Feng Shui for a Businessman in Australia

This is the story of a miracle which happened to Brian Goldsmith!

Two years ago, in June 2004, Brian walked into my office with the floor plan of his office and his home, and a VCD of the interior of both the places. Someone located in Liverpool, who had benefited from Feng Shui, had advised him to consult me.
Before coming to Mumbai Brian wrote to me and felt, like he wrote, “…Perhaps it is my destiny. I was already planning a business trip to India. So, instead of sending you the floor plans and photographs via e-mail, I will consult you personally.”
The worry lines on his clean-shaven face accentuated his stress as he entered my den at Oshiwara, Andheri. Though born in England, Brian is based in Australia.
Till recently, Brian had a successful business selling pressure cookers and manufacturing kitchen sinks in Australia. He sold brands like Evinox Europe from Portugal, Fagor Duo from Spain, Tefal Clipso from France and even an Indian brand of cooker.
“I bought a new office six months ago, and soon after I moved in, the sales graph started going down. I am sure the old office was very auspicious for me but I sold it while buying this office. Things are going drastically wrong in this office. A couple of employees, who used to work tirelessly, have turned into clock watchers. We always have meetings on Mondays, every fortnight, to discuss the business strategies and problems. Those meeting used to be full of enthusiasm and energy but now there is only bickering, blame games and quarrels among the team. There have been instances when a senior female employee has burst into tears or run out to the washroom. All this has demoralized the staff and the performance has been affected. To put it simply, we are down in the dumps and if this trend continues for a few more months, I will have to downsize the staff and then the business may go down further. I want your advice.”

The VCD showed the staff members, including Brian, in their real work environment and the causes soon became clear. The work shirkers and clock watchers were located close to the main door… bad Feng Shui. So, it wasn’t surprising that they were always eager to leave the office.

The senior female employee, who had burst into tears, was seated in such a position that two rows of desks were unsettling her. Brian was seated in the middle of the office, and that had reduced his “command” on the employees. Worse, he didn’t have a wall behind him but on the other hand, some of the staff members, who he said had become complacent and even a little arrogant, had walls behind them. One of them was even sitting in the Power center.

The staff was broadly divided into two parts: the planning people and the execution team. They were seated on either side of the corridor and so they were always at loggerheads.

The number of goods returned because of manufacturing defects was on the rise and they were stored in the Wealth corner, adding thus to the problems. Together, on paper we did a complete relocation of his desk and the position of the senior staff members and the entire team, to be executed later by Brian in Australia.
Not much needed to be done for his home Feng Shui except enhancing three corners: the Helpful Friends corner, the Opportunities corner and the Wealth corner with Metal, Water and Wood and the elements that support them. All these were enhanced with Feng Shui paintings specially executed for him.

Three months later Brian wrote to me that the crisis had been averted. There was a marked difference in the atmosphere and in the energy in the surroundings. And the sales graph had started its upward trend. Two years later, Brian is on top of the world and planning to expand his business further. He writes, “Now I have a plan to manufacture pressure cookers. I have had enough of selling other people’s products! But before I venture into this business, I want you to take a look at the new premises and help me place myself and the staff in the ideal positions. I am sending the floor plan as a separate attachment.”

Whether we look at Brisbane in Australia’s Queensland, or Oxford Street in London or Linking Road in Mumbai’s Bandra, the Feng Shui theories are the same. We will see several shops and offices. Some do roaring business and the others, in the same area, facing the same door directions seem destined to fail.

Thirty odd factors determine success or failure in our life. Some of the factors are pre-destined. This is Heaven Luck.

Here is a simple example:

A business house in Mumbai had a lot of branded garments that remained unsold even after two discount sales. The first was `Buy one, get one FREE`. He could get rid of barely 20 percent of the stock. Weeks later, in a Clearance Sale they offered 80 percent discount. Yet, 60 percent of the stock remained unsold. They would have been happy to get rid of this stock for Rs 25,000 though the MRP would have got them Rs 2,50,000. More than the money, the owner needed the precious space to keep some new products.

Then, a young businessman, visiting Mumbai to attend a marriage, spotted the shop and entered. He had seen a shop available on rent on very attractive terms in Nagpur. He was toying with several ideas to start a business. He happened to see the branded garments that, till the other day, were available `on sale`. He paid Rs 1,10,000 for this stock! Later, with this very stock, he made a profit of Rs 50,000.

This is Heaven Luck for both.

Had this young man not been thinking of business but about his girlfriend, he may not have stepped inside the shop. This is called Man Luck.

Had this young man avoided attending the marriage or not passed along this road or had passed when the shop was closed this entire transaction would not have happened. This is called Earth Luck. Feng Shui is all about enhancing the Earth Luck.

Heaven Luck is not in our control. We have to live with it. Earth Luck and Man Luck are what we can influence. If someone works hard and smart in a fortunate Feng Shui milieu the result are outstanding even if his Heaven Luck is bad.