Memorial Day Commemoration 2008 (Photo credit: davidyuweb)

We call this day Memorial Day because we are meant to remember the people in our lives who have been lost to death.  We deem remembering so important, in fact, that we have set aside a whole day, for thinking of the people in our lives who have crossed the threshold into eternity.  The day seems to be spent, often with family and friends, cooking outdoors, sharing some pre-summer sun, perhaps working in the yard.  All of those things are worth doing and we wish everyone safety and fun in their endeavors, but we wish everyone something else.  If on this day you have a lost someone you are thinking of, we hope that your thoughts will be filled with joy, with memories of all they meant to you, with laughter for all the funny times that life throws our way, with tears for the days you wish you could talk to them just one more time, with contentment for knowing that you have loved someone enough to carry them in your heart always.  XandrePress wishes you a happy and memorable Memorial Day!

Official seal of City of Cleveland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the blogging world, which in reality encompasses the entire world, it has been proven that there are certain subjects that rise above all the rest in the “followers” category.  We seem to love to read about food – making food, eating food, shopping for food, sharing food with friends.  Recipes rise to the top of the “food chain” as it were when it comes to readership.  We are also as a species drawn by words about other species – our pets in other words are perfect fodder for the well read blog.  We are equally enamored by travel and the photographs of such.  If you’ve been anywhere at all and taken pictures of your time there you will have a popular blog.  A trip to Cleveland documented in quirky photos will get more readership than a well informed blog about how to avoid financial crisis, because living a financially sound life just isn’t entertaining enough.  But here is the point.  If you are a financial guru, the people you want to reach, the ones that will truly pursue your wisdom and join your clientele, will seek out your blog.  They will search your key words and find you because they want to, like you, live a financially sound life.  The folks who want a recipe for muffins infused with lavender probably will never give you a second, or even a first look, but that’s okay.  Your goal is to grow your business, not your fan club.

Leonardo da Vinci 043 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There has long been a thinking that says we are born either good at math and sciences, or good at the creative arts, writing, painting, etc.  We have been led to believe that our minds will most likely not be able to embrace both forms of discipline successfully.  Then, just when we have neatly accepted this adage, we are faced with a man from the fifteenth century named Leonardo da Vinci.  He is known for his painting, such famous works as the Mona Lisa, but then again, he is known for his great power of invention, his study and notation of the human body, his practical genius in weaponry and flight. Is he one of the few people ever to possess the ability to nurture both his right and left brain at the same time?  He was known as a loner.  Was his lack of human relationship because he was leaving room for all of his extraordinary thinking and emotion would have muddied the waters?  Or is it that we put ourselves in a box, believing that the reason we struggle with physics is because we are an accomplished musician.  When Bach was at his prime, teaching and composing at the speed most people were breathing, he made the statement that anyone who was willing to work hard and had a good grasp of mathematics could be a composer such as himself.  This was certainly an overstatement, but it makes one wonder if our creative ability is limited by our lack of exploration in math and science, and our analytical abilities are limited by our lack of exposure to the arts.  Leonardo da Vinci was good at almost everything he tried, and he tried almost everything.

Massage in Frankfurt, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Small business suffers from a label that immediately sets limits.  The word small says it all.  The perception is that small means less progressive, less visionary, less profitable, but in reality, small might just mean focused.  The smart small business owner will not allow their smallness to keep them from greatness.  The internet has opened the door to endless possibilities, and your marketing efforts right now should be central to what you invest in your business.  The world is looking for what you do, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Linked-in, to name a few, and if you have an active blog you’ve just doubled your credibility and your draw.  The key is to gain Author Ranking through quality posts that are worth following.  If you are a massage therapist you need to be making your readers aware of the clinically proven health benefits to massage therapy, telling them the latest innovations for pain management and stress relief, connecting with other alternative health care sites that are innovative and responsible, and give your followers something to talk about.  What has massage therapy done for them, what scares them about massage therapy, what helps them the most after a session to maintain their new relaxed posture?  It should be a given, but your first goal needs to be making your sites interesting, followable – which isn’t a word now, but give it a few months and it will be.