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Developing Your Mindset for Reasons in Seasons
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By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“If you are having a bad time right now, kindly know that it cannot last. Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary problem. The authentic solutions are tied to your levels or stages of MANifestations!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD., FIMC, CMC, CMS, CIV, MNIM
Change is indeed inevitable. Change is also the principle of life, that means everything that is alive is bound to change at certain stages of life, even things that are not alive will change. In other words, the way the river runs through the mountain is simply wearing away the mountain, and when you go back to the mountain in like fifteen (15) years later, you will discover that the river has become wider. At this point, we need to acknowledge that change is in creation, it is part of life. So, here is the question, Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, it reveals that, “to everything, there is a season…” this means, everything has seasons., and everything were created for specific or diverse reasons. And to every purpose under Heaven, there is a time for it. This is the best news I have ever got in my life, which I am also privileged to be sharing publicly at the moment. When I understood this I was a teenager; and it changed my life. I understood that everything is a season. If you are having a bad time at the moment, it cannot last! And if you cannot find a job right now, that is only a season. If your business is going in the wrong direction, it is a season of slide. If nobody wants to marry you, that’s only a season. There is going to come a season when everybody wants to marry you! If you are “broke” at the moment, the good news is that, you are seasonally broke! But that doesn’t define the reasons for your purpose and existence, because it is only for a time. That’s simply the good news, and why we are always reminded never to make a permanent decision in a temporary problem.
Success is not something that you pursue. It is a matter of becoming a person of value. We shouldn’t be pursuing money. We should pursue purpose, we should pursue vision for ourselves, our countries, for our communities. We shouldn’t be pursuing things; what we need to pursue is IDEAS. There are ultimately three (3) categories of people on this plane called earth: i. The Poor People – they talk about money all the time ii. The Rich People- they talk about things iii. The Wealthy People – they talk about ideas.
What separates the above categories are simply thought patterns and habits. They all think differently. For example, the poor people pursue money; the rich people pursue things, while the wealthy people pursue ideas powered and amplified by vision. So, constantly, there is a different way of thinking. I hope nations of the world, most especially the Third World Countries, the young people of our nations become “IDEAS-oriented people”, because it is important to note that IDEAS attracts money. So. I suffice to say that, if we minimize this desire to get money, and elevate the creativity of new IDEAS, we will find that financial results will naturally flow to it. The likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Strive Masiyiwa, and the likes didn’t pursue money, they pursued IDEAS, even the late Steve Jobs who invented the Apple computer, and the iphone never went after money, but he developed an idea into a massive and global realities. If you observe all of the wealthy people in the world, you would discover that it was IDEAS that made them wealthy, not money. So, I think we need to reverse it. Don’t pursue money, and then try to get an IDEA. Get an IDEA, then money will pursue the idea into fruition, and you would become a by-product as far as wealth.
Dr. Myles Monroe of blessed memory shared the above school of thoughts. He tireless preached it to young people to stop looking for employment, he stated: “why don’t you position yourself differently, and look for deployment. To be employed means that somebody else is benefiting from your energy. To deploy yourself means that you are using your own energy to be productive. So, instead of waiting for someone to give you a job, simply by all means create your own work. That’s why I tell people that, there is a difference between creating your WORK and JOB. Your “job” is what they trained you to do, while your “work” is what you are born to do. Your job is your skill, which they fire you from at any point in time. But your work is your GIFT, no one can take that away from you. Your job is where you get compensation for activity; your work is where you get fulfilment, because you love it so much. You can retire from your work, because your work is you! so, when a person discovers their work, they no longer need a job, based on the fact that their work makes them productive! So, there are countless young people in this country and the world at large who are full of talents, full of gifts, but have failed to harness them. I need to add that every problem in life is a business.
All businesses are simply someone solving a problem, which implies that, the more problems that are available in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America, and the world at large, the more businesses available for young people to begin.” And, this is what I think we are lacking. We are trying to get trained to get a job, we are not trained to start a business. We are trained to let other people employ us, we are not trained to deploy ourselves!
The question now is, do we just sit down and let change happen to us? Or are we just watching change happening around us? Or are we aware that change is happening within us? Or are we going to be among those proactive people who will make sure that we affect or influence what happens around us?!
We must clearly understand that change also produces four (4) classes of people, and they are simply privileged to be reading this article at the moment. The First Classes of People can be described as The Watchers – they watch things happen. We must be enlightened that not all change is IMPROVEMENT. For instance, someone used to weigh 120kg, and now weighing 162kg, that is simply a change. for some of you, that is not an improvement. Such a person has lost his or her wardrobe, the ability climb the staircases smartly and swiftly, even lost the quality of health he or she had.
Change doesn’t connote improvement all the time. The problem is, without change, there is no improvement. So, you need to be committed to the decision of what to do with change. Change will happen, and if you are not careful, it could be destructive. You have to determine what kind of change do I want or need in my life? And I want you as a young person, a mother, a father, a business person, think as a company, even as a family, or educational pursuit. What kind of classes do you want to take in college this year? What kind of grades do you want? What kind of relationship do you want to have in your life? Who do you need to drop, and who do you need to pick up in your relationship? What kind of people do you want or need to associate with? What are the books you need to read that you have never read before? Those changes come with choices! So, what kind of a person are you?
We must always understand that we should not always get everything now (in a hurry). By the grace of God, I have spent 15 years in the University, and I have acquired a Bachelor’s Degree, a Master’s Degree, a PhD., while still counting several certifications on many academic platforms. Many people got their jobs earlier and settled for their jobs, while some of us delayed our money making profile by leveraging on what were compensated with as payment to ascend, all in the name of acquiring a foundation, platform that would influence the future and hand over a better world onto coming generation. Today, many of us, either by names or deeds are being registered in the anal of history, aligning with purpose in diverse phases of life by God’s special grace. Dr. Myles Monroe (of blessed memory) corroborates the above assertions, that he delayed his money making endeavours for five years, and later got in an hour as pay-check what others get in a year. Many people today, aren’t focused on developing ourselves, rather they are trying to grab the money now.
Please, I honestly charge you to focus on self-improvement, self-expansion, rather than trying to get you pocket fixed backwards, because the more valuable you make yourself, the more value you attract. You are not paid for how hard you worked, you simply paid for what you are worth to the organization. However, the more intellectual, spiritual, and psychological development you have, the more emotional stability you have developed would determine your strength of value to the world. Put in other words, if you become valuable to the world, the world will pay you to be yourself. It is very important for you to become a person of value, and not to seek value in things. I get paid for what I know, not for what I do! And I strongly believe that this is what need to perceive as being valuable.
Do you know what they actually call intellect? That is what they call CAPITAL. You know intellectual capital is really a commodity, therefore, I am using this platform to charge young people across the world to focus on discovering purpose for their lives come what may (why God created you to this earthly plane), and then discover your gifts (abilities), also take adequate steps to refine them, though the processes may be totally no convenient. Develop your gifts, practice them, and then even begin to sow them for free into your community. Develop yourself to the adequate point of building capacity, and in a short-time, you will discover that people will pursue you because of the values you become. You will discover that people will pursue you because of your fruits, and you maximize your fruits or gifts in life just like a tree. Trees never bring their fruits to you, they simply manifest it. I charge you also to MANifest! You are attracted to the tree because of its values. So, when you develop your gifts and refines it, you don’t need to look followers, they will find you, naturally. After all, leadership isn’t about finding followers, it is about followers being attracted to what you have. And, this is, true commodity.
Conclusively, Dr. Myles Monroe further agreed on the above when he stated that, “power for me to be successful was not in the teacher, it was not in the educational system, it wasn’t in my culture, it wasn’t in my society, it was within me, and I began to think, “God, if you are a good God, why are these people better than me? If you make me in your Image, why are they special? And am I a monkey?” And that night, there was no thunder, no earthquake, no lightening, nothing. I just heard in my mind. And the voice said, “I asked you to believe in me, and you will be saved, not them.” And that night, I made a commitment to believe what God said. I was 13 years old at that time, I said “okay, I believe that I have the power to experience far beyond all I can ever ask, think or imagine, and that’s when my pursuit of God began.” Years ago, before his demise, Dr. Myles was asked by a journalist that when did he perceive he was going to be a preacher, this was his response: “I even didn’t want to become a preacher. Matter of fact, I still do not consider myself a preacher. I think it drove me to have a passion to help everybody who has been oppressed. My passion is to make sure that no one should live under what I experienced. I have never desired to be a minister. I desire to help people.” Therefore, the reward system of leadership is as follows: followers are the flowers that decourates the trees of leadership, the fruits are the rewards that naturally manifest to encourage and to appreciate the leader for effective MANagement and (Him-prove-moments) improvement of its ships (platforms/ followers), by the values such being creates.
Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke is an accredited ISO 20700 Effective Leadership Management Trainer.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Everyone loves influence. Everyone wants to be a person of influence. Everyone wants to be relevant. Everyone wants to be celebrated. Everyone likes attention, appreciation, approval, and admiration. All these are products of influence.
The question I need you to ask yourself is, are you a person of influence? Are you influencing anyone? Do you have a positive or negative influence on your children, spouse, friends, mentors/mentee, or even strangers? Take a minute to listen to yourself.
When we talk about influence, uninformed minds just think influence is only about money, power, authority, or even being a mentor. Influence is far from it. We are all influencers in one way or another. Many people have influenced us in different ways, some positive, some negative. Similarly, we have also influenced many people in good and bad ways.
But today, I’m here to share with you what influence is about and the positive ways one can be a person of influence. Influence comes in different ways: as a politician, you are influencing people; as a leader, you are influencing policy; as a youth advocate, mentor, teacher, pastor, and employee, you are influencing somebody in one way or the other.
Do you know you can influence someone with your lifestyle? Yes, the way you talk, write, lead, dress, eat, exercise, preach the word of God, do your job, serve people, train your children, etc., are all part of influence. Influence is powerful. It has a way of permeating someone without them knowing. I believe that’s why my late mother would always say, if you are hanging out with a friend, only take the good part and leave the bad part.
We currently live in the 21st century, where the internet leads. The internet is regarded as the fifth estate for a reason, because it empowers networked individuals and alternative media to hold traditional institutions, governments, and mainstream media accountable. Everyone and almost everything is on the internet; however, sometimes, the information we get on the internet is regarded as fake because it’s unverified.
In some quarters, the internet has been regarded as a bad influence on the younger generation because of the limited restrictions and the negative information it has exposed their minds to think in a particular way. Some other schools of thought have opined that the internet has done more good than harm due to the knowledge it has exposed their minds to, as opposed to the information being peddled by some other schools of thought. Regardless of the aisle one belongs to, the internet truly has its pros and cons, especially as it relates to influence.
The big question one needs to answer is what influence is. According to Nosakhare Tune Oni – A Pan-African Strategist, leadership and business coach, “influence is when people trust your judgment enough to act on it. It is when someone calls you before making an important decision. When your recommendation opens a door. When your name carries weight in a room, you’re not even in. When people are willing to put their reputation behind yours. That’s influence.
Let’s take a minute to dwell on those lines again. Has anyone played any of such roles in your life? If yes, that’s the best definition of influence in a nutshell. Influence is not about quantity, but quality. The quality of people in your life is more valuable than the quantity of people one’s life. Do you know we don’t really need battalions of friends, whether online or in person, but just one person of influence can be a game-changer. According to Les Brown, a leadership coach, we need only quality people.
Do you know we are everywhere and nowhere at the same time? Do you also know that we can be everywhere and still have very little influence? Influence is about knowing your value and the right people who appreciate the value you bring. Do you know one can be a person of value to the wrong person or audience?
Influence is about having followers who believe and follow your teaching. We can have visibility with little or no influence. One may have 100,000 followers. We may trend on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, or even WhatsApp. Your name is a household name. That is visibility.
Let me give you a practical example. If you have a large crowd of people following you online or in person. The critical question one must ask oneself is: why are they following me? Are they following me because of my ideology, my talent/gift, academic process, position, profession, vocation, skill, or jokes? If they follow you because of the ideology you represent, you are a person of influence. If they are following you because of your jokes, you may be a content creator or comedian with little or no value in influencing them to do or not do certain things. Real influence provokes action.
According to Nosakhare Tune Oni, influence is built differently from attention. Attention can be bought. Influence must be earned. You can manufacture visibility with advertising, controversy, or constant posting. But you cannot manufacture trust that easily. It comes from consistently being useful. Keeping your word. Knowing what you’re talking about. Showing up when it matters. Building relationships before you need them.
And creating value for people without constantly asking, “What’s in it for me?”
Do you know a person with 1,000 followers and deep trust within a particular industry may have more real influence than someone with 100,000 followers who nobody listens to. So, I don’t think the goal should simply be: “How many people know me?” A better question is: “How much does my presence actually change things?” Because visibility gets you noticed. Value gets you remembered. Trust gets you listened to, but influence is what happens when people trust your value enough to move.
As I prepare to conclude, please take a minute to ask yourself: are you a person of influence? Do you have influence? What positive influence have you had on people or anyone? Today, I want you to be a man/lady of influence like Martin Luther King Jnr, Mother Theresea, Evangelist Ebuka Obi, President Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Dr. Kola Adesina, Dr. Joe Abah, Dr. Dele Momodu, Barr. Henry Ukazu and Miss Ginika Dike.
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- Actualizing Your Birthright to Success, Unleash Your Destiny, and The Six Pillars of Success. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Director-General (D-G) of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has commended Governor Alex Otti for the reforms she said are strengthening Abia State’s financial sustainability and driving economic transformation.
Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke in a virtual goodwill message at the 35th anniversary lecture marking the creation of Abia State, also urged the government to develop the “Made in Aba” label into a globally recognised brand.
The anniversary lecture under the theme, “The Rise of a New Abia,” was held on Wednesday at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia.
The WTO D-G said the Otti administration has increased internally generated revenue (IGR), reduced the State’s dependence on Federation Account allocations and prioritised capital expenditure.
She also noted the State’s investments in infrastructure and improved electricity supply, as well as the settlement of inherited salary and pension arrears and reduction of its debt burden.
While acknowledging that more work remains to be done, Okonjo-Iweala expressed optimism that Abia could harness its potential to create jobs, prosperity and dignity for its people.
She said improved infrastructure, supportive policies and strategic investments in high-potential sectors could position the state within national, regional and global value chains.
Okonjo-Iweala specifically urged the government to build “Made in Aba” into a globally recognised brand while strengthening Umuahia as a light manufacturing and administrative centre.
Also speaking, the keynote speaker and former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, said there was visible evidence of development in Abia since Otti assumed office in 2023.
Chidoka, however, said the ultimate test of the administration would be whether it could move Abia from having a capable governor to building a capable and sustainable state.
He said Otti’s emphasis on education is consistent with convictions he had expressed long before becoming governor, particularly in his 2014 book, Saving the Future.
Chidoka commended the consistent appropriation of 20 per cent of the State’s annual budget to education and expressed optimism that Abia could eventually become a reference point for good governance.
Meanwhile, Otti apologised to the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), community over the delayed implementation of approved demands by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which resulted in the union’s recent strike.
The governor described the strike as avoidable and warned that “heads will roll” if such bureaucratic lapses recur.
Otti said the demands presented by ASUU-ABSU were legitimate and had been approved by him months earlier, but expressed concern that the approval had not been implemented.
“ASUU went on strike about a week or two ago in Abia State University, Uturu. Their requests came to me. I looked at those requests, and they were legitimate requests, and I approved them.
“But months later, I’m not saying weeks, months later, I was to be told that, yes, you have approved. But it had not been implemented.
“So, I want to, on this podium, apologise to Abia State University as well. That strike was avoidable. And I’ve told my people, if it happens again, heads will roll,” Otti said.
The governor congratulated Abians on the state’s 35th anniversary, stressing that governance was not about an individual but about building sustainable institutions and improving on existing foundations.
He reiterated his commitment to education, explaining that his administration’s decision to abolish school fees, including in the state’s smart schools, was driven by his long-standing belief in the transformative power of education.
In a vote of thanks, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, called for the cooperation and support of Abians in sustaining what he described as the “rise of a New Abia.”
The event attracted members of the National Assembly, members of the State Executive Council, traditional rulers, members of the clergy and other dignitaries.
Chairman/GCEO of Adron Group, Aare Adetola Emmanuelking, has paid a strategic visit to the Niger Foods Breeding and Feedlot Center to explore a landmark agricultural partnership. The move is aimed at transforming Nigeria’s agricultural landscape and expanding opportunities within the nation’s agribusiness value chain.
The engagement between the two organisations focused on unlocking vast opportunities in the livestock industry and exploring the establishment of specialised Adron Farm Estates across Niger State, with the Center positioned to play a strategic facilitation role in the proposed collaboration.
Adron Homes and Properties, widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s foremost real estate development companies, has built a strong reputation for delivering secure, affordable and premium housing developments across the country. Through this proposed initiative, the Group is set to extend its proven expertise in structured estate development into the agricultural sector.
The proposed Adron Farm Estates are envisioned as purpose-built agricultural communities, providing structured, secure and infrastructure-driven land layouts designed to support commercial farming, livestock production and agro-processing.
During a tour of the Niger Foods Breeding and Feedlot Center, discussions between the leadership of Adron Group and the Center highlighted the critical role of modern infrastructure and structured development in addressing the challenges of Nigeria’s fragmented agricultural market system.
The proposed collaboration seeks to combine Adron Group’s extensive experience in land development and infrastructure with the agricultural expertise, livestock production capacity and market development experience of the Niger Foods Breeding and Feedlot Center, with the objective of creating a new and sustainable model for agricultural development.
Beyond enhancing food production and unlocking new opportunities in livestock and agribusiness, the initiative is expected to stimulate rural development, create employment opportunities, attract investment and strengthen the agricultural value chain across Niger State.
The collaboration between Adron Group and the Niger Foods Breeding and Feedlot Center also holds the potential to position Niger State as a major hub for integrated agricultural and real estate development, while demonstrating how strategic partnerships between the real estate and agricultural sectors can unlock new possibilities for economic growth and national development.
As discussions between both organisations progress, the proposed partnership represents another bold step by Adron Group towards exploring innovative development models that respond to emerging opportunities, create sustainable communities and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
