Have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, whether you’re Irish or not.

There’s some Irish in my background, on my paternal grandmother’s side, apparently, so I usually celebrate.

I also think it’s a lucky day. I’m interested in the meaning of numbers too, and if you add the numbers: 1+7=8. Eight is a money number and it is an eternal number. Apparently the Irish folk are lucky, the number is lucky, so you just never know. Today your luck could change!

Here’s a couple of Irish blessings for you:

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

and…

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Enjoy!

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One of the things I’ve noticed about society in general is that most people are always striving. It seems we’re always trying to get to some point in our lives when everything will be perfect in our minds. We find ourselves thinking stuff like, “Once I do this, this will happen.” Substitute “this” for any pursuit or goal, and imagine the number of things we all strive for.

I think it’s exhausting when you have to constantly strive to get to some point in your life., and I believe some people refuse to admit they are tired. Constant hard work striving for some purpose, exhilarates them, they say. But you can see from the dark circles around their eyes that they are tired – often too tired to enjoy the fruits of their labour. And that’s a shame, because life is precious.

I’ve discovered that I’m so much happier when I stop to live for the moment, and I cease trying to control every little detail of my life. It’s like the Universe understands how tired I get and if I just say to myself, you know what, just for today I’m going to play, and then something lucky happens like an old client comes back and wants more work done, or money appears out of the blue in various ways. I giggle girlishly when things like that happen, because I know the more I let go, the more ease comes into my life.

I know what works for one person, may not work for another. That’s what makes us so special, we humans, and so interesting. I just know, for me, I’ve started to live more for the moment, being very grateful for what I have, and because of that one little change, miracles are starting to happen more frequently, giving me even more reasons to be thankful.

Life shouldn’t be a constant struggle, or endless striving to get from point A to point B. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Have a great day, enjoy the video of the Grass Roots and the wise counsel in their song “Let’s Live For Today”!

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I’m very surprised at how many people are unwilling to spend money on what is considered a proper online presence. Purchasing a domain name is an investment and so is paying for web hosting. Domain name registration costs anywhere from $2 and up per year depending on the domain extension you want, and hosting can cost as little as $5 a month for a starter hosting package, a small price to pay for a lot more creative freedom, as well as the possibility of being able to sell that domain for substantially more in the future.

By acquiring your own domain and web hosting, you have the freedom to do just about anything you want on your website, such as installing scripts or other applications, that give your site the functionality you require. Relying on third-party sites for your online presence is not recommended, because you are then subject to their terms. Very often on sites such as WordPress.com, you aren’t even supposed to promote your business directly and you could even end up being banned. Third party sites can change their terms of use at any time and then all your work could get deleted at their whim. It has happened, usually for a good reason, but still, why even risk it?

It is so easy these days to get free information on how to choose a good domain name, a good hosting company, and even how to install and configure your own self-hosted WordPress blog. And WordPress is just one option. There are many free site-builders available and most hosting packages include a free site-builder. If you want a robust content management system or an ecommerce site, most hosting packages come with a script library called Fantastico or Softaculous which include applications such as Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, Coppermine Gallery, ZenCart, and a whole lot more.

It’s fine to create a presence on a third-party site as long as you still have your own domain, your main site. In fact, I recommend you create many online presences that all link back to your main site giving you lots of exposure and back-links. The more exposure you get, the more likely you are to earn an income from your website, if that is what your intention is.

Finally, if you want to be taken seriously, choose and register a good domain name, preferably one that is keyword-rich, and secure a web hosting account. You don’t have to spend a fortune on web designers or programmers, unless you want a complicated custom site. Remember, it’s the content of your website that is much more important than the bling.

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