The financial struggles that many Bahamians faced in 2010 make us want to get on with 2011 and pretend that 2010 didn't happen; was it all a bad dream?
For some, we can't imagine it getting much worse so we are anxious to move ahead into new prospects. For others of us, we are happy to have survived the challenges of 2010 and have used these trying times to find creative ways to sustain and streamline our businesses.
But, like most things, we can choose to focus on the negative past and present (BTC union woes, Grand Bahama's uncertainties, high crime rates, low employment, high utility costs, crushing debt) or we can look upward and onward for our future opportunities.
We can choose to learn from our own mistakes, choose to make our own futures rather then expecting the Government or some foreign investor to create them for us, and we can choose to get more aggressive about seeking and seizing the income-earning leads that come our way.
For those of us with solid employment (even if it is not everything we would like to have), we must focus on our assigned responsibilities and avoid anything that might jeopardise that employment. Whether we are entirely happy is irrelevant; we must maintain an income that can sustain our living expenses until we can find something else.
Is there a brighter future ahead? Certainly there are indicators that can give us a sense of optimism. There are new major investments and developments that can create opportunities for thousands. The Baha Mar project on Cable Beach, New Providence, has already provided Bahamians with monumental benefits. The new national stadium will create many positive spin-offs, such as concessions and maintenance, that Bahamians may benefit from.
With that said, let us not sit by waiting for some mega-resort or multi-million dollar development to solve our problems. Let us all engage our creativity, ingenuity and our resolve to determine our own future.
