Beaufort West is a "one horse town." It has a population of about 45000 people.Merino sheep farming is the main "industry" in the region.Most things are geared around farming.The other source of revenue for the town is the passing traffic.It is a good stop over town for travellors between Cape Town and Johanesburg in the north.Petrol and diesel is big business.As a result Beaufort West has a lot of filling stations.
It was at the Trek service station that I met Geoffrey.He was one of the petrol attendants.In South Africa customers are served at the filling stations.This is unlike most other parts of the world where customers help themselves.The oil is checked,the windscreen washed and the tank filled by the petrol attendants.In Afrikaans,(one of the eleven official languages in SA),they are called "petrol jockeys." It is not the best of jobs.However it helps with unemploment in SA.
You couldn't miss Geoffrey.He is a short portly man with a wide smile,piercing eyes and endless energy.The first time he served me he impressed me deeply with his fantastic attitude.Eventually we became friends.One day I arrived at the filling station to find Geoffrey had been promoted to the supervisor of eight other petrol attendents.I wasn't surprised.I found him sitting in a tiny elevated cubicle on the driveway.He held the cash and had to take the money from his team and write a receipt.It was in the days when there no computers or convient shops at the filling stations in SA.
He was a good supervisor.His team respected him and "caught" his good attitude.As a result the filling station was popular.He was always on time although he had to walk a long way to work.Black townships were built far out of the towns and cities on purpose,to keep the races apart.He was always neat and tidy and clean.Remarkable considering that they shared a water tap with fifty other families.
Somehow Geoffrey always cheered me up if I was a bit low.It was remarkable seeing that he was a black South African with little rights and considered a second class citizen in his own country.I belonged to the privileged white class. I had received a superior education while he was schooled with Bantu education.(Bantu was the name for black people in those dark days.) Bantu education was inferior to the white population's education.It was designed that way,to keep black people down and in their place.
Geoffrey invited me for dinner a few times.It was virtually unheard of in those days for a white person to go into a black "squatter" camp.The only whites who went into black townships were security police."Squatter" camps are similar to trailer parks in the USA,except that trailer parks in the US are luxury by comparison! I must admit to being a bit nervous.Townships were a dangerous place to be especially for a white person after dark and after the rising up of the black and coloured youth that year in protest against "apartheid." The outside of his shack was squalid but the inside of his home was spotless.I had many happy tasty meals with him and his family.The way they lived spoke volumes of the great attitude Geoffrey has.
I was surprised to discover one day that Geoffrey was studying an academic law book in his little elevated cubical office on the driveway.He had enrolled at the University of South Africa (UNISA) to study for a law degree.UNISA was the only world class university that black people could enroll with in those days of segregation.It is largely a correspondence university with over a 100,000 students all over the world.
Geoffrey had to first upgrade his Bantu education to a "white" education in order to enroll at UNISA.He did this through correspondence as well.It took him four years.All this in his early thirties.
Geoffrey is now a fine attorney in Beaufort West.He lives in a prestigious area now that "apartheid" has been dismantled.He still has the same smile and the same terrific attitude.Often he defends clients who can't afford to pay him.He hasn't forgotten where he came from and believes that giving your life away creates purpose,happiness and fulfillment.What a man.You are my hero Geoffrey.
Several years ago, an experiment was performed at a school in the San Francisco Bay area.A principle called in three teachers and said,"Because you three teachers are the finest in the system and have the greatest expertise,we're going to give you ninety selected high-IQ students.We are going to let you move these students through this next year at their pace and see how much they can learn."
The three faculty members,the students,and the student's parents thought it was great idea.And they especially enjoyed the school year.By the time school ended, the students had achieved from 20 to 30 percent more than the other students in the entire San Francisco Bay area.
At the end of the year, the principal called all three teachers and said to them,"I have a confession to make.You did not have ninety of the most intellectually prominent students.They were run-of-the-mill students.We took ninety students at random from the system and gave them to you."
The teachers naturally concluded that their exceptional teaching skills must have been responsible for the student's great progress.
"I have another confession," said the principle."You're not the brightest of the teachers.Your names were the three drawn from a hat"
Why, then did the students and teachers perform at such an exceptional level for an entire year? The answer can be found in their attitudes.They had an attitude of positive expectation -the teachers and students believed in themselves and one another.They performed well because they believed they could.
James Allen said, " The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
Have you ever tried on someone else's sunglasses? Of course! Things often look strange.Colours are different, some sunglasses make the world more grey,others bring out the green,making the scenery look stunning.Attitude is similar ... it is your sunglasses in life.You may choose to see the best in the situation or the worst.This is powerful and will have an incredible impact on how far you get in life.
Attitude is the way you respond to concepts,situations,to people and yourself.It is how you think in any given situation.Please read my example re-flying in my previous post.
Consider the story of Geoffrey again.Why did he get where he is today against all the odds? Attitude! As simple as that.If life is like a card game then Geoffrey got a stinking hand.But he played it skillfully by having a great attitude.He believed in himself and in others even in the terrible days of "apartheid"
Look again at the story of the teachers and students.What was the overarching attitude? It was positive.Both the students and the teachers believed in their own worth and ability and expected great things.
How is your attitude? Tell me and I will tell you how you are doing in your life.
Watch this short video clip and see how the ballgirl shows up the professional with her 'can do' attitude
Do you have this kind of attitude or do you have the attitude of the ballgirl? The attitude you have will determine how you feel about yourself, how others will feel about you and what impact you will make on the world.
"Events are less important than our responses to them" John Hersey
Stayed tuned and see you soon
No comments:
Post a Comment