For 26 years, I worked for a major corporation in Toronto, Ontario. While I had a wonderful career working with some great people, for the last five

years of that career I found myself wanting a change. However, my financial circumstances did not allow me to leave my job.

But, I had my goals — to own our own small business, to live in the country, basically to change our lifestyle. But, of course, I faced challenges in achieving these goals. I can’t tell you how many times I felt frustrated. I felt like I was going further away from my goals rather than moving towards them.

Our original goal to change our lifestyle was based on a two-year plan. Without going into the detail of the setbacks, that two-year plan turned into a reality taking five years. So how did we survive those three years of setbacks?

• We never lost focus on our goals. Even though the time frame changed, we kept taking the actions shown in our plan.

• On my desk in my office, a place that I did not want to be, I kept a quote that I would read every day - “Enjoy where you are at, while you are waiting to get to where you want to be!”— That quote reminded me to stay positive, not to become depressed about my situation. My goals, even with the setbacks, gave me hope and determination.

• I would often visualize what it would be like if I was living my goals rather than working towards them. With every positive mental picture, it reinforced that my goals could be a reality.

Finally, five years later, our goal became a reality. We quit our jobs in Toronto, we bought a house in

the country, and we moved to Clairville, NB. And,

we started our small business.