Creating a Feng Shui Power Office: 6 Easy Tips to More Successful Surroundings
More and more people are looking to gain an edge in their working environments.  One method that business people are increasingly turning to is feng shui.  Feng shui promises that by arranging your office environment correctly, it is possible to create a better energy in your office, and that energy can promote further opportunity and advancement. In feng shui, there are a few very basic, yet potent, guidelines to creating an effective office environment – and that can instantly boost the career quotient of almost any office inhabitant. Although, some offices may require more extensive rearrangement to help promote success, most offices only require a few modest changes.  Use these suggestions to help you create your own “Power Office.”  1.  Sit in the power position.  This is situated opposite and diagonal from the door or opening to the room.  The desk should be here facing the door.  Draw more emphasis to this area by creating a focal point with a lamp, artwork, tall plant, etc.  This also helps create a straight line of sight to this area, imbuing even more power and authority.  What’s more, this corner is also co

An Interview With Santa
You’ve been hearing about the use of videos in emails and websites, plus the fact that Google bought YouTube recently for $1.6 billion. You can use audio the same way. If you want to differentiate yourself from others, there are two new ways to do so using common tools available. If you have Windows in your computer and a microphone, you can make good audio recordings yourself. Then you can insert these recordings into emails or on your web site. Even if you can’t make a video, you can use still photos accompanied by an audio recording that complements the visuals.This can be uploaded to the major video sites, like YouTube, Google Video, Blinkx.tv, vSocial.com, Jumpcut.com and many others. I received quite an introduction to this recently. My niece, Rebecca Warner, asked me to help her with a school project. She is studying audio and visual arts management at community college. Her final project for this year entailed “An Interview with Santa.” Now you can imagine quickly who she wanted to play the part of Santa. My unnecessary girth (still working on losing it!) added to the attraction of course; but my voiceYet what’s refreshing about Brown is his open and honest approach to what he does. He cheerfully reveals that he can’t read people’s minds or commune with the afterlife – his skill is to make it look like he can.

His most recent TV programme Derren Brown: The Heist was the most ambitious and challenging of Derren’s specials to date. It’s a look at what little it takes to cross into deviant behaviour and a masterclass in persuasion. Under the guise of a motivational seminar and a follow-up documentary, Derren set out to persuade a group of responsible, middle-management businessmen and women to steal ?100.000 in an armed robbery.

Talking to Derren is a weird and wonderful experience. We are not sure whether the questions we asked him are our original questions, or those that Derren subliminally made us ask... His most recent work has really got people talking, and love him or hate him you have to admire the skill and grace in which he performs.

Born in Croydon in 1971, Derren traces his interest in psychological techniques to childhood. “I was a very good liar and a revoltingly charming child”, he says. Like a lot of solitary children he developed an interest in magic but it was only later at Bristol University, where he studied Law and German that he started to take it seriously. “I found myself developing an analytical mind-set, able to spot the loopholes in anyone’s argument very quickly”. After graduating, Derren abandoned a career in Law and concentrated on developing his skills at psychological magic. He was able to pay the bills by combining performing in cafes and bars with a sideline in portraiture.

So what is the label Derren would put upon his skils? Derren doesn’t consider himself a “Mentalist”. “I do not restrict myself to mindreading effects when I am performing in the real world. Enough magicians have asked me about the wisdom of combining magic and mindreading in performance. No lay participant in my effects has ever queried this. If I explain my thoughts here, I will be able to express a few points that I find important. They begin with the old worry about mentalists’ disclaimers and the ethics of psychic performances. I have an interest in suggestion and what gets labelled ‘hypnosis’. I work to combine magic and mindreading with ‘hypnosis’ to create something new and powerful. Because this is a keen interest of mine, I tend to communicate it in my performances. I find that most intelligent spectators are more interested in the psychological techniques than the sleight-of-hand.”

Derren kicked off 2006 with his most ambitious and controversial special to date – DERREN BROWN: THE HEIST, which, once again, baffled and astonished both the press and public alike.

Those who watched the show know exactly what happened but how did he come up with idea in the first place? “As ever, these things come about by thinking what I’d personally like to see on TV. I’m finally having my TV removed and replaced by a tropical fish tank, which I hope will provide more interesting viewing. I’ve also always had a vague distaste for the cult of selfishness apotheosised through self-help seminars, which form the starting point for the show.”

Derren was pleased with the reaction he got from his show and said “The show was very well received. I felt it was the best thing I’d done so far, and the only one of th

onderful experience. We are not sure whether the questions we asked him are our original questions, or those that Derren subliminally made us ask... His most recent work has really got people talking, and love him or hate him you have to admire the skill and grace in which he performs.

Born in Croydon in 1971, Derren traces his interest in psychological techniques to childhood. “I was a very good liar and a revoltingly charming child”, he says. Like a lot of solitary children he developed an interest in magic but it was only later at Bristol University, where he studied Law and German that he started to take it seriously. “I found myself developing an analytical mind-set, able to spot the loopholes in anyone’s argument very quickly”. After graduating, Derren abandoned a career in Law and concentrated on developing his skills at psychological magic. He was able to pay the bills by combining performing in cafes and bars with a sideline in portraiture.

So what is the label Derren would put upon his skils? Derren doesn’t consider himself a “Mentalist”. “I do not restrict myself to mindreading effects when I am performing in the real world. Enough magicians have asked me about the wisdom of combining magic and mindreading in performance. No lay participant in my effects has ever queried this. If I explain my thoughts here, I will be able to express a few points that I find important. They begin with the old worry about mentalists’ disclaimers and the ethics of psychic performances. I have an interest in suggestion and what gets labelled ‘hypnosis’. I work to combine magic and mindreading with ‘hypnosis’ to create something new and powerful. Because this is a keen interest of mine, I tend to communicate it in my performances. I find that most intelligent spectators are more interested in the psychological techniques than the sleight-of-hand.”

Derren kicked off 2006 with his most ambitious and controversial special to date – DERREN BROWN: THE HEIST, which, once again, baffled and astonished both the press and public alike.

Those who watched the show know exactly what happened but how did he come up with idea in the first place? “As ever, these things come about by thinking what I’d personally like to see on TV. I’m finally having my TV removed and replaced by a tropical fish tank, which I hope will provide more interesting viewing. I’ve also always had a vague distaste for the cult of selfishness apotheosised through self-help seminars, which form the starting point for the show.”

Derren was pleased with the reaction he got from his show and said “The show was very well received. I felt it was the best thing I’d done so far, and the only one of th

et, able to spot the loopholes in anyone’s argument very quickly”. After graduating, Derren abandoned a career in Law and concentrated on developing his skills at psychological magic. He was able to pay the bills by combining performing in cafes and bars with a sideline in portraiture.

So what is the label Derren would put upon his skils? Derren doesn’t consider himself a “Mentalist”. “I do not restrict myself to mindreading effects when I am performing in the real world. Enough magicians have asked me about the wisdom of combining magic and mindreading in performance. No lay participant in my effects has ever queried this. If I explain my thoughts here, I will be able to express a few points that I find important. They begin with the old worry about mentalists’ disclaimers and the ethics of psychic performances. I have an interest in suggestion and what gets labelled ‘hypnosis’. I work to combine magic and mindreading with ‘hypnosis’ to create something new and powerful. Because this is a keen interest of mine, I tend to communicate it in my performances. I find that most intelligent spectators are more interested in the psychological techniques than the sleight-of-hand.”

Derren kicked off 2006 with his most ambitious and controversial special to date – DERREN BROWN: THE HEIST, which, once again, baffled and astonished both the press and public alike.

Those who watched the show know exactly what happened but how did he come up with idea in the first place? “As ever, these things come about by thinking what I’d personally like to see on TV. I’m finally having my TV removed and replaced by a tropical fish tank, which I hope will provide more interesting viewing. I’ve also always had a vague distaste for the cult of selfishness apotheosised through self-help seminars, which form the starting point for the show.”

Derren was pleased with the reaction he got from his show and said “The show was very well received. I felt it was the best thing I’d done so far, and the only one of th

be able to express a few points that I find important. They begin with the old worry about mentalists’ disclaimers and the ethics of psychic performances. I have an interest in suggestion and what gets labelled ‘hypnosis’. I work to combine magic and mindreading with ‘hypnosis’ to create something new and powerful. Because this is a keen interest of mine, I tend to communicate it in my performances. I find that most intelligent spectators are more interested in the psychological techniques than the sleight-of-hand.”

Derren kicked off 2006 with his most ambitious and controversial special to date – DERREN BROWN: THE HEIST, which, once again, baffled and astonished both the press and public alike.

Those who watched the show know exactly what happened but how did he come up with idea in the first place? “As ever, these things come about by thinking what I’d personally like to see on TV. I’m finally having my TV removed and replaced by a tropical fish tank, which I hope will provide more interesting viewing. I’ve also always had a vague distaste for the cult of selfishness apotheosised through self-help seminars, which form the starting point for the show.”

Derren was pleased with the reaction he got from his show and said “The show was very well received. I felt it was the best thing I’d done so far, and the only one of th

both the press and public alike.

Those who watched the show know exactly what happened but how did he come up with idea in the first place? “As ever, these things come about by thinking what I’d personally like to see on TV. I’m finally having my TV removed and replaced by a tropical fish tank, which I hope will provide more interesting viewing. I’ve also always had a vague distaste for the cult of selfishness apotheosised through self-help seminars, which form the starting point for the show.”

Derren was pleased with the reaction he got from his show and said “The show was very well received. I felt it was the best thing I’d done so far, and the only one of the Specials to be entirely honest and open. The reaction I was most concerned about was that of the guys who actually went through with the robbery. It was very important to me that they were comfortable with their involvement and with the final edit of the show once it was all assembled (in terms of its accuracy and so on). I had them come along to the screening before it was broadcast and they were really happy with it. That did mean a lot to me.” Some quarters found it offensive, a large number of BBNLP / GONLP members have commented on the shows ethics but Derren doesn’t seem worried about the controversy that sometimes surrounds his work. He takes it as “a signal that I must be doing something right.”

We asked about some of the controversial moments in the live show Derren is bringing back on tour. What reactions did he get to them last time round? “There are a couple of moments in the show which sometimes cause a strong response from sensitive people: last year I would have one or two people leave, faint or be ill most nights. I was surprised when it first occurred; and then I started looking forward to it, and was disappointed if it didn’t happen. But I try to tap into different emotional responses throughout the couple of hours or so I’m on stage: some of it’s funny, sometimes you don’t want to look, and in some parts are very tense and you can hear a pin drop. I think it’s a very enjoyable ride. I hope it is.”

Derren is touring again this year and a lot of fans are pleased that he is back on the road. He is constantly working on new projects and is “working to a pattern of writing a new show every two years. Because the tour last year sold out pretty quickly, which is very nice, it’s worth extending it this year to those cities which didn’t get it last year.”

The show will be different again this year and Derren explains, “If anyone decides to come back again, I imagine there’ll always be things which go a little differently from night to night. I’m planning on tightening up a couple of things I felt may have been a little slow last year and seeing if I can improve anything of course, but it’s essentially the same show. Certainly if anyone saw it last year and is coming back, they should realise it’s the same show.”

With 42 dates on his tour it must be difficult to relax. Derren seems quite fidgety in the interview and likes to constantly be on the go. We asked him what he does to relax in between his shows. “I tend to get bored and fidgety, wanting to get back on the road to do the next one. I love doing it so much more than the TV. The buzz of a real audience, and knowing that you’re giving them a good show, make it hugely enjoyable. But I su