Hello, everyone.

The other day a client told me this story.

She had recently taken a new position in management at a large local institution.  This company has been battered by recent changes in government funding and the managers are scrambling to make ends meet.  In fact, my client was hired to bring her considerable expertise into bringing financial stability to the company again.  

"Venus, Amor die Flügel beschneidend" von Theodor Heinrich Bäumer, 1886

"Venus, Amor die Flügel beschneidend" von Theodor Heinrich Bäumer, 1886

When she went to her first few management meetings, the mood was sour and dour; there was no cross-talking, no cutting up, no spark.  She noticed that even in a three-hour meeting, there was no water, no treats, and no bathroom breaks. 

This is no fun at all, she thought.  So when the next meeting was scheduled she brought in a big bowl of chocolates.  Even though the meeting was directly after lunch, not one person acknowledged the sweets, let alone reached for any.  The entire meeting passed in the manner of the others, subdued, discouraged, and unengaged.  No one could receive the gift she brought to the meeting.

What’s missing here?

When she told me this story I thought, this is a Venus issue.  Venus rules love, sweetness, happiness, pleasure, giving and receiving, and MONEY.  I’m not saying that a company’s financial difficulties can be mended by eating a few chocolates.  But I am saying that when the energy of Venus, of pleasure, of enjoyment, of camaraderie is missing, then it’s likely that MONEY will be missing too.

There is an alchemy among happiness, giving and receiving, and money.  The flow of giving and receiving underpins all of our interactions, and that same flow fuels the economy as a whole.  I wouldn’t be so concerned if just one of the managers passed up the sweets, due to a diet, or Lent, or sugar intolerance.  But when the entire team cannot receive, then there is a barrier to inflowing energy, which leads to barriers to sales, which leads to barriers to profits.

Receiving equals profits

Every salesperson knows that relationships must be developed before sales can be realized.  Relationships, sweets, money, success:  it’s all the same river, the river Venus.  If your managers can’t even look at each other in a meeting, then this is going to be reflected in your bottom line.  If there’s no laughter, no fun, no interrelationships, there’s no fuel for problem-solving or creativity.

If you are the only person in your business, this applies to you as well.  When I was first in business and struggling to make ends meet, my mentor told me to give myself a gift every day.  It could be a small thing, some post-its, a nice eraser, a piece of pie, but I had to report to her every day what I had done.  She was teaching me to receive, to open the door to the incoming flow.

Singing, playing, celebrating

The manager that told me this story has a very strong placement of Venus and is a natural at bringing people together.  I asked her for some tips on how she is going to overcome this problem.  She’s going to bring songs to the meeting for everyone to sing together.  She’s going to start a softball league so people can build relationships outside of work.  She’s going to make sure birthdays are celebrated and that there’s good coffee in the cafeteria.  In these ways, she’s going to break down the barriers to the incoming flow.

If your business is not as profitable as you wish, try appeasing the Venus energy.  If you respect and honor her, she will shower her treasures.  The next time someone offers a gift, receive it, eat the sweet.  And encourage your managers to open the receiving door, so that all sorts of goodies can flow in.

Are you good at receiving?  Or are you “receiving challenged”?  Tell us about it in the comments section and if you know what sign your Venus is in, let us know that, too.