TODAY marks the start of the Year of the Water Dragon! My wife and I were born in the Year of the Water Dragon. So, too, were our friends Linda and Romy Frias of Lexicon Press. We know of many aspiring business people who look forward to having dragon partners if they are of a different sign. Feng shui masters, like the late Reverend Rhobert Akamine, have always told us that dragons make businesses more resilient in challenging times.
I am sure today there will be people wearing red shirts, polka dots and even gold circle designs. And this observance will not just be limited to clothes, but many festivities like the dragon dance accompanied with drums and cymbals. Restaurants, especially those serving Chinese cuisine, will be packed, some with reservations placed as early as six months ago. Children and even adults among our Fil-Chinese community will be lining up as the elders begin to hand out ang pao (hongbao in Mandarin; lai see in Cantonese), red envelopes usually containing money.
In business establishments, entrepreneurs would hang the ang pao at the top of the door. And during the Dragon dance, the dragon shall attempt to reach and grab it. Accordingly, it is a sign of prosperity.
The Philippine government pronounced today as a holiday. In other Asian countries like Hong Kong, one may be frustrated as most stores are closed. Shop owners are gone for the holiday. CNN reported a heavy influx of travelers within China. Everybody was eager to reach and spend the New Year with his or her family.
One notable influence is seeing how fortunate many Fil-Chinese entrepreneurs are in running a business. They manage almost all types of businesses. Majority of the Philippine tycoons are of Chinese descent.
The influence of our Fil-Chinese brothers in our Filipino community is tremendous. Judging from the many stores and even tiangges, one can easily see all the accessories for the home, offices and one’s self. There are even free consultations offered on what lies ahead and what items to buy. As the sales people would always say, “pampaswerte.”
The practice of feng shui has become one of the favorite topics. In fact there is an annual forum held in a prestigious convention center in Manila where one of the feng shui experts shares her forecast. And the audience of that forum always fills the center to the rafters.
There is even a hotel in Makati where it has become a tradition to hold a celebration on the eve of the start of the new year where throngs of people attend to watch one of Hong Kong’s geomancers do the rituals.
Feng shui is an ancient practice of balancing the forces between heaven and earth. It is applied almost everywhere and on anybody. I remember in Hong Kong, before building plans are finalized, a geomancer must be called and consulted to attain prosperity and attract positive vibrations.
Drop by bookstores to see plenty of books published about feng shui.
Who among our business friends subscribe to feng shui? Many will not admit they do because they think it makes one sin, or go against the Church. Many will not subscribe to it for fear that it is like superstition or part of the occult. Many will charge it to “I believe in anything that will make my business succeed” and will try putting images, from saints to cats that wave their right hand for customers to come in. We even know of a Chinese couple that put pineapple figurines on their cash registers, much to the surprise of their franchisors!
I know of a social entrepreneur, who refused to be named in this article, who has been a believer in feng shui for almost 20 years now. She has built many enterprises, chooses her business partners according to their year of birth and does not believe in having four of anything (four tables, four chairs, four partners, etc.). Maybe feng shui really works for her.
Then, there are dragons. Dragons do not even know they were already born lucky. They just choose a business, work hard and then succeed. One can, however, be a water dragon (like me) or a wood dragon or even a fire dragon. For example, fire dragons make good restaurant partners! Water dragons are good for water businesses or fluid businesses like coffee, a bar, water and petrol station or anything that flows. Those who were born under this sign are also effective in making other businesses flow toward prosperity. Often they are called people with a “Midas touch.”
Watch where you sit in a negotiation table. Check where you face when you sleep—does your bed face north, south, east or west? Is your office in the money corner? Every time I enter offices I could sense if management practices feng shui. There is this atmosphere of orderliness and harmony. Compared to other offices where there is so much clutter, lighting is dim; tables of employees are in disarray.
As consultant, I have met people who seem to be frustrated in business. They couldn’t seem to get things to work or tuned up. Thus I always advise them is to check the following:
house direction. Maybe it’s time to change homes or even just the entrance door. There may be some pointed corners in front of the house.
office location. If you have not succeeded, maybe a change of address will do you well. It may be the office has not been properly arranged according to auspicious directions.
how many live at home? If there are four members, get a dog to make it five. Four is not good as it means death.
what business are you in? Is it perfect for your sign? You may not have a good composition of your partners. In feng shui, the elements, to complete an organization, should be composed of Fire, Metal, Water, Earth and Wood.
attitude. Learn how to greet each day on a positive note; an example of which will be to thank the Almighty for giving another life, smile and hug your loved ones and jump with joy!
If you do not believe in feng shui but have been lucky all along, you must be doing something right or you must have made many right moves—such as the right position of house, your bed, and even your desk. Congratulations!
The above are just samples how deeply ingrained feng shui is. The ultimate goal is to attract prosperity. However, what I always advise is that though there is no harm in following some of the rituals, what is required is the ability to focus and keep that passion always lighted in making a business enterprise grow. One character trait I observed with our Fil-Chinese brothers is doing hard work with fun. For somebody to devote almost 16 hours of work may be too burdensome. Yet they enjoy, as there are more opportunities, which open up. Giving up just because of a mistake is not another character trait I haven’t seen among them. Failures make them much stronger for another round of challenges. Complacency and allowing the business to run on autopilot is nut in their vocabulary.
One may have gotten the best of the best geomancers, but if no effort is exerted then forget about carrying on with the business. I know that we have all at one time or another wished to be like those who have so much wealth.
Come to think of it, have you looked at yourself in front of the mirror to find out who you really are? We have all been gifted with talents and skills. Unfortunately, there are still goldmines in us which have remained untapped.
Achieving an improvement no matter how small is what matters most. How we conduct ourselves with business associates and manage our people in the company are what we could initially look into.
Over the week, one of my clients asked me to conduct an orientation for her staff prior to launching her franchise program. I began asking if everybody knows one another. A loud thunder of YES came forth.
When I sought a volunteer to tell me how well she knows the people in the room, she told me that she didn’t know much beyond their working relations. Sensing the superficiality of their relationship to one another, I gave everybody time to write on the topic “Story of My Life.”
The following day, everybody was asked to go to the front and share what they have written. The session became emotionally charged. Each person narrated how each faced life. There was one staff member that began his working life as a store attendant at the age of 12 because of poverty. His amo made him sleep outside the store together with the dog. Yet he persevered because he wanted to study and be a professional someday. His dream came true, as he is one of the key people in the company. When I looked at my client seated at the back of the room, she was in tears.
She didn’t realize the struggles her people experienced. The entire day became productive, as the whole organization was able to achieve a strong bond beyond work expectations.
Indeed, life is full of surprises. Getting the management organization to work as a strong team is the dream and goal of every entrepreneur. After all, the word team stands for “Together Everybody Achieves More.” This Year of the Water Dragon, let your business ROAR and overcome whatever challenges may come along the way. It’s fun to be an entrepreneur and especially if one has a happy and effective management team and franchisees.
Cheers, everyone!
