What Does Success Look Like to You?

For me, success is when I have been of service to someone in a meaningful way. Sometimes it’s helping create a profound transformation. Other times it’s simply bringing a moment—or several moments—of joy into someone’s life.

Before I started Inner Harmony, I worked as an IT manager. I had successful projects, promotions, a wonderful staff, and opportunities to learn and grow. I felt intellectually stimulated and challenged. Yet the moments that felt most successful weren’t the promotions or accomplishments.

The real success came when someone told me that a new computer program made their life easier, or when a food-choice system we implemented brightened a patient’s day because they could choose what they wanted for their meals. Those were the moments when I felt I had truly made a difference. Those were the moments that brought joy.

As the company evolved into a more profit-driven organization, opportunities to experience that kind of heartfelt success became fewer and farther between.

There were many reasons I started my own feng shui consulting business. Partly, I was weary of the corporate world’s backstabbing, profit-grabbing ways. But I also knew, deep in my soul, that I wanted to do work that created a tangible impact on people’s lives. I wanted to help people reconnect with the joy they were craving.

Most clients didn’t call it “joy.” They came seeking career advancement, a soulmate, improved family relationships, or greater harmony in their homes. And while feng shui works through both practical and mysterious pathways, the results can be profound.

Over the years, I’ve had clients thank me for helping them land their dream job and move halfway across the world. I’ve worked with clients who went from having no dating prospects to enjoying an active social life within months. I’ve even had clients who credited me with helping them find each other and eventually marry.

Each of those outcomes was a success—not because of the achievement itself, but because of the happiness and fulfillment it brought into their lives. Their joy became my joy. And that is the sweetest kind of success.

One of my favorite feng shui success stories came from a consultation that was surprisingly simple.

A woman who had recently gone through a divorce was rebuilding her life. She had moved into a smaller home. Her furniture and treasured belongings were there, but everything had landed where it fit rather than where it belonged. The rooms felt crowded and disconnected. Furniture blocked pathways, and cherished objects sat in clusters on shelves and floors.

When she showed me around her home, she was in tears.

She told me she wanted her space to feel calm, peaceful, and uplifting. She was exhausted and overwhelmed.

As I walked through the house, I could immediately see how a few thoughtful changes could transform the energy. Better flow. More light. A sense of purpose and beauty. Honoring the belongings she loved rather than allowing them to disappear into visual chaos.

I offered to spend the next hour simply rearranging things for her, if she was comfortable with that. She was thrilled.

She needed to return to work, so she went into her home office while I quietly got to work.

I began with feng shui basics: creating command position where possible, so seating had the support of a wall behind it and a view of the room’s entrance. I arranged furniture to encourage connection and conversation. Guided by the Bagua, I hung some of her artwork and highlighted her favorite treasures on shelves where they could be appreciated.

Some items went back into moving boxes temporarily, reducing the visual clutter and allowing the room to breathe.

Then I opened the curtains and windows wide, inviting sunlight and fresh air to flow through the home.

I found a plant mister and created a simple space-clearing ritual, charging the water with prayer and intention. Holding the energy of peace in my heart, I gently misted each room.

With pillows arranged, rugs straightened, and a cozy chair staged beside the window with a cup waiting for tea, the space felt complete. I put on a soft jazz CD I found nearby and invited her to come out and see her home.

Like one of those reveals on HGTV, she stepped out of her office, stopped in her tracks, and whispered, “This is not my house.”

Her eyes moved slowly around the room.

“This is so beautiful,” she said. “This is so peaceful.”

She walked from room to room, taking it all in. Finally, she sat in the chair by the window, tears streaming down her face.

Happy tears.

In that moment, my own heart filled with joy.

That was success.

And it’s one of the many reasons I love what I do.

If you’d like to create a different feeling in your own space, it may only take a few simple adjustments to help you fall in love with your home again:

1. Release—or temporarily remove—anything that doesn’t bring you an immediate sense of joy.
2. Open the curtains and windows. Invite natural light and fresh air to nourish the energy of your home.
3. Arrange your favorite chair so that you have a wall supporting your back and a clear view of the entrance to the room. This simple shift often creates a deeper sense of security, comfort, and peace.

For in the end, perhaps success is not measured by what we achieve, but by how much joy we help bring into the world—beginning right at home.

Join me for this all online program beginning in August! 

https://luanncibik.com/event/medicine-wheel-feng-shui-certification/

“Can Soul Coaching® bring me happiness?” That’s a question I am asked by clients. I originally trained as a Soul Coaching® practitioner after working as an Interior Alignment® practitioner. Those clients would call for a feng shui consultation, with the goals of wishes of better job, better relationship, more money…. What was interesting is that when those things manifested, they were still not ‘happy’.

AI defines Happiness a “subjective state of well-being, combining fleeting moments of joy, lasting contentment and sense of purpose in life.”  Hmmm.. no mention of money, romance or success. In fact, all of the feelings of joy, contentment and purpose, come from the inside, not the external. External accomplishments and successes can bring us joyful moments, but are not truly the key to happiness!

In Soul Coaching® we look at how to support our clients in hearing their own Soul’s Truth. What were you born to do? What are your own personal values and are you living according to them? How can you release core beliefs that might be limiting or restricting you from …. Happiness?

When we look at these things, and use many of our methods, such as vision boards, spirit sticks, timelines, etc., our clients can discover or re-discover those moments of joy, ways to incorporate contentment into their day, and ignite habits into their life that give back a sense of purpose. We work with the four elements of Air, Water, Fire and Earth, to clear blockages that are mental, emotional, spiritual and physical.  Sometimes a client just needs one session for clarity, and other times it’s far more beneficial to have a series of coaching sessions, to take things slowly, layer by layer. Denise Linn devised Soul Coaching® originally as a 28 day program, and there are Soul Coaching® Practitioners who also work with people over 28 weeks, to allow this process to happen slowly, gradually and meaningfully.  In my current Soul Coaching® group program, there are many beautiful souls who somehow, within the timing of this group, big things are shifting in their lives. Opportunities opening, or personal release and growth occurring.

Can Soul Coaching® bring you happiness? I can tell you that when I took the program to become a practitioner, I felt I was a pretty happy person, with the usual grumps and groans about life. But in this training, and experiencing the program, I uncovered personal values, and core beliefs that had put me in box of feeling like I needed to be the martyr; That I needed to be the one to do things because no one else could or would do it. That I had no choices about situations that were causing me angst. The amazing thing was, I didn’t need to shift my life hugely on the outside… I just needed to shift my own self talk and personal scheduling to feel empowered, not a victim. The side effect… no more emotional overeating, and I lost 30 pounds.

Is it time for you to consider Soul Coaching®?  You can contact one of the amazing coaches in the Linn Academy, or maybe even consider stepping into the practitioner certification program with one of the amazing Trainers with classes this year!

This is your year for Happiness. The Blue Bird says so!

I’m delighted to be holding this all LIVE ONLINE practitioner certification program with the amazing Meadow Linn! Our program starts April 18th, with the Early Registration discount ending March 15th!

You can learn more by clicking here!

Hey My Beautiful Friend!

When you hear the word miracle, we think something instantaneous, pyrotechnic and beyond human abilities. Yet, I believe that the Divine acts through people, animals, and acts of nature, in order to create the miracles in your life, even if they are not the glittering ones, you might have imagined.

I wanted to share a miracle with you that just happened. It might not feel like a miracle to you, but it does to me. Let me set the stage….

My little fur baby, a 4-pound Pomeranian named Breezy, in September was having more and more health challenges. She was 19, turning 20 in January, and daily, more medical issues were happening. I had hoped like all the other health issues we had faced over the years (congestive heart failure, arthritis, Kidney disease, just to name a few), that the new symptoms of dementia, blindness, and ever increasing mobility issues where ones we could solve. I treated each day as precious. And I was asking for miracles. I asked my vets the week before Thanksgiving what kind of last ditch effort we could make to keep her going through Thanksgiving, since I was having the family here, and wanted it to be a joyful time. Dr. Sheree gave fluids and a B12 shot. And in a miracle kind of way Breezy was perkier and happier than in the previous month! My mom was here and we celebrated her 93 birthday on Thanksgiving as well (as it was happening the following Sunday). It was a joyful day… the one I had asked for.

The day after Thanksgiving, the miracle seemingly ended. My mom fell in her driveway while getting the paper, and fractured her pelvis and 2 ribs…..  The following weeks, she was in the ER, hospital admission, skilled nursing, and then a different skilled nursing home. My days were filled with driving to these facilities, visiting, participating in therapy and overseeing those details that can get forgotten in those places. My little doggie also was declining. The magic of the B2 wore off. I spent nights just holding her up so that she could eat or drink. I prayed for another miracle, and took her for another B12 shot the week before Christmas. I was bringing my mom to my house before Christmas so she could recover in a more relaxing environment. I envisioned the sweet energy of healing love for us all for Christmas.

On Christmas eve morning, I sat and watched my mom hold my little Breezy, and the two of them snuggled together. My Miracle.  Then the visiting nurse arrived for her assessment. It turned out mom’s heart rate was low… way too low. As the nurse was leaving, the she said she had to report this. While we waited for the next step,  I fed Breezy one of her favorite meals, and she ate it happily and then laid down for a nice snooze. I got the call from the nurse that then really shifted the day out of miracle mode… I needed to take mom to the ER to have her heart evaluated.

Mom was admitted to the hospital for low heart rate and high BP. She was going to have to spend Christmas in the hospital after all. When I got home that evening, I hugged Breezy, and gave her her evening meds, and then went to bed exhausted. At 2am Breezy cried out, which was not unusual, it happened when she would not be able to get herself up. But this time was different. I got her up, and her legs would not hold her. I tried to sooth her with all the normal things… drinks, foods… but she would cry and yelp again in a few minutes. As I held her, I realized, this was the moment that I had prolonged. She was ready to go. But it was Christmas. What would I do?

Over 19 years, I had become very connected to folks at my vets office, and my current vet for Breezy, Dr Sheree, loved her so much that she and I would text about how she was doing or I would share pictures of her outfit of the day. I was under orders that is anything out of the ordinary would happen, to message her. But on Christmas Day?  I decided I would, and my amazing vet offered to come into the office that day to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge. Dr Sheree was kind, caring and beyond loving to my little girl.  Is that a miracle? Yes… a strange one. But the one that allows my little fluff to no longer be limited by her aging body.  She was free. I was shattered…. But also, the weight of caring for her and worrying constantly about her was now gone.

When we got back home, I pulled myself together and went to the hospital to visit my mom. It turns out, the combination of meds used at the skilled nursing home were to blame for the low heart rate and not managing her BP. There was talk of a pacemaker, but that proved to not be necessary. On December 28^th they sent her back home with me, where she has been able to relax, sleep, eat favorite foods, and recover. Is this a miracle? At 93, it could have been deadly if the visiting nurse had not insisted that we go to the ER.

You might be thinking, LuAnn, why are you telling us this long sad story as a ‘miracle’?

Because sometimes the miracle you want or design in your mind that you are praying for is really not the one that is best for all long term. I had my Thanksgiving miracle, and then bonus times after that. But the way things worked out, I was able to be fully present for my little dog passing, and know that my mom was being cared for in the hospital. And, I can devote more energy to mom’s recovery now.

If you feel you need a miracle, know that something in your life might also have to end. It might not be as dramatic as this. But if you are not willing to change anything, how can the miracle fit into your life?

Endings mean something else is beginning.  Night ends with the dawn of a new day. You might be in the midst of a miracle right now, and it doesn’t feel like it because you cannot see the whole picture yet.

Think of what you can release from your life right now… to allow new opportunities and miracles to blossom.

Here are to miracles for us all in 2026!