A long time ago I received a promotion from Barnes and Noble. I was in management, and they actually created a brand new pilot job for me - but it was at a different store. I had to leave "home", and that was a challenge. My life had been so tumultuous with the loss of my marriage and my mother. Lakeland was home, and I was comfortable. But I had to make a decision for the future, and I was starting back to college for my masters degree; it made more sense to accept the promotion and the change. Leaving was hard and very fast - I was offered the job on Monday, and Wednesday was my last day at "home". Going forward, each day I would drive to the new store, sad at the loss of my friends and family at “home"....and I would try to fit in to an established team, a new-to-me store, a brand new position not everyone knew, understood or agreed with. There were people at the new store who made things nice for me - but overall, it was a hard, hard transition because of that time of life. Life gives us what we need, whether we like or not, and it turns out that was also the year the movie/book/audio book, The Secret came out. That changed my life. It became my go-to resource. I would listen to parts of it on my drive; I watched the movie as often as I could; the physical book stayed by my bedside. It has stayed an essential part of who I am and how I live my life; believing in the power of the law of attraction. What we give out comes back to us, whether it be good or bad.
That job creation from Barnes & Noble changed the trajectory of my life, and the hardship I encountered during that whole time of my life paved the path to so many beautiful, good things. Barnes & Noble helped me pay for library school, a fact which I will always be grateful for. Through that position I worked more closely with other booksellers from Tampa stores - which directly led to my first librarian job at a private school I had long heard of but never dreamed I would work at. My Children's Manager position also eventually led me to my position now - through connections made at that challenging time of life, and working with media specialists in Hillsborough County Public Schools. I was so grateful to Barnes & Noble that even after I became a librarian, I stayed part-time at yet another store just a few blocks away from my school for the six years I was a librarian there. It is in my blood, and I miss working there a great deal; they helped me find my life again.
I see that happening in our world now; good coming from not-so-great. It is so hard, these times we are in. There were times in the past that I thought oh gosh - I do not know how to move forward; I cannot breathe, I cannot stand this. But I have learned from my past challenges. Staying strong and positive will help us get through - and we will look back and say, ah - that is the lesson I was meant to learn. Because truly, life is good when we look for the good. What we give out comes back to us - we have to be sure we live positive lives.
