECT Blue Good colour choice for writers. Supports inner reflection, deep thinking and creativity, refreshes mind and spirit, projects consistency, trust and loyalty. Too much blue can cause depressions and melancholy. Black Promotes self-confidence, leadership and independence. Black increases profit, but should be used in moderation and only for furniture and accent pieces. Black absorbs light and energy and is better avoided with tendency towards isolation. Water elements are best utilized in the North areas of your office. They are also effective in the East and Southeast. WOOD is the element of vitality, growth, and stability and expresses abundance and prosperity. Wood colours are best used in its home location East and Southeast as well as in South. COLOUR GENERAL EFFECT Green Green represents growth and new beginnings, it motivates for change while creating a peaceful, calm and balanced atmosphere. Used in large quantity the calming effect might be too high and causes trouble focussing. Choose bright green over dark shades for fresh look. Blue-green shades are also favourable as the included water element is nourishing growth. Browns (dark) As long as it is balanced, brown creates stability. But if used too much, brown can create stagnation. 18

19 ! 8. PLANTS Green spaces have a calming, restorative effect. Spending just one hour in nature can calm the mind and sooth the soul after (or during) a stressful workday full of deadlines, management issues, budget discussions and other challenges. Knowing about this calming effect, we recommend adding green plants (wood element) to the workspace as well! They do not only contribute to better air quality and absorb radiation from computers and printers, they also help reducing stress and absorb negativity by 60%. Furthermore a productivity increase of 30% has been measured after placing plants in the office environment. Due to the supportive energy staff becomes more efficient, productive and have a boosted attitude. Which plants you can you apply? Ficus Benjamini are great for cleansing of the air, but keep them away from radiator and direct sun as the plant otherwise develops poisoning air which can lead to asthma, lung problems and allergies. Dragontree as well as the Phoenix oebelenii absorb Xylen and Tuluol which is used in ink (printer cartridges), rubber, plastic bottles, paints etc. which causes tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. They are both good to have around the printer area/s. Sansevieria plant and the Kalanchoe (without pictures) are good against radiation coming from computers and therefore make a good table decoration. 60% less stress & negativity 30% increase of productivity! 19

20 9. DESK PLACEMENT A business owner, CEO or Director, should always sit in the Power Position ; with the back against a solid wall in a diagonal line opposite the entrance door of the office. The placement and layout of your desk is critical to the energy flow of your office. A few simple rules can help you to function more effectively while reducing stress at work. In the following you will find a quick overview of things to take into consideration when determining your desk placement. Keep also your lucky directions in mind and make sure you always sit facing your best direction for business this is your wealth direction! DO s Sit in the corner furthest away from entrance (in diagonal line) to take the Power Position Keep your back towards a wall for support Sit in a power chair with a solid high back and arm rests Sit with a tall building behind you if there is a window behind you; it offers support DON Ts Never sit in-line with the door, two doors or between door and window as it causes exhaustion Sit facing a wall as it will hinder your vision and capability for prediction and long-time planning Use a L-shaped desk, it cuts the person sitting behind it. Also small desks are taboo as they limit growth potential Sit with your back to the office door, as you will tend to feel uncomfortable and insecure. It leads to missed opportunities and increased politicking behind your back. Look straight out into a corridor or see the stairs, storage rooms, closets, elevators, escalators, or toilets. 20

21 10. HOME OFFICE GUIDELINES Working at home has many benefits, but also holds challenges as you need to learn setting boundaries and end work. Feng Shui is about balance and you need to make sure to keep the work-life balance to ensure quality time for yourself, with our family and friends. One of the benefits of working from home is the freedom to arrange the office according to your working style and preferences, which helps increasing productivity and motivation. Of course every business and every building is different and needs a personal approach to define the most supporting settings, but you can start yourself by following some general rules: 1. Separate business and personal life It is best to have a separate room for your business activities; ideally even with separate entrance. It makes it mentally much easier to transition and separate work and private life. Especially for women this often becomes an issue. At the end of the workday, leave the office and close the door! 2. Chose an area near the front door Office locations near the front door or in rooms just outside of the main footprint of the building are good for getting your name out and attracting new clients. Creative businesses need windows and natural light for inspiration and yang energy. If your space lacks windows, hang pictures of landscapes or moving water. 3. Create distance to the sleeping area Place your desk as far away from the bedroom(s) as possible. This prevents radiation from wifi, computers and printers in the sleeping area. If that is not possible, create as much division as possible. 4. Ensure quality of air and light The brain and body needs oxygen and enough natural daylight for a high output. Follow the advice for lightening and placements of plants also for your home office. 21

22 ! 5. Find the Power Position Place your desk in the power position with wall in your back and the entrance diagonally opposite you as explained already above. If that is not possible and you are sitting with the back towards the entrance, place a small mirror to reflect the door. Leave more space in front of your desk than behind so that the Chi can gather and disperse. 6. Choose uplifting decorations Office decorations should reflect your ambition, vision and goals. What might be too dynamic for your living room, might just be perfect for your office, especially if you are selling a product or service. Images of waterfalls, rising balloons or any memorable achievement in your career are creating feeling of happiness and will inspire you. But avoid personal décor that could distract you! Apply colours according to the recommendations above. Here a summary for the most important areas in business: RECOGNITION the South sector The element of this sector is Fire. Avoid blue décor, large mirrors, water features or images of water in this area as water puts down the fire energy you need to be recognized. CAREER LUCK the North sector The element of this area is Water. Use black and white career related images that inspire you or place a water feature. Avoid crystal or any pottery in this area. FINANCIAL LUCK the Southeast Use images or items relating to money and abundance. The element residing here is wood. So you can also use green or plants, but make sure to avoid fire and metal (colours red and white). 22

23 7. Working hours and breaks Stick to logic working (opening hours) and avoid external contacts outside office hours. Take breaks by leaving your desk for lunch and change environment after working hours by taking a walk or running errands for example. This helps getting your mind off the tasks you worked on, recharge your energy and transition to free time. 8. Networking Working from home easily leads into isolation and too much yin energy around you. Therefore you need to stimulate yang energies by getting out, even if it means to step outside of your comfort zone. Engage in community activities or join meet ups, networking groups or workshops that suit your area of expertize. A balanced and properly energized office or business leads to a calmer, incontrol and more successful you. 23

24 ! 11. ABOUT THE AUTHORS MISSION & VISION Britta van Arman Founder & Consultant Energy Work Living Chi Elene van Ast Founder & Consultant Personal Coaching Good4Balance Focus on what you can change, not on what you can t. It is our desire and passion to create healthy, happy and harmonic spaces for private, business or educational use to unlock the potential for healthier, happier and more successful lives. We are applying the principles of Feng Shui to analyse and increase the positive flow of energy in your home, business, body, mind & spirit. Often Feng Shui is associated with expensive renovations or use of Chinese symbols, but this is really not necessary. We translate the ancient, eastern science to our Western lifestyle. Working with existing furniture and décor, we are looking for solutions, which do not require additional, high investments. Each client is different and we look for the right solution based on your personal situation. We believe that a holistic view helps finding the best possible cure for any problem and therefore we are both constantly increasing our knowledge and can also include other, related practices in our advice. 24

25 ! While spatial design according to Feng Shui rules is the core, we also advice on the following: Use of crystals for energy enhancement and healing Meditation techniques Yoga Herbal cures and alternative medicine Healthy foods Quantum Touch healing Personal energy readings We are working in multiple languages: English, Dutch & German. Request a quote for your office Feng Shui and receive 20% discount! Promotion Code: FS4Buz14.! Good4Balance Arnhem Good4Balance elene@good4balance.nl Phone: +31 (0) Living Chi Amsterdam britta@livingchi.nl Phone: +31 (0)