Feng Shui for Career Success
Feng Shui for Career Success
by Ken Lauher
A Feng Shui case study about creating a space for a successful small business to grow and career success.
If you could have anything you wanted, what would you want Feng Shui to help you accomplish? Many modern parents call me for help in turning their house or apartment into a home for their family. In addition to simply introducing better chi into the space and helping a home feel friendlier and more comfortable; many parents are driven to increase their income to create a better life for their children.
These things, and more, were on the mind of husband, father and professional photographer Michael Jurick when he called me for a Feng Shui consultation before renovating his New York City apartment. “I discovered Feng Shui right around the time we were talking about construction, so the timing was perfect,” he says.
Because of confidentiality agreements (client details of Feng Shui consultations remain private), I don’t usually talk about specific Feng Shui consultations. But Michael was kind enough to let me share his exciting story as inspiration to other business owners and families seeking to use Feng Shui to improve their lives, increase their income and enhance their businesses.
“Originally, it was the aesthetics of Feng Shui that attracted me,” Jurick told me in a conversation following our consultation. Jurick is an award-winning photographer who does children’s and family photography in New York City. His work has been featured on the cover of New York Family magazine and more.
After reading a number of Feng Shui books, following my blog and finally reading my new eBook, Feng Shui Secrets, he called me for a consultation. “You know how it is when you have kids in a New York apartment,” he relates. “You have the master bedroom, the kids’ room, and then you have one common area and you’ve got ‘stuff’ that just collects there. My wife and I were on a complete ‘remove clutter’ binge and Feng Shui was a natural fit. It was an opportunity to start fresh.”
Clearing the clutter created room for Michael’s photography business to grow — and it did.
“[Feng Shui is] all about balance, harmony and bringing new opportunity into your life,” Michael observes. “You’re clearing away the clutter that stops your mind from thinking clearly.”
A Number of Goals
Michael had a number of goals in his life, and, after assessing his apartment, I made suggestions to bring his apartment into better alignment with those goals. He explains, “There was a driving force behind pursuing Feng Shui, and that was to earn more money,” he says. “It’s about optimizing everything I can in order to make more money and create more opportunity in my life.”
After performing a Feng Shui space cleansing, one of the first places I looked was the kitchen. The kitchen, and particularly the stove, is significant in Feng Shui as it represents your ability to generate income, as well as fame and recognition. I recommended keeping fresh fruit in a bowl on the kitchen counter, as this introduces living chi into the space and also symbolizes abundance.
Then we tackled the stove. The architectural drawings had called for the stove to be placed directly next to the sink. But the water energy can cancel out the fire energy and this arrangement can lead to misfortune or a feeling of being blocked from achieving your goals for career success.
We worked with the contractor and architects to create a better layout, which placed the stove in a position to help Michael welcome recognition as a photographer into his life. We incorporated the color red and some of Michael’s best photographs in the Fame and Recognition trigram of the ba gua, and added live plants in other areas to help circulate positive chi that enhanced the overall feel of the home. I also recommend he introduce fresh cut flowers into certain areas of the home, a quick and easy Feng Shui solution that anyone can implement to breathe new life into any home or apartment. In Michael’s apartment, these changes placed a subtle focus on those areas of the home and, as a result, those areas of Michael’s life.
Did it work? He reports: “I followed Ken’s advice nearly to the letter … The home was completed in February 2009. In the Summer 2009, I won the Nickelodeon Award for Best Family Photographer in New York City. I won again in 2010.”
In addition, he says, his business began to grow through word-of-mouth and referrals. “I started getting more jobs, and bigger jobs.”
Today, his wife’s role as manager for the business has grown to nearly full-time, while she also takes care of their two children. The energy in the home contributes to the focus both partners place on the growing business, career success and the future they are creating for the family.
“I’m the type of person who feels like if you have the opportunity, take the opportunity,” Michael says, noting that Feng Shui is, in part, about opening your life to new opportunities. In the past two years since his Feng Shui consultation, he’s had many opportunities to shine as a photographer, and has taken advantage of every one.
Offering impressive insight, Michael notes that Feng Shui is a mindset, rather than something you do once and forget about. As he’s adopted this mindset of welcoming abundance, good things have started happening, and continue to happen. “There’s no scientific way to say, if you keep fresh fruit in your bowl, you’ll get more business. But little by little, things started to happen in my life,” he says. “Abundance started to come our way and I’m very grateful for it, so I continue the cycle of the Feng Shui practice.”
A Home Office Designed for Career Success
We faced a dilemma in regard to Michael’s home office. The apartment would have an extra bedroom that Michael originally wanted as an office.
But the Jurick’s often have out-of-town relatives visiting New York, and the home is a common stop-over on the trip. Rather than converting the room into a photography studio, Michael and his wife opted to make this room a guest room.
We designated a space just outside his son’s bedroom as a home office and photography studio. Since we couldn’t put the desk in a command position in this space, we placed mirrors strategically to give Michael a greater sense of being in control when he was in the studio. He says he spends many late hours there doing what he loves, processing photos and keeping his business going. “The only drawback is I’m not sleeping as much,” he says with a laugh.
A Beautiful Home Through Feng Shui
Whether or not you believe Feng Shui — combined with Michael’s work, talent and focus — created the growth in his business, Feng Shui has indisputably created a home that is more comfortable he says that his home is simply more comfortable now. Michael and his wife frequently entertain in the space. Cocktail party guests often comment about how beautiful the living area is, with the Feng Shui elements all working together in harmony with Michael’s taste in decor and natural artistic eye. He says, “In every single room, we implemented at least one Feng Shui idea. The results were fabulous.”
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About the Author
Ken Lauher is one of the foremost Feng Shui consultants today. He consults for many famous people and many more not so famous people and is the author of Feng Shui Secrets: What Everyone Should Know About How To Be Successful With Feng Shui.
He advises individuals, businesses and organizations on how to implement practical Feng Shui solutions to help you achieve your goals and live a more fulfilling life. His inspiring work with well known actors, actresses, TV hosts, singers, songwriters, CEO’s, businesses, and corporations has made him a sought-after speaker on Feng Shui and life enhancement. Based in New York City, Ken works with local, national and international clients.
