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11 Thursday , O ctober 21, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m idea. It was at a time when there was an exodus of white people from the nation shortly after apartheid ended. The government had a clampdown and people could only take the equiva- lent of 5,000 Rand with them about several hundred Canadian dollars. During a stopover in London, Dickinson was staring out the hotel window and her father asked her what she was looking at. She told him that she looked at nothing and was looking forward to arriving in Canada. My dad got down and knelt beside me and he said, Arlene, I want you to take another look out that window and this time I want you to see London. You are on a journey. Quit thinking about where youre headed and think about what you are doing right now. This is exciting, this is really interest- ing and you may never see this place again. He turned me around and made me look out that window. She said life is a journey, not a des- tination. It was that lesson my father gave me at that moment in time that embedded in my mind what the jour- ney is all about. And I will never forget the image of London in my head at that age and really seeing it for the first time. The family landed in Halifax in February. Her father bought an old clunker of a car and the family of five set out in the car to Edmonton. Despite the various trials and tribula- tions along the way, the family reached Calgary, still not at its destina- tion when the car finally gave up. Her father went into a dealership to see if he could trade in the car for one that worked, but he received a negative response from the salesper- son. He returned to the car and told his wife they would need to trade in the only thing they had of value to get another car for the rest of the journey. The only thing of value we had, literally, was my moms engagement ring, Dickinson said. The reason that was important and the reason thats a moment I will never forget is that my mothers engagement ring had a stone that her father, who was a diamond cutter, had cut specifically for her before he passed away. She said the ring was not only of cash value, but also of sentimental value. She said as a child she realized that was a big moment in the familys life and she was witnessing the end of a marriage. I was witnessing sacrifice that I didnt understand until later in life, she added. I thought later in life about the sacrifices my parents had made and I thought entrepreneurs and peo- ple trying to get to this country to do things that are important in this coun- try, we make a lot of sacrifices. Later in life Dickinson left home at 16, married at 19 and divorced at 27 with four children. She worked with various jobs trying to feed her family. I was motivated to be an entrepre- neur because I had to take care of my four kids, she said. She worked in marketing, PR, tele- vision sales and at age 31 an opportu- nity came up for her to join Venture Communications in 1988. However, at the time, the start-up company could not afford to pay her as it had no money. Instead, she was offered a piece of the company. She took the offer without knowing why. For the next two and a half years I worked without taking a salary, she said. It was only after those two years of struggling to feed her family that a break came for the firm. In her career she also witnessed a Canadian army commander motivate his troops on the Afghan front lines by being heartfelt, remembering each soldiers name and looking at them one by one. At the end of the day thats what entrepreneurs need to do most. We need to talk genuinely, heartfelt and considerate of our team. She told the gathering to speak with passion to the individuals they work with and that people should not be ashamed of their past. She also asked the gathering to listen to learn from their mentors. Continued from page 1 Success is built on sacrifice, risk and lots of hard work www.thesundancespastore.com 2000 Appleby Line (Millcroft Shopping Centre) Burlington 905-315-7800 2379 Trafalgar Road (Winners Plaza) Trafalgar Ridge Plaza, Oakville 905-257-5006 *See store for details No Bromine or Salt required withequi SUNDANCE MICROFILTRATION SYSTEM Burlington $80/mo. Hawthorne $93/mo. Denali $75/mo. NO INTEREST NO PAYMENT UNTIL MAY 2010 NO TAX UNTIL OCT. 31, 2010 $145/mo. Optima SAVE EXTRA $1,000 ON DEMO MODEL - 1 ONLYMaxxus $175/mo. SAVE EXTRA $2000 ON DEMO MODEL - 1 ONLY Chelsee $115/mo. SAVE EXTRA $500 ON DEMO MODEL - 1 ONLY ALSO SAVE $$$$ ON IN-STOCK SAUNA UNITS