Some great insights about life and living in the now and what it really means to be a warrior in everyday life.

the link below will also take you to a section on my You Tube channel including many inspiring videos

This You Tube clip shows one small part of the Movie “The Peaceful Warrior”  http://www.youtube.com/user/georgebirdsall#p/c/07F297A193C29E4B/25/9BBDexSzmMM

There are many ways to achieve this goal and assist with the speedy sale of your home. Newer Homes often have more appeal to purchasers than dated homes which require renovation or building work to bring them up to date. The proven ways to add significant value to the sale of a home are to home stage the property, to fix all the maintenance issues and to apply Feng Shui principles to the home, to make it more appealing to a buyer.
Our television sets are filled with renovation and property shows confirming these techniques can make a difference to the financial return you get when selling a property.
Anyone buying a property is influenced by their first impressions. It is important to make the front of your property and the path leading to the front door very appealing, as consciously and unconsciously potential buyers will have almost made up their mind about a property before they walk in the front door. They need to be enticed out of their car and into your home to even start the process.
Basic Feng Shui principles start with getting the path leading to the front door and the area around the front door clear and energised to allow the chi to flow gradually into your home.
First Impressions will decide whether someone even gets to the front door to view a property or just drives on to the next property to view. If the home is badly maintained with rusted gutters, paint peeling off the walls, has weeds in the garden or the front lawn is not mowed will have a significant bearing on the potential sale and price achieved. While these may appear common sense items, it is surprising how often one small part of them is overlooked and has a subconscious influence on achieving a maximum potential sale of your property.
Also they may all appear western concepts and yet there origins are steeped in Feng Shui traditions of getting the chi to flow up your garden path, into the front door and around the home. The front door is seen as the “mouth of chi” just like the mouth in our body is where all the energy and chi enters.
The first recommendation on any Feng Shui Practitioners Consultation for any property is to remove the clutter, fix the maintenance and to make the front of a property look like something to love, not something that repulses you day after day when you arrive home.
Wherever possible it is good to have a curved path to your front door lined with plants with circular leaves. Get rid of any plants with spiky leaves along this path, as they are seen as repelling potential visitors to your home. Having been involved in Feng Shui, building, renovation and property for over 25 years it has surprised me, and many of my clients at the difference this simple trick makes to getting potential buyers to your front door.
Next make sure the front door is clearly identified by colour, plants or garden ornaments clearly defining your front door.
Get rid of any rubbish; repair all maintenance items no matter how small and clean the front of the house either by repainting the painted surfaces or washing down other areas with a high pressure water cleaner.
Yes these are all common sense items and yet they are also based on basic Feng Shui Principles which make the chi flow smoothly and easily to your front door.
Once inside your home Feng Shui principles again dictate that chi should flow easily to make the potential buyers feel comfortable and relaxed. Again clear the clutter, fix maintenance items and repaint as necessary with neutral colours. Give your home some fresh new energy, and allow buyers to see how they can put their furniture and decorations into your home.
Look at your artwork and furniture, and remove anything controversial or which makes rooms look more cluttered or crowded. Create a sense of space.
Feng Shui is all about the intuitive feelings people have when they are in any home. You want them to feel happy, relaxed and comfortable and not want to leave.
Other ways to freshen the house up using more esoteric and energetic Feng Shui ideas is to light candles or incense, have fresh flowers in your home, bake some bread or pleasant smelling food in the oven so that you appeal to all your buyers senses, not just the visual. They will become more attached if you can get their sense of smell, hearing and feelings engaged.
All of these changes will affect the Feng Shui feeling and flow of chi in a house, and ensure it is sold faster and for a larger financial return

George Birdsall wrote the best selling book Feng Shui – The Key Concepts in 1995 and has sold over 50,000 copies so far. More about his feng shui books, consultations and speaking can be found at his “Feng Shui website. He also writes a blog on planning your home improvement projects to save time and money at “his Renovation Plan website. He lives in Bowral Australia and loves organising anything in ways that Save Time and Money for himself and his clients. His business focuses around Project Management and Client Advisory Services to clients ranging from home owners to multinational corporations

There are usually 3 strategies to consider first:-

1.  Investor – Are you investing to make a financial return or

2.  Home Owner wanting to Increase the Property Value – are you buying with the purpose of moving to another, better home once this one is renovated and its value increased or

3.  Home Owner -  are you buying a home which you could possibly live in one day?

Investors ( either option 1 or 2 ) will set their renovation or home improvement budget based only on dollars return whether in income or capital gain potential.

If it is the third option then you are not investing and you have other criteria which will override any investment decisions which can only be based around financial criteria.

Someone buying a property which one day could possibly be their home will add many other emotional and lifestyle factors which will influence their renovation project budget.

You need to frame your budget around this initial decision as to which category you belong to.

After that decision is made, there are many ways to get spend your budget to renovate your home and increase its value as an investor.

If it is your long term home you are more likely to make major changes that can be more expensive.

However, if you are planning to move from this home soon and see it more as an investment then minor or cosmetic changes maybe all you need to improve your home.

As an Investor choosing which area of your home to upgrade you need to carefully plan and research the options. Find out what gives you the best value for money within your budget.

Different areas of the home will impact on its value and your enjoyment of it.

Here are some options:

1. External Appearance and Improvements. Does the house need painting?, can the landscape and plants be upgraded? Do you consider adding a deck to enhance the outdoor living space? Can you add a carport or garage which would increase the value

2. Internally some basic things to consider are repainting and new floor coverings. These can make a big difference to any Renovation or Home improvement

3. Cleaning and De cluttering can make a huge difference. In Feng Shui terms this is one of the biggest things you can do to improve the feel of your home. It is amazing how many things we collect and what they mean in our lives symbolically. ( check out www.fengshuicompanion.com)

4. Kitchen. The kitchen can often be the heart of a home. Your budget will determine whether you completely renovate it or just change cupboard doors and bench tops and install new appliances.

Improving your kitchen will have a significant impact on raising the value of your home if you plan to move on  (or it will add years of enjoyment if you intend staying in the home.)

5. The bathroom is another place which will be important to consider. Again is it a total refurbishment or just a simple paint and upgrade. Your budget will tell you.

I recently made a short video on how baths, basins and tiles can be resprayed in new colours at a significant cost reduction ( check out my you tube channel for info)

Overall once your budget has been set whether you are an owner or investor,  I strongly recommend you go through a process I call the renovation plan.

The renovation plan is essential to ensuring the value of your property will increase and your budget will be achieved. It will take some research to make up your mind on which things are best for your situation, however if you methodically go through the process and prepare for your renovation thoroughly then you will get what you want and maintain your budget.

One of the best ways to start your renovation or home improvement is to read my ebook “Renovation made Easy” ( www.therenovationplan.com ) which will take you through this process of planning your renovation and achieving everything you want at a fair cost, in a reasonable time and with reduced stress.

These ingredients apply, no matter what business you are going into, whether it is a coffee shop,  building /  renovation business, setting up as an internet marketing consultant or any type of retailer, your success will come down to 3 really simple things you need.

You need to have some “experience” in that business, the drive and persistence to cope with the ups and downs of any business or simply “the motivation” and you to create a  simple business plan on what I call the 5 W’s of a business ( who, what, why, when and where  to set up and manage the business.

1. Experience

Before starting any business it is essential to have some knowledge of that business. Learn from other peoples experience (good and bad) in any business, starting a business from scratch with no experience will drastically reduce the odds of you succeeding.

There is a basic principle in most of the very successful businessmen, they have “modelled” their success on other successful business or people.

Go and get any job in the type of business you are targeting – even as the kitchen hand or mailroom boy you will learn more form this experience than years of studying the books on how to run a business.

2. Motivation

You need the passion, desire and motivation to become a business owner.

Imagine everything you have ever accomplished in life already. Whether it’s graduating from university; or passing an examination at school; getting your driver’s permit; getting married or maybe purchasing your very first car, you have needed some passion desire and motivation to achieve any of these life changing events. Going into business is no different.

What ever that is, you need to have a good deal of motivation as well as perseverance. There will always be the ups and downs, others hard times and also some challenging days. I call them speed bumps.

However it will be worth while journey if you find something you love, something you are good at and there are customers who need what you provide. All these things with high level of motivation will be one of the essential ingredients to a successful business.

3. Step By Step Plan – Basic Business Knowledge

You will need to establish a basic business plan. ( see my previous article on this) In the business plan you will need to answer the 5 W’s – who, what, why when and where. You will then need to outline the steps you need to take to implement that business plan. I always use lists and set out the priorities of what needs to happen first.

Set up a separate note book with these lists so you can refer to the actions you need to take and mark them off as you go. Using these techniques you will establish the step by step plan on establishing your business. Setting up your business will always be easier if you have the motivation, desire and a step by step plan.

For me these are the 3 basic things you will need to start your own business. Yes you will need money, you will probably need staff, you will probably need some business premises and many other things, however without these 3 ingredients your chances of succeeding in any business will be greatly reduced.

Each business plan will reflect the nature of the owner,  their experience and their vision for their business.

They should be written in the business owners own unique style and not try to copy another .

You are in business to stand out from your competitors, not copy other businesses.

The common thread to all business plans is to  outline the five W’s: who, what, when, where, why.

• They are a useful guideline which forces you as an owner to write down exactly what your business is about and why it exists.
• There is no best approach or perfect business plan except it is important to write down everything you can think of about the business.
• Acknowledge before you start that this plan will not have all the answers, it is merely the beginning of a road map to help you understand the business and be able to explain your  vision to anyone else who is involved with the business.
• Be prepared for critical analysis and take the comments on board. Its how you and your business will grow.
• The business plan will continuously evolve as the business grows. It is a flexible document and will continually evolve.
• It does not have to be a 100 page book, The best plans are usually 5 pages of each “ W” with each idea listed as a dot point with a projected cash flow attached.

Business Plan Outline with the 5 W’s

• Who are you? A company business plan outline should list your market knowledge and qualifications. Record the company and management credentials – both current and proposed. Include possible future employees.

• What do you want to sell? As part of your business plan outline what you are marketing. Have you been selling goods, assistance or even both? Talk about the sales and also revenue linked with your merchandise or products and services. And refer to a cash flow spread sheet attached to the plan. Outline your starting sales and also marketing and advertising strategy. What tasks you  will be performing to get sales as well as how much time and money will you invest in doing so?

• When did you start the business? Or when are you planning on launching the business?

• Where is your location? Will you work out of your home to start  or will you lease office  or shop?  Where will you be located and why is this a good location for your business

• Why is your business unique? What is your unique selling position ?What sets you aside from everybody else within the industry.

Business plans are a useful document to help you sell your  vision and ideas to yourself, your partners, your bank and your employees.

If you are in any business , you are selling something and you need to firstly sell the concept of why your business even exists to those closest to you and then it will be easier to sell your business to your customers.

“Tell a man he is brave,

and you help him to become so.”

Thomas Carlyle.

At a time in Australia of great floods and personal hardship, the quote by Thomas Carlyle , reminds us that in times of adversity, people sometimes just need to hear words which inspire them and help them to keep going.

All the people affected by the impact of the floods in Queensland need to be very brave with the things they are facing and I send a message of  recognizing their braveness in this time and that they will eventually believe in how brave they are and what great courage they have in facing each day.

Blessings and Peace

The Definitions and Background

Feng Shui is an ancient art and science which is also known as Chinese Geomancy.

Geomancy being defined as the divination of earth or messages from the earth. It is about mans observation of the environment around him and adjusting his actions to match what happens in his environment based on those actions. If it is spring plant seeds and if it is autumn sow the crops ready for winter is a simple explanation of what we do.

The words Feng Shui literally means “wind” and “water’ and is about the chi or energy flows in any place.

The principles of geomancy have been applied by all cultures over thousands of years including Hawaiian Kahunas, the Vedic masters of India, the Australian aborigines and American Indians to name just a few.

Feng Shui has become the most popular modern representative of all these practices as it has been documented over thousands of years and in recent times translated into English in various forms which have made sense to millions of people around the world.

The application of Feng Shui principles consider the impact that, the placement of things has on the energy or chi flow within any land mass or building or room within a building.

What are the Basic Principles?

Feng Shui has 2 ways of being applied. Both are based on the training and personal insights of the practitioner involved, just like any other modality.

There is a compass or classical school of Feng Shui who use a geomancers compass,  and Chinese astrological knowledge based around the flying stars. The other school of thought is what can loosely be called the modern intuitive Feng Shui School who base their work around the bagua symbol and trigrams from the I Ching.

Most westerners stick to the more intuitive school of Feng Shui and apply it using the documented Feng Shui observations of Feng Shui masters over thousands of years.

The symbol of the bagua allows us to overlay this onto any space in our world form a city to a block of land to a home or apartment and to a room. Each of the trigrams ( 3 open or closed bars form the I Ching) represents aspects of our lives.

The Bagua is split into 8 sections with the ninth area known as the Tai Chi in the middle.

The 8 sections are loosely named Fame, Relationships, Children/ Projects, Helpful People, Career, Inner Knowledge, Family/ Health and Wealth / Abundance.

By applying this bagua layout to say a room you can interpret what things are energetically happening in people’s lives. Often we unconsciously replicate our life in the way we decorate any room.

For example if you look at the relationship corner of someone’s bedroom, what items are located here and what does that say or symbolise about their current life situation from a Feng Shui viewpoint. Are they single and looking for a relationship and yet have the photo of a single person in this corner? Is any corner of a room or home full of unused junk which is blocking the flow of energy in the room?

Our ancestors would always clear energy in each room every day not just the dust as we do in our modern world. They would consider the symbolic nature of everything they did and how it was placed within any space.

Symbolic Nature of Feng Shui

Feng Shui is also symbolic language. It is how you use so called “Feng Shui” Symbols which can affect the way the chi is flowing in your space and then reflect how your life is flowing.

By Feng Shui Symbols we do not mean that you have to use red Chinese lanterns, dragons at your doorway, fat Buddha’s and other Chinese decorating items to generate chi, it is about understanding the basics of what the Feng Shui symbols mean in any circumstance and applying them in a way that suits the interior design and décor of your place.

Take a look at any room in your home or office and consider what different objects mean to you.

Do they give you a good feeling and do they generate good chi or do they unconsciously send a message that is limiting your desires?

In a bedroom does it have a feeling of calm and order so you can sleep easily? Or do you have piles of clothes in one corner, a broken light globe in a lamp beside your bed, a brightly colored wall which generates lots of energy or a mirror wardrobe which also generates a lot of chi or energy. All these items are disturbing your unconscious chi in terms of Feng Shui Symbols.

In your office do you face the door or is your back to the door and are you being literally stabbed in the back? Do you feel calm and centred in your office or do you jump every time someone comes into your office? How you feel in any space is an indication of how you feel and how the chi is flowing in your life.

It is the Feng Shui Symbols which make a difference.

So how do you correct Feng Shui Symbols which are causing problems? Always surround your self with things which symbolically make you happy.

In a consultation many years ago, a lady proudly displayed a plate which she had received a gift from her husband 10 years before. Shortly after she and her husband divorced and it had imbedded unconscious messages for her. Instinctively I asked how she felt about that plate without even knowing its history. I was stunned when she walked over to the plate picked it up and walked into her kitchen and threw the plate in the bin smashing it into many pieces. She felt an incredible weight had been lifted form her shoulders and thanked me profusely.

So look at all the things you have around you and consider what the mean symbolically to you. Are they allowing the Chi to flow and making you happy or are they creating unseen blockages for you? Feng Shui Symbols do all those things.

Conclusion

Feng Shui is an energetic and symbolic language about your environment and what is happening in your life. It is by using its basic principles and its symbols to allow energy to flow that we can intuitive take responsibility for what we are creating in our lives in terms of then place where we spend some time. Your world is a reflection of you.

Remember put a little Feng Shui in your Life not your life in Feng Shui.

** This article was first published in “Shining Bright” Magazine in October 2010. see www.aol.org.au

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius,power and magic in it.”

‘You must be the change, you wish to see in the world’

Gandhi

“When a man is willing and eager, the gods join in.”
Aeschylus

These are some inspiring quotes I have just added to my blog www.georgebirdsall.com

“Do what you can, with what you have,
where you are.”
Theodore Roosevelt

In essence this quote is reminding us to accept and love  who we are in every moment.

Drop the worry of the future, the regrets of the past and be whoever you are in the NOW.

Very Simple Advice and yet as humans we do complicate things