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St George’s Raffle…
Submitted by: Riette Hanekom
Windhoek NamibiaI am the Principal of a school in Windhoek Namibia. I am married to a wonderful husband and have two fabulous sons, one who is married to an equally fabulous 'daughter'. We live in a beautiful country with space and lovely surroundings. My school is a very special place.
At the beginning of this year I bought the Secret CD – Audio book to listen to in my car while driving, as I do not get around to reading everything I want to.
I never opened the CD and then, a few weeks ago, saw the CD lying on my desk and that’s when I decided I would start listening to it. This CD has had such a powerful influence on my frame of mind and I have made a shift from being influenced by negatives to seeing everything as positives. While listening, I got to know about the Secret Cheque, consequently went on the website and downloaded a copy of the cheque.
We had launched a raffle at our school during July 2009 to collect money for our parents’ association. I bought quite a number of tickets and left it at that. The draw was to take place on the evening of 19 November 2009.
After I downloaded the cheque (which was about three weeks ago) I then sat down and wrote it out to myself, with the date 19 November 2009 and N$100 000 (The first prize for the raffle). I kept the cheque in my diary so that I could look at it every day. I also started to talk to people saying that I know I am going to win this money. Last night, the evening of our Carol Service and also the raffle draw, I was asked to do the announcements. I said no, because I couldn’t make the announcement about myself winning the first prize. I might just add that nobody believed me. Those who saw the cheque (and I did show it to people) actually thought I was a bit crazy. Because I did not want to do the announcements, I was asked to sign the cheque (a big display cheque for the occasion) which I also refused to do, stating that I could not sign a cheque that I was going to win myself.
I do not need to say anything further…. when the winner of the first prize (N$100 000) was announced, I was the lucky one! I am truly still quite dumbfounded. The colleagues who had seen the cheque and heard me say that I was going to be the winner were speechless.
I believe that listening to The Secret CD has made a significant difference in my life. I have always been a believer in “your thoughts become your reality” and this experience has proven it! Now I have experience to share with our students when guiding them towards a better future.
Half of the money will be used to establish a Development Fund for the school, the rest will be used to pay my mother’s doctor’s bills after a recent hip operation and what is left I will invest for my retirement.
I will now surely direct my focus to the next aspect of my life I wish to improve and change.
Thank you Rhonda and The Secret Team!