I'm a guide around a museum in England, a house built in 1480-1596, Tudor World. A few weeks ago I arrived early, for no particular reason. I'd tried a coffee in one of Stratford upon Avon's many cafes but found the queue too long. A lady came into the museum, a visitor from Germany. She was interested in history so I offered to take her around as a treat. It's not a regular event. At the end of the tour she complimented me on my delivery, and told me that she was a professional tour guide in Germany. She was in England with her daughter who was more interested in shopping. She walked past Tudor World and decided to spend some time in a building. That decision led to an invite for me to visit her in Germany, as a guest on her tours. Life can be that crazy, that is if you are open to it. No planning. And, no obstructions to seeing a new adventure.

The lifeblood of existence. I remember that, from a very early age, I loved water-not so much drinking it- or swimming on top of it, as watching it, and later, sailing on it and, for a short time, swimming under the surface. In my pre-teens, there was a brook, bigger than a stream but smaller than a river. I often sat on the bank above the brook, watching it flow past me and wondering where it ended. I watched debris float past and wondered about its story. Where did it come from? Where will it end? What will be its journey? I knew about the water cycle: rain, rivers, the seas, and condensation lifting the water back into the air. But I was much more interested in the physical journey—a leaf, a twig, a rat that swam past once. My imagination climbed aboard each one of them and imagined the journey. On land, I had a fear of the night. The darkness hid a man determined to do me harm at the end of every street. In the water, I swam in absolute zero visibility, not knowing the depth of the water or what lurked under me...But I felt safe. Perhaps the silence and stillness below the surface meant I wanted a rest from my sporting life, where movement was always necessary. I was always aware of my breathing underwater. NOTE: I have always desired a death or a burial at sea. I have always been aware of water, allowing me to relax, yet also to destroy the earth and even the rocks it runs through and around. Psychologically, I am aware now of the toxins carried by water, and the toxins we carry in our bodies. Toxins that cause swelling of the cells, causing headaches, sickness, and cramps. Or drought, which brings on depression, lack of vitality, and, like all things deprived of water, arthritis. The bones are twisted and dry, just as plants wither, and the branches of trees curl and twist. When the water lacks energy or movement, it stagnates. If it has too much energy, it destroys its surroundings. When water is provided in the right amount, with the necessary speed to flow smoothly, the water cycle takes care of itself.

We have covered two of the Elements: Fire being the spark of life, and Earth providing the support and stability for life and business to grow. Now, I am introducing the third element: Air: The oxygen of a business. In life, it is associated with the 'Lungs'. The Third element in the Five Elements of Business…and Life is Metal. And, for obvious reasons, it is particularly associated with the business world, in my opinion. But first, let’s explore the 5 Element connection of Metal to the body. It is primarily associated with the Lungs. The transformation of oxygen into carbon dioxide and life. The very word transformation is central to the work. Life and business are about transformation. The ages of human development from birth to death. The transformations within that span of years from infant to school, to teenager, and adult, from student to elder. According to 5 Element Theory, Metal is associated with the ‘Father’, in the sense of being a guide through life until we become adults ourselves. It’s associated with the values a father passes on to his children, the dignity that comes from being a teacher, the encouragement a father gives to his children and the sense of self worth involved within the family. That’s Life: What about business? The father figure is the Boss. The authority figure and the one who sets the standards for the business. (NOTE 1: I say the one, not the man). But in terms of the Metal element, it is the father of the company, whatever the sex. In the end, it is the one dealing, we might say, with the currency of the business. My experience of Metal has been very mixed. While my association with the Earth (my mother) was not the best, it was by no means the worst. And my time with my maternal grandmother shaped much of my early youth; my relationship with my father was Gold. He inspired me; tutored me in sport and hard work, encouraged me so that despite being small, and, for my height, heavy, I overcame bullying and being the underdog, to achieve some real victories for a working class boy. Traits I believe I took into my working life, whatever the task was, or is now.

EARTH You will rarely see good Fire raging in the desert or in a swamp. It needs solid ground. It needs support. A fire built on solid ground allows people to be drawn safely. The FIRE needs to be built as a solid structure so that it can support the weight of the wood rising above it. A catastrophe is the fire collapsing onto the crowd. The same is true of life. A solid Earth supports us. Let’s face it, one of the worst disasters we can face is an Earthquake and all the traumatic events that follow it. In fact, when all else fails (and I know this personally), the Earth will still support you, allowing you to lie down and sleep. Earth still, for the moment, provides our food; it channels our rivers, and provides our minerals. Earth provides the scenery that makes the planet the beautiful place it is. In storytelling, the speaker needs a strong physical and emotional Earth; try delivering a presentation with the stage shaking in an earthquake, and try to be entertaining when your energy has gone, when the FIRE has died, when you are physically and emotionally hungry. Storytellers know that the essence of Earth is that of our Mother (Yes, Mother Earth), and we know that in the early times stories were told using Earth, the rock paintings, the stories told while the people sat on the earth, even the Nazca Lines in Peru. But what are the psychological aspects of Mother Earth, business, and storytelling? We associate the Mother with providing security and nourishment, cooperation and nurturing. In business, as leaders, these are the elements of a good working relationship. In storytelling, we are feeding the mind; we are taking a story and planting a seed in the audience's psyche that will initiate a response. The mind turns it over, digests it and then extracts the emotional outcome the storyteller has planted. It’s harvest time. In life, mothering is damned hard work, as it is in business. Strength is needed to overcome physical and emotional challenges. It’s the same in business as many of us have found out. I remember writing in my twenties after being single for seven years, and looking after myself, that ‘If there is a second life, I ain’t coming back as a woman.) The same is true in storytelling.

I wonder how many of the people who read my articles have heard of the Five Elements of Speaking? I’d like to know, because I wrote them, and it's about time I got them out there. As a shiatsu therapist, I worked with Chinese medicine, which uses the Five Elements of Health. I wondered if these five elements could be applied to other businesses? Can it be applied in your business? I believe they can. The First Element of Speaking is Fire. How many times have you seen a boss, a speaker, who's fired up? Who’s really buzzing, emitting energy, and naturally attracting people to them, just as fire attracts people to its flame. “They’re on fire”. Who hasn’t heard that said before? You see, it was Fire that started the universe. The Big Bang. It started everything. It's the idea, the emotion generated by enthusiasm. We’ve all the theme of your speech; that's your fire. It’s the way you introduce yourself to the audience. Fire in the belly can inspire people to fight, to achieve, and change other people’s lives. But Fire needs the elements around it in order to draw the crowds safely. Storytellers need FIRE. Physical fire is great when the storytelling takes place outdoors; inside, they have to create the fire by marketing, the location and their opening. They need the audience to gather, move closer and feel comfortable enough to listen. The storyteller, the artist, brings laughter, song, and silence. Our heartbeat is raised; we feel hot; there is passion, and the circulation/persperation improve. We love being with people. Nature tells us that FIRE is associated with maturity, laughter, the colour red, and sex. FIRE is used to bring a spiritual nature to an event; pagans, christians, muslims, jews, buddhists, bedouin, you name the culture, fire sits at its heart. And many of them ‘worship’ the Sun. Religion, of course, is heavily involved with FIRE as a symbol of judgement, purification and power. Many references to “Burning bushes”, “pillars of fire”, “tongues of fire”, spirits and of course, Hell. Most other spiritual practices have Fire at the centre of their faith.