Leib and Associates

Your Office Desk and Its Best Facing Direction

Rounding out the office series, I’m going to give you your best facing direction for your desk.

I’m a western house person and I face Northeast-this is a good direction for longevity. For prosperity, Northwest is best. If you seek stability, your desk should face West. Finally, Southwest is best for health. You really want to avoid facing the other areas if possible.

For Eastern House people, facing East is great for longevity. Face Southeast for stability. Seeking prosperity? North is the best direction to face. Concerned about your health? Face South.

Sloane is facing East-is she an Eastern House Cat or a Western House cat?

Are you East or West?

KUA NUMBER FOR A FEMALE (born before the year 2000):

Add the last two numbers of your year of birth and keep adding those numbers together until you get a single digit.
I was born in 66
6+6=12
1+2=3
Add your single-digit to number 5. Bring this number to a single digit, too, if needed.
I get number 8
This is your Kua Number!

NOTE: For a female born after the year 2000, add 6 instead of 5.

KUA NUMBER FOR A MALE (born before the year 2000):

Add the last two numbers of your year of birth and bring it to a single digit.
Tom is 65
6+5=11
1+1=2
Deduct your single digit from number 10.
Tom is also gua 8
This is your Kua Number!

NOTE: For a male born after the year 2000, deduct from 9 instead of 10.

If your Life Gua number is 1, 3, 4, or 9, you belong to the East group.

If you personal Life Gua number is 2, 6, 7 or 8, (5 for female becomes 8, and male becomes 2) you belong to the West group.

Tune in next Friday to find out your best and worst directions!

Lights, Doors and Chats

Today and again tomorrow, we are so happy to be spending time at Phillips Lighting and Home hanging new Hinkley displays. They are friends as well as colleagues and it’s so fun to see projects evolving and get to visit.

On a visit with Carrie, we got on the topic of lights and doors and of course, Feng Shui. Your front door is one of the objects in your home that is influential in Feng Shui. The color is not so important to Feng Shui, but what direction the door faces does.

In 2020, My Bazi/Feng Shui teacher and master, Richard Ashworth-a genius and a great teacher, advised us to use the Western Entrance of our house rather than the convenient double doors in the Southeast.

I am a Western House person, as is my husband and daughter. In our current situation and generally, it’s better for us to enter from the West, Southwest or Northwest. For Eastern House people, the East, Southeast, North and South are more preferable. Which are you?

Check in next week to find out and to learn which gua or house you are in!

And finally, Floyd’s current front door-no, not kidding!

Floyd Update

Here’s a Floyd update, and a tease of what’s to come. Floyd is getting a new butler’s pantry that was previously a room of unknown use. We think it used to be a patio 50 years ago that someone closed in. Check out the video of the old room before, and the photo of the room in its “during” state today. Keep watching for the finished butler’s pantry…

Butler’s pantries can be uber tricked out! Coffee stations, ice makers, and tons of storage! If you have a butler‘s pantry or ideas for how to trick a butler’s pantry out, please send us your ideas!

My Inspiration:

Image Credit: fraicheliving.com via Pinterest

Image Credit: calviswyant.com via Pinterest

Image Credit: ikeahackers.net via Pinterest

Beware the Ides of March

As we approach March 15, otherwise known as the Ides of March, we know Spring is in the air. Rabbits and eggs everywhere-fertility, birth, daylight savings. In Ancient Rome, it was the date that debts had to be settled.

The Vernal Equinox approaches approximately March 20. March also represents the god Mars and the element wood. Wood will then be used to stoke the fire of summer.

It’s also the day Julius Caesar was said to have been murdered in the Senate by Brutus and Cassius. Change indeed.

This day is etched into my mind historically, and I quote it (to myself mostly) every year. Beware the Ides of March.

Last year, it meant the last normal day before the lockdowns, the COVID, and many unfortunate events for people across the world.

This year, I feel the meaning of this date is more subtle and more hopeful. After all, it is the water Ox, yin and less volatile.

As the flowers begin to bloom, and the baby animals appear, we can collectively hope for a positive turn on the 15th this year…I know I will.

Learning the Bazi…and 22 Chinese characters

So… my homework; I wrote all of these characters! And I actually know what they mean. Ok, it’s not beautiful, but still!

Learning something completely new is daunting, but for me, this is so fun! I can’t wait for my next class.

What we are looking at here are the 10 stems-the yin and yang characters for 5 elements, and the 12 Zodiac animals.

As we transition into March and Spring, it’s a good time to learn something new or work on a new idea-let your mind grow with the flora.

February, Yang Wood and Offices

Remember my office reveal last week? Well, my office has a lot of it! Wood holds the promise of Spring and February, the Tiger month is charging toward Spring and growth. Wood inside an office or home in the form of flooring, furniture and baskets is Yin, whereas the tree outside and the growing flowers are Yang as they are alive. Wood inspires ideas.

What’s the difference? Yin wood is more subtle and does not have as strong an effect as Yang wood-Yang wood is more powerful and not as much is needed to change the balance of our elements.

Each of us is a mixture of the 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, water.

I’m told that I need more Yang wood, and luckily we have a bunch of redwood trees growing outside. I also need wet earth, so I should garden, that or roll around in the dirt during a rainstorm.

Getting the balance right is not easy! I love my office, but it looks like I need more earth there too.

Feng Shui Office Reveal

After a year of a makeshift, so NOT Feng Shui office in our bedroom (a big Feng Shui no no), I finally took over the only other finished room in Floyd upstairs.

This office feels great! I love working up here and then turning it all off when I’m finished.

It’s bright, airy yet pretty compact. What you notice is that the chair faces the door and my back is to a solid wall. What you cannot see is that I’m facing northeast, which is one of my favorable directions according to my birthday. That’s for another Feng Shui Friday.

What’s important here is that I can see who and what is coming and I’m protected from behind by the solid wall. I can also see outside and I get morning sun (bonus).

If your desk faces a wall or a window, or you have a window behind you, you may be feeling unprepared or surprised (in a bad way) by the events that unfold in your work and your life.

Not facing the flow of traffic (and chi) puts you out of balance and on the defensive. Facing a window means you may lose focus and momentum, and may not advance in career or life.

There are so many things to discuss about work spaces, but this is a start. If you suffer from any of the issues mentioned above, consider moving your desk if it’s possible.

If you can’t move your desk, and it’s in one of the no no positions mentioned above, stay tuned got more office Feng Shui Tips in the next Feng Shui Friday.

How to succeed in business without even trying…

Most salespeople have not read even one book about sales…the quintessential intro to every pitch to purchase the newest latest greatest sales manual EVER. Times have changed, sales have changed, so much so that it’s arguably no longer sales. 2020 took that “sales” model and put it through a blender, along with many businesses who employ them. You can no longer succeed on charm and personality.

So rather than lament, I’m finally doing it, taking the dive into earning my small business consulting certification. I’ve been meaning to make this official for a long time, and I’ve found a great program with a stellar organization-AASBC. I’ve always been a champion of small businesses and buying local; it’s time to do something actionable to positively affect the future of small businesses. The backbone of our economy, it is more important than ever to ensures small businesses health going forward. After all, I myself am a micro business, as are many of my friends and colleagues in the lighting industry.

Being directly invested in their success, I’m all in, but in this climate, it is crucial to be able to come to the table with the relevant tools for small business success. I’m excited to share what I learn with my customers and hope I can assist in their success in a meaningful and enduring way. This certification is pretty comprehensive- after earning certification and passing THE TEST, among the skills mastered, I’ll be consulting on the following: formulating business plans, methods of raising capital funds, inventory management methods, formulating profitable and timely open to buy, displays, store flow and aesthetics, social media and marketing plans, hiring and training staff, compiling analysis of current business health, accounting, budgeting and methodology for increasing profits. All of the skills I wish I’d had when I inherited this company, but life gets in the way. It’s practical and creative as each business has unique abilities and challenges.

I love challenges, so stay tuned.

恭喜发财 Happy New Year!

Yesterday marked the official Chinese New Year-May this Metal Ox year be healthy and easy!

I was talking to Deb, my office manager, and she reminded me about turtles-pictured below is the mythical dragon turtle-attractor of wealth. My little guy sits on a bed of coins, though he’s missing the coin in his mouth. The turtle sits on top of him. The turtle is a source of longevity and health, and the two together are said to strengthen each other’s powers.

I’ve had him for years but he was packed away until a few weeks ago. Boy, I could’ve used him in 2020. I’ve come to learn through my recent Feng Shui studies that, though he’s cool, he’s not going to move the needle too much on the wealth/health front.

I have to say, since I moved him to his new spot in my new office, he’s been working some wealth magic for me in the form of being busy with lighting projects and orders. Maybe he is helping more than he lets on.

I’ll keep you posted-he’s in the southeast area of our house and he’s facing East-ish, an area that’s about family and finance. Even though these areas are not my lucky areas, He seems very happy there and I like having him behind me to guard the office.

The office reveal will be in next week’s Feng Shui Friday so stay tuned.