Get Motivated

How I ended up working in the States and most importantly, why…

(Feel free to skip this, but please read the quotes below.)

Near the beginning of my nursing career, I heard news of a friend of a friend who had just moved to the USA for a great nursing job. It was something I had thought about all through nursing school. I got the name of her recruiter, called her and obtained some info for myself. It all sounded very interesting, exciting and it was something I would love to do at some point. I had no clear idea in my head of when that point would be. Well, that recruiter kept calling me and calling me. Hounding me at points! Finally she asked “When would you like me to call you back?” I told her “6 months” to get her off my back. That same recruiter called me 6 months later and asked ”Are you ready to go somewhere yet?” I had just finished working nights and was a little annoyed that she had just woke me up and replied “No, call me in 6 months”. I hung up the phone and tried to get back to sleep. That wasn’t going to happen. A few minutes later it just came to me...Why not ‘now’?!? I picked up the phone called that recruiter (Francine), and was off to Albuquerque New Mexico 3 weeks later. It was the best thing I had done in my life up to that point. (I have a husband and kids now, so that trumps everything.) I owe a lot to Francine, for being SO annoying and SO persistent (good recruiter). She recognized something in me that told her one day I would say to myself, “why not now?” I intended to go for 3 months. I even kept my apartment in Toronto, knowing I would be back and as a sort of safety net. I was making more than enough in the USA to support 2 apartments. I kept my Toronto apartment for the first 8 months of my jaunt, but soon realized I wouldn’t really be needing it anytime soon. Well it took me 5 years to make it back to Canada!! I am Canadian, Canada is my home and I always knew I would be back. Also, my husband is Canadian and he was living in Canada and we wanted to start a family.

Working and living in the USA for those years was a great experience in so many ways. It made me a much better nurse, I saw some great parts of the USA, made some amazing new friends, learned about a different culture (Americans are very similar to Canadians yet very different) and I made a lot of money to boot. So…...now that I am finished my little story, my quote is:

“Why not now?!?” - Amanda Wilkinson RN, President and Founder of Canadian Travel Nurses

" Amazing journeys begin with a simple decision to go." Brunow

“Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile...initially scared me to death.” - Betty Bender

“All of our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." John F. Kennedy

“Just Do It” - Nike

“I am convinced that one of the biggest factors in success is the courage to undertake something” - James A. Worsham

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.” - Buckminster Fuller

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” - Douglas Everett

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” - Seneca

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar” - Mary Bryant

“People with goals succeed because they know where they're going.” - Earl Nightinggale

“Opportunity dances with those who are ready on the dance floor."- H. Jackson Brown Jr.,

“I wanted to feel scared again...I wanted to feel unsure again. That’s the only way I learn, the only way I feel challenged.” - Connie Chung

“ Today's Affirmation When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” - John F. Kennedy

“We can only do the best we can with what we have. That, after all, is the measure of success.” - Marguerite de Angeli, English author and illustrator, from The Door in the Wall

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” - Winston Churchill

“Every exit is an entry somewhere else.” - Tom Stoppard

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”- Peter Marshall

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” - Andre Gide

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” - Leo Buscaglia

“Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), Fireside Chat, 23 Feb 1942

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.” - Les Brown

“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X

“Fear only inhibits growth"-Monster