The Lady Hooligan’s Page

East Library, Rustenburg

“My” library opened officially on the 1^st of September 2009. Unfortunately, I only have enough stock in place to warrant a reading room (for the moment, anyway!), but I do have some reference material to help the kids with their school projects, so that prompted the authorities to open the doors.

Anyway, I feel right back at home in that community. The old ladies haven’t all noticed that I’m back in business (which is a relief, I must say!) but all the neighbours have popped in to say hello and some old friends drop in from time to time, to check up on me and my progress! I’m friendly to the teams who pick up rubbish on the sidewalk around my place, and to the parks people. I greet the lady who watches over my car at the corner store and she tells me about her day. She doesn’t complain - so she gets a big smile along with her tip!

Yes, the East of Rustenburg is full of really “common” people. Those who lay rubber on the tar on weekends and drink themselves into enough courage to beat their wives. There are, however, also lots of genuine people who would go out of their way to help you without expecting anything in return. OK, but then they also trust that you would pay that kindness forward, and in the end, it would come back to them in some form or another, so that’s not a bad deal at all!

And I even know that the books in my library would all be treated as sacred texts, as the previous collection was! That’s just the way these people are.

So yes, I really, really look forward to going to work each morning. That alone is worth millions!

Part of my networking business involves reading personal development books, and listening to CD’s of success stories and teaching. Not all the books and CD’s have something to do with the business itself, but a lot of the knowledge can be applied in day to day life as well. Frankly, if I never make a cent out of the business (I actually DO make money out of it, by the way!), I would stay in it for the people and the personal development.

The book of the month for June 2009 here in the South African market is One Door, Two Locks by Dr. Jim Muncy. It’s all about the mindset one needs to achieve success. He says that there are two locks to open the door to success to anything in life. The one is specific skills needed for the area in which one wants to achieve (eg. Sales skills for a salesperson, medical knowledge for a doctor), but that without the general skills one needs to be successful ANYWAY (no matter where!) you won’t achieve success, just gain a lot of skill….

I’ve just read the chapter on the first key for the “success” lock. It’s about discernment. Our lives are ultimately a product of the way we think. Therefore, if we constantly surround ourselves with negative thoughts and negative thinkers, we’ll start thinking those same thoughts eventually, and we’ll develop those same lives. Seriously scary.

My action plan for the week is to catch my thoughts as I think them, judge them and weed out the ones that will ultimately cause myself harm. If that means that I make a point of avoiding those who always complain about everything, then that will be it! It might mean that I take my earphones to work, and listen to uplifting music or talks during the day, instead of complaints about family members and co-workers. At the same time, I want to be a positive influence on the people around me, being as low-maintenance as I can possibly be.

How, then?

• I am going to smile! I don’t like being around frowny-faces and I am going to assume that that goes for most other people. So to be attractive, I’d better exchange my frowny face for a smiley one!
• I am going to be part of the solution, even if I have a problem!
• I am going to think positive thoughts about negative people. After all, thinking negatively about them will only mess up MY life…
• I am going to think positive thoughts about my goals and dreams and set action plans to achieve those possibilities. I am not going to be swayed by people who drag me down for no other reason than to feel better about themselves and their lives.
• I am going to celebrate my life more often. I am going to focus on what I do right and on what I am passionate about and do more of that!

I am going to do this for at least a week and see how these actions and thought processes have impacted my life and those of people around me. I am going to re-read the chapter on discernment a few times this week, until it becomes part of the fabric that makes up me!

Next week: Optimism!

For a long time, I thought my dream was to be able to live in my own space… to “do what [I] wanna do, say what [I] wanna say, live how [I] wanna live, play how [I] wanna play”. (Like the Addams Family!) However, I have realised in the past few days (me being alone isn’t what it’s cracked up to be!) that there are other dreams in my heart and mind that I would rather be following.

I have been given the chance to go back to the East End library, where I started my library career, to oversee the reopening and the first few months of operation. It’s not going to be easy - it’s an extremely demanding community to work in! However, I guess I have found my sweet spot there many years ago, and it’s time to act on it!

The Rustenburg library system forms part of the Directorate Community Development in the local municipal system. However, I see precious little being done in terms of really developing communities around the city. A large part of the population is poor and badly educated, which means that the so-called Digital Divide will affect them the worst. If one adds a whole range of social problems onto that, it’s a recipe for disaster!

What I’d love to see happening, is for that little library (it’s really, really small!) to be part of a “hand up” for the community, giving them the tools to empower themselves, be it resources for school work, a safe place for studying and even a healthy environment for personal growth and development.

As far as I’m concerned, one cannot develop a community if one doesn’t empower individuals. It’s both that simple and that difficult.

So that’s the biggest reason for me going back to the books. I want to be a librarian where one is needed most. Not in the ivory towers, but in the communities themselves, making a REAL difference!