their grandiose dreams may make one question the sanity of holding on to those dreams. There are also those who come with an ironclad will and determination that no matter how long it takes and how many setbacks they face they would achieve their goals. They may go through years of trial and error or if fortunate, find a legitimate shortcut to reaching the goals they have set for themselves. What are the elements that can help an immigrant, new to the land or not, navigate the Canadian social and economic waters in order to arrive safely at the port of personal and professional prosperity? Even under the best of circumstances, personal initiative is necessary. And if you are banging your head against a brick wall, could it be that you have to redirect your efforts? Do you have a strategy for success or are you just drifting along? A person who just drifts along has not much choice about where he or she ends up. You might have to take a more proactive approach or redirect your energies in order to reap the rewards you deserve.
IDA: Renew Your Commitment to Success
Having talent and confidence is not enough. Even education is not always the answer to the achievement of goals though it can make a person more aware and open up opportunities. Not everyone who has come to the country with a degree or a head full of knowledge has been able to transmute such knowledge into personal success, satisfaction, or happiness. Immigrants who have smelled the sweet fragrance of success in their native land may respond with frustration to what may seem like endless roadblocks in Canada. For some, time, the acquisition of knowledge about their environment and a good plan are what may eventually transform their dreams into reality. No matter what skills an immigrant brings to Canada, it is worth noting that the waters here may be completely different from what one might have known in one’s own country. Canadian society, the Canadian waters may seem calm and benign but never forget that still waters run deep. There are such powerful maelstroms as racism and ageism, all of which can render the unprepared paralyzed. How you respond to these unexpected societal traps can be crucial. Some choose to leave while others choose to stick it out and find ways around the challenges. While we may take inspiration from past successes, we cannot rest on our laurels and let the successes of yesteryear lull us into inaction. New environments call for new initiatives. New challenges call for new reserves of determination. And rather than assuming that we know all that there is to know, sometimes, a little bit of humility, taking the Socratic pose, and learning anew what we might have assumed we knew may help us to make new distinctions and to tackle life with a little less dread and a greater chance for success. The key then to sailing smoothly through the Canadian waters is first to be INFORMED, the first point of the IDA principle. Next is to be able to make definite DECISIONS, and finally, to take ACTION.
Be Informed
In order to become well informed, one has to shed one’s coat of pride. It is true that you may have studied about Canada in primary school and followed news about Canada long before coming into the country. Once in the country, this process should not stop. While it is important to observe, it is also necessary to talk to others. While people from a similar background to yours can give you some insights into their personal experiences, it would be a mistake to assume such a one-sided perspective. For every immigrant who rails at the system and complains about how terrible Canada is, you might find another who seems, at least on the surface, to have found the secret to his own personal success within the very same system that is cutting others off at the knees. Rather than getting stuck within one’s community it may be a good idea to seek ideas from different sources. Some immigrant groups have done quite well because they share critical information with people in their circle, thus saving newcomers years of headache. In seeking information, talk to both those who have had challenges and those who have succeeded. Sometimes they’ll be one and the same. It is probably better though to steer clear of those who see no light at the end of the tunnel. Talk to those who have been able to achieve their goals and find out what they may have done to put their dreams and goals on course in spite of roadblocks. Talk with Canadians from different backgrounds; some will go out of their way to help you.
Collect brochures, newsletters, and other pieces of information, and take the time to read them as they may hold key pieces of information that could fill in for you the puzzles and perplexities of being a new immigrant.
Be Decisive
Some immigrants just go with the flow. They accept whatever life throws at them. In some cases, this works quite well. A series of happy coincidences can land someone where he or she wants to be. But one cannot always count on such coincidences. Is it not better to have a solid plan, albeit one that is flexible enough that it can accommodate any interesting detours? For some, working in a factory is the way to go. If they are fortunate enough to land a job in the field of their choice then all that is left is working as hard as they can and advancing through the ranks. But how far can you go on that route? For others, self-employment is the key. In this regard, the range of possibilities is immense. While some are able to transmute business skills into success in Canada, for others, it is necessary to continue the process of learning. Such knowledge can be acquired not only from the Internet but also from books, community colleges, and various government agencies. For still others, however, the best strategy may be committing to an academic path.
Part II of this book provides some tried and tested strategies that can help you succeed in your academic career. More than that the skills presented will help you develop critical thinking skills, which can be beneficial in the world outside of academia. Make it a point to read and reread Part II with a highlighter in hand.
Now, if one makes it one’s goal to be truly well informed it is possible to acquire information to no end. In life we are presented with an array of choices, some good, others bad. We continually have to decide what to do with the plethora of choices we face. And not making a decision also constitutes a decision. It is only by taking the time to reflect on one’s needs that one can make the proper decisions in life. If we come to the decision to do something with our lives, we are energized to direct our activities and to take the necessary steps that would take us inexorably to that end. But we have to decide. Is going to school the best decision we can take now? Or is it better to work for a few years and save some money before taking that step? And if going to school is the goal, which type of school do we want to attend? Can we afford to go back and forth to school? Or are we better off taking a correspondence course? At some point, and the sooner the better, after gathering information, we need to decide what to do with our lives. If we have been well informed it is possible that the direction we take may differ from what we might have considered before coming to Canada. It is also possible that the information we glean from our research would confirm the wisdom of our original plan. Making our decision on a foundation of information rather than whim would make us rest easy as we go about doing what it takes to get us where we want to reach in life.
Take Action
Have you ever had the opportunity to watch a boxer in training for a bout? Okay, if boxing is not up your alley, what about a sprinter or for that matter any serious sportsperson. An athlete who is serious about winning understands the necessity for daily practice. The Japanese have a saying: Keizoku wa chikara nari, which translates to: Persistence is power. Action, therefore, need not be a matter for the moment only but one that is continual. Thus, an athlete might wake up every morning long before the sun is up to practice for several hours. This may be fun in itself but it may also be gruelling, raising periodic doubts as to the wisdom of embarking on what may seem like an elusive quest; and yet the determined person presses on, day after day after day, knowing that the payoff would come handsomely on the day of competition. If you have decided to go to school, do you see the goal of achieving your degree or diploma in the same light as the Olympic-bound athlete? And are you willing to press your pants to the chair and study for several hours each day as part of the preparation towards the achievement of your goal?
Or what if you are unemployed and your immediate goal is to get yourself a job. What kinds of actions are you willing to take each day towards
