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Adding Value: Investing in Yourself
By Henry Ukazu
Greeting Destiny Friends,
My strong Christian faith has taught me that the best investment ever is the one invested in God, and I am unapologetic about it. This is because when you invest in God, you put your trust in him, and when you put your trust in him, he invest in you by providing all you need to succeed. Isn’t it true that when you work in God’s vineyard, he will work in your vineyard?
You may be wondering whether this article is spiritual, or why it has a spiritual undertone. Well, there is nothing spiritual about it, God, in his infiniteness is introduced to prove a point and pass a message. Having said that, it is imperative to note, on the other hand that another of the best investments anyone can make is to invest in himself. When you invest in yourself, you attract unimaginable value, and people will definitely appreciate you the more.
It is generally said that there’s no free lunch anywhere. Anything you want in life; you must have to work for it, especially if you are interested in making an impact in the society. Uninformed minds always believe they can find a benefactor out of the blues by sheer luck, but they fail to realize that before a benefactor will invest or support you, you would have invested in yourself by either learning a skill, acquiring education, offering a service or selling a product.
Investing in oneself comes in different forms; investing in your future savings (having a retirement plan); investing in children’s education; investing in your spouse or family, buying properties, acquiring education, learning a skill, abstaining from crimes, sex etc. just to have a fruitful life.
It can also mean working on yourself by taking proper care of yourself, detoxifying your mind to live a more meaningful life.
Investing in yourself adds value to your life. When you learn more, you will earn more. When you know you are valuable, you will have a certain level of confidence. Nothing gives you greater confidence than knowing that, regardless of your challenges, or problems that may rear their ugly heads, you are confident you will solve them.
One of the biggest advantages of investing in yourself is that people will be inspired by life and accomplishments. I always use myself as a case study. If I can author a book, anyone can be a bestseller. I used to be a horrible writer, but with determination to succeed, good mentors and more importantly, the grace of God, I have been able to hone my writing skills.
When you invest in yourself, it is easier for people to invest in you. Investing in yourself does not come cheap though because it can be financially tasking, especially when you have to pay for education, attend courses which might even require you flying internationally or locally, lodge in hotels, etc. However, with the advent of technology and social media, one can add value to his life by engaging people on several social media platforms who offer free training opportunities for personal development.
When you rightly invest in yourself, you will reap the blessings that come with it. Investing in yourself is paying now to play later. Most times in the journey of life, we tend to look at how long it will take to finish a programme, learn or learn a skill and then become discouraged. We fail to understand that, sometimes, you will have to go through the process to reap the fruits. It’s just like having a book with nuggets which is capable of transforming your life, but because the book is disguised as three hundred pages, you find it hard to open it, forgetting that, when you read and understand the contents, you can implement all you have learnt and start earning a huge amount of money.
You may be wondering how you can invest yourself. You can invest in yourself by reading books of interest, traveling, acquiring education, having a mentor/mentee, learning a skill and learning from other people by engaging them or observing what they do.
Investing in oneself takes a lot of effort. People, who have genuinely succeeded in life didn’t get there by accident or on a roller coaster. They invested heavily in themselves and in their businesses. Did you know that people will believe in you first before they believe in your business? Hence the more reason you have to invest in yourself.
Do you know that investing in yourself gives you credibility? You will get more credibility when people know that you are an expert in your craft. You will become an authority.
To invest in yourself, you must be goal oriented. When you have goals, you will do all that is positively necessary to see your goals come to light, and this might entail taking control of your plans by putting yourself in the driver’s seat.
Did you know that when you are involved in a relationship that didn’t work, the best thing you can do is ask yourself the following questions; what were my mistakes and how can I amend it? If you were the major cause of the problem, you must work on yourself by forgiving yourself so you can heal. Above all, you must take care of yourself because that’s very important.
In conclusion, in all you do, you must take care of yourself; that’s the first law of investing in oneself. You can easily do this by resting, taking a good nap, healthy eating, going to the gym, forgiving yourself and practicing meditation amongst other healthy habits.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It would not be out of place to state that every human has experienced one challenge or another in his lifetime, and somehow still experiencing some form of challenges, no matter how mild or insignificant. No one can claim he is without experience.
Against this backdrop therefore, I ask, what’s your experience like?
Different life experiences are encountered in our everyday living including business, marriage, academic, spiritual, family personal or professional. Sometimes, our experiences shape us and leave us with lasting memories.
One of the things I have learnt about life is never to complain; complaining doesn’t change anything, rather it aggravates everything. If I may ask, why worry when you can’t change the situation? According to the Serenity Prayer, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
As humans, it’s normal to give up when the odds are against one, pushing becomes a herculean task when the odds are against one, motivation becomes an illusion, and inspiration becomes imagination.
One of the great ways to succeed in life is to live each day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, and accepting hardships as one of the “pathways” to succeed despite all the odds. This is one of the important teachings of the Serenity Prayer.
Let’s analyze the Serenity Prayer. We were instructed to accept the things we cannot change, have the courage to change the things we can change, and then seek discernment to know when we need to accept our faith and when we need to move on despite the odds staring at us.
An example of what we cannot change is death; we just must live through it with the right attitude. An example of what we can change is our lifestyle, and to know the difference, we need to listen to our inner heart.
As we explore life vicissitudes, we are supposed to know when to act, when we are supposed to relax, and when the universe, God, or life is teaching us or telling us something.
Understanding the concept of against all odds is not for the faint-hearted because it is hard to trust something or surrender to someone when one doesn’t feel secure. Imagine a case scenario when one is trying to contest for an election, and the institutions and gatekeepers are against one’s candidacy, and still the person perseveres. Taking a case study of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States of America, very few people believed he would win the election because he’s a Black man. Against all odds, he won the election and re-election twice against two formidable, wealthy White politicians.
The significance of this victory is that president Obama has faith and believes in himself despite the numerous nay voices he was hearing from within and outside.
We have all experienced this situation in one way or another, but we refused to give up. I remembered when I had my first election, I wasn’t given a chance to win, but to my detractors’ greatest concern, I won with an impressive result.
Another scenario, played out while I was in New York Law School, I was pursuing a program I had little or no interest in. I personally didn’t believe I would graduate from the school, but as fate may have it, I was able to get a scholarship when my results were considered an uncommon academic success.
The moral of these scenarios is that, in the journey of life, we must have faith in our vision and we must believe in our capacity to succeed against all odds. When you do, people will see and feel it and potentially come through for you, all things being equal.
Furthermore, in the journey to life, life throws different arrows and shades at us. The best we can do is to accept it and be open. Sometimes, what we fail to understand is that our blessings and opportunities come in places we don’t expect. Sometimes, unexpected doors and opportunities come to us in places we least expect.
So, when the odds come up, please don’t give up, just gear up to the challenge and understand the inherent lessons life wants you to learn because at the end of the day, though times never last, tough people do.
In conclusion, never allow the odds of life to define you; rather, use it as a stepping stone to build a castle. That was exactly what I did when I was told I couldn’t succeed in the USA and when I was told I was a horrible writer. Against all odds, by the special grace of God, I was able to exceed expectations by publishing three books and appeared several times on television.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Four months after defecting from the Labour Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the member representing Oredo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Engineer Esosa Iyawe, has resigned from the party,
The lawmaker said, “It is imperative to state that this decision is a result of the irreconcilable difference between me and my Governor, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the Governor of Edo State.”
Iyawe, who joined the APC on December 20, 2025, announced his resignation in a letter dated May 6, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman in Ward 1, Oredo federal constituency, Edo state.
In the letter, the federal lawmaker also withdrew his interest in contesting the 2027 House of Representatives election under the APC platform.
“I hereby withdraw my expression of interest to contest for the position of House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections and to resign from the All Progressives Congress (APC), effective immediately,” the letter read in part.
Iyawe appreciated the party for the opportunity to serve and for the experiences gained during his membership, but stated that personal and political considerations informed his decision to leave.
He further disclosed plans to pitch his tent with another political platform, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), noting that the move aligned with his political convictions and aspirations.
Spokesman for the APC in Edo state, Barrister Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, said the lawmaker’s claim of dumping the party was “far from correct,” insisting that the party remained united and well-organised under the leadership of Monday Okpebholo.
He added that the growing number of politicians defecting to the APC was evidence of the party’s strong structure and popularity in the state.
