The author of the article was correct when writing that the money is/was good in Alberta, and the example of Anne Marie's salary was an excellent example. It's amazing how much one can make, or could make, as the Alberta 12 cylinder, four-barreled economic engine is not firing on all cylinders these days. Still, there are many people continually working out there, and going back and forth. This is going to continue for a long time to come. NL's coffers will have large deposits in years ahead, but there is no miracle going to happen for most outports, which have been steadily dwindling in population certainly since the early 1990's.
For towns and communities on the outskirts of St. John's, there are tangible signs of prosperity. Many new and generously spacious homes are going up on the tip of the eastern Avalon. Maddox Cove, just 10-15 minutes from town, has a new subdivision underway. This is a small community that used to depend on the fishery for much of it's existence. It is somewhat unusual to see a batch of new homes being built in such a small, (and pretty) place.
Oil, nickel, and other ores are mega resource industries, but one should not wait for it to happen around them. You are indeed your own best resource. We probably know ourselves best and cannot rely on others to determine how best to use our own specific talents, skills and creativity. Seek ways to make the best use of your personal abilities.
Singer Bette Midler said to "cherish forever what makes you unique". That's so true and it needs to be emphasized more than ever in a place where there has been great reliance on resource based industries.
Some words of advice on becoming successful, and independent are always a useful and handy motivator for anyone wondering what the future holds. Here are a few words of wisdom for people anywhere, any age, to consider:
Studies indicate that the one quality all successful people have is persistence. They’re willing to spend more time accomplishing a task and to persevere in the face of many difficult odds. There’s a very positive relationship between people’s ability to accomplish any task and the time they’re willing to spend on it.
Dr. Joyce
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can somehow become great
Mark Twain
Time is the coin of life. Only you can determine how it will be spent.
Carl Sandburg"
For better or worse, you must play your own instrument in the orchestra of life.
Dale Carnegie
