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Food for Living: Be the Best Version of Yourself
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
When you truly study top performers in any field, what sets them apart is not their physical skill; it is how they control their minds – Stan Beecham
There’s no gainsaying the fact that everyone loves the good things of life. Every human being loves the best academic, relationship, sports, luxury, vacation, entertainment, professional/vocation, can offer. The same goes for tangible things including food, gift items, clothings, automotive, jewelleries and a whole lot more.
In the same vein, every individual wishes to be the beat in whatever they are involved in. This is because when you are the best in what you do, the world will definitely seek you out.
To understand how this principle works, imagine a patient who is sick and he’s told the only person who can heal him is his supposed enemy who is an expert in a particular field. If the patient wants to live, he has no option but to seek the services of the said doctor.
Again, imagine a coach who is intentional in winning a major competition, he has no option of going to the competition with the best team regardless of whether he likes a particular athlete or not. The same principle is applicable in a professional work environment; your boss may not necessarily like you, but provided you are good at what you do, your boss will retain you. As a matter of fact, it is easier for a boss to fire an employee he likes, but who is not good in what he does than an employee he hates, but who is good in what he does.
The moral of this assertion is that when you are good at what you do, you don’t need much advertisement, your work will surely speak for you.
To get clarity and more insight on how being the best version of yourself works, during the on-going United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) conference, I observed that most of the speakers in the side-events were subject matter experts in their field such as climate change, health, education, security, youth affairs, technology, social development goals among others.
When you have distinguished yourself, it will be easier for people to work with you. It doesn’t matter if you have a degree or not, provided you can show results, and can speak, the world will resonate with you.
In my self-discovery journey, I have realized that one’s profession is what they are trained to do like an attorney or doctor, but your vocation is what you are paid to do like skilled job or 9-5 – your ministry is your calling, that’s where you find your talent, passion and gift. To be the best version of yourself, one has to be intentional in working on their ministries, and that’s where they will be celebrated.
Did you know you can meet any resourceful person in the world just by working on your ministry or passion. To actualize this, you will need to adopt the pareto principle which says that 20% of the effort, or input, leads to 80% of the output. The goal of this principle is to recognize that most things in life are not distributed evenly.
The key to understanding the Pareto Principle is to identify that around 20% of one’s actions on the most productive tasks lead to the most success. This principle enables us to spot the few important things that are happening and ignore the mass of unimportant and mundae things. which are serving as distractions.
The Pareto Principle is very powerful and it is applicable in many areas of life, including in business, relationships, learning, and marketing.
To become the best version of oneself, one must endeavor to discover their purpose and have the courage to pursue it with hard work, and believe in the power of luck to actualize it. I say this because it is very true for one to do all they are supposed to do, and still miss the opportunity because they don’t have luck. So, one has to be strategic in positioning themselves for the right opportunity. When you work according to your purpose and gift, it’s very easy for people to see how extraordinary you are.
Being the best does not relate to academics alone, one can be the best parent, employee, friend/partner, teacher, student, leader, athlete, and many more.
The best don’t really come to you by way of words, but actions. One can be the best by knowing himself and what’s unique about him. As a matter of fact, knowing oneself is the foundation of being the best version of oneself. It’s so sad that many people don’t really take time to understand themselves and that’s why they find themselves in a cobweb situation sometimes.
When you know who you are, your strength, weaknesses, personalities and what’s unique about you, you will stand a better chance to make the right choice because you will have clarity. This clarity will enable you to unleash your potential when you fail. It will also assist you to network with the right people, maximize your time wisely, appreciate who you are, and meditate day and night.
Being the best doesn’t always come easy. One must put effort to learning and doing the needful to get the desired attention and traction. Also, one must endeavor to get a mentor, who will advise and constructively criticise where necessary.
In conclusion, to discover what’s best about oneself, one will need to meditate, seek the face of God, know what makes them happy, explore other areas of interest by serving and volunteering in different capacities. Once you discover the niche that makes you happy, please spend valuable time to develop it because the day you discover your gift and what’s unique about you, that’s the day you become a millionaire.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
News
Court Hands EFCC Three Days Ultimatum to Conclude 10-Year-Old Corruption Charges Against Dasuki
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted three consecutive days to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conclude the ten-year-old corruption charges it instituted against a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Dasuki’s counsel initiated legal arguments when he challenged the status of the subpoena because it was issued to the DSS as an entity not recognised by the law of the country.
The EFCC lawyer, however, countered the objection, insisting that DSS was a creation of statute and that there had been no confusion in the identity of the organisation.
“The document was duly served on Department of State Security (DSS). The Department has no confusion as to its identity.
“The witness did not exhibit any confusion as to his invitation by the Court. The objection as to form does not defeat the end of Justice. We humbly pray the Court not to sustain the objection in the interest of substantial justice.”
In the end, Justice Lifu admitted the subpoena as an exhibit and reserved his ruling to be delivered along with the main charge.
“I have carefully and painstakingly listened to learned counsel on the admissibility of the document sought to be tendered by the prosecution.
“I have also perused the document in relation to the name on the said subpoena. Admissibility of documentary evidence is governed by the law of evidence, and it is determined by relevancy.
“Being a criminal case which is about 10 years old in the docket of this court, coupled with the fact that ACJA 2015 envisages speedy dispensation of criminal justice, this document shall be admitted and a ruling shall be incorporated into the final judgement of this court,” said Justice Lifu.
The judge drew the attention of the parties to the fact that the case had dragged and suffered delay for ten years, having been filed in 2015.
At the proceedings, the first prosecution witness and exhibit keeper with the DSS, Monsur Mohammed, was permitted to give evidence on the strength of the subpoena.
He subsequently presented several items found in Dasuki’s properties at 13 John Khadije Street, Asokoro, Abuja; 46 Nelson Mandela Street, Asokoro Abuja; Sabon Birnin Road, Sokoto; and Sultan Abubakar Road, also in Sokoto.
Four different search warrants executed in July 2015 at the four properties led to the recovery of the undisclosed items.
In the end, the DSS exhibit keeper admitted that nothing incriminating was found on the properties.
After the evidence, Justice Lifu held that in the circumstances of the case and by consent of all counsel, “this suit is hereby adjourned to 7, 8 and 9 July 2025 at the instance of the Court for further hearing.
He added: “The learned prosecutor is expected to close his case on these adjourned dates.”
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no doubt everyone experiences different levels of pain and disappointment when things or life don’t go as planned. Many thoughts naturally run through minds. Depending on the issue on the ground, one might wonder what he did wrong, or what he could have done differently. More questions such as ‘was my request too much, did I act too fast or slow, was my approach bad, was my work untidy, did I under prepare will continually flash tbrough the mind? No doubt, the mind will be busy wondering what caused the failure.
Ordinarily, they are supposed to make us feel frustrated, especially when it is an opportunity we have been praying to have. Imagine having an idol, celebrity or an influential leader who can change your life giving you an opportunity, but for reasons beyond your comprehension or articulation, you couldn’t seize the moment to create a lasting impression; an lost opportunity.
Trust me, I can relate to the feeling having experienced similar fate on several occasions. There are relationships that I have lost either because I was naïve or couldn’t nurture it well. However, one may try to look at it, life may not always go as planned; one may be planning out his life and God or the universe will be planning something else. Sometimes, what we thought might be good for ourselves, might not really be good for us.
Let me share a practical story; during my formative years in the United States of America, I worked as a security officer for a decent amount of time, while still applying to many other companies. Though I couldn’t secure a decent paying job, I didn’t lose hope either, I kept my hope alive. It is important to state that I was frustrated and felt depressed. I wondered when my life will change for the better. It got to a stage I felt only a miracle can change the course of my life because people who have less capacity, competency and capability than me were getting opportunities and I began to wonder if I was cursed. Many thoughts were running through my mind. But what gave strength were the words of my Registrar while at New York Law School. According to him, if you lose all options, don’t lose hope.
One thing I did was to maximise my present status as a security officer and used the opportunity to network during the day. I attended events of interest in the morning, afternoon and nights. Sometimes. I will go to work from the event.
In all honesty, I didn’t know the people I met during my formative years while working as a security officer will be instrumental to who I am today, and what I will be doing in the near future. Why do I say this? I know for a fact, assuming I had a decent paying job after my law school program, I doubt if I would have had time to write my first book and as well, attend events and network with the high and mighty in the society.
When I look back, I will say this is a disguised blessing because all these people came in handy to support my work when I published my book.
Furthermore, there was a time I missed a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award event, an award that could have changed the course of my life. While I was troubled by the incident, a mentor of mine said to me, “don’t grieve for what didn’t happen because what didn’t happen could prevent disaster from happening”. This is so true because sometimes we might not know the people we meet, who can do harm to us in the nearest future which we might not know, so the creator of the universe can cause a scene or situation that will prevent the relationship from going forward.
It can also be a case where one is looking for a job, and the job might be that which will consume the fellow in the nearest future. So, when one gets denied the opportunity of working, instead of crying over spilled milk, consider seeing it as disguised blessing, which can be a bigger company that might offer you more benefits. It can also be a case of maybe, your destiny helper might be in the company that offers you less pay as opposed to a bigger company that one is aspiring to get, but was denied.
In the journey of life, sometimes one must refuse to capitalize on one’s gain, this is because anyone can do that, but what’s more important is to profit from the loss, because that requires a certain degree of intelligence.
Disguised blessings can come in different forms, for instance while some people are begging because one of their legs is amputated, another person has won Gold at Paralympics because both legs are amputated and thereby receiving global recognition.
Life is about perspective; how you see it is how it will reflect on you. Life itself is a mirror; it depends on the lens you are using to view it. If you believe that life happens to you, you will be the beggar in that situation. But if you know that you happen to life, you will be bigger instead of being a beggar. So, wake up every day and don’t gauge how you feel that day. Instead, tell yourself how you want to feel on any given day. Be the driver of your life, not a passenger.
In conclusion, when you have done what you are supposed to, and life still doesn’t turn out as expected, instead of feeling frustrated, try looking at it from the angle of disguised blessings by learning the inherent lessons the said situation is bringing to your table of life.
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 Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to within 24hrs release socialite and business woman, Aisha Achimugu.
Justice Inyang Ekwo in a short ruling also added that parties in the suit especially the EFCC are to report to the court to give report on compliance to the order of court on May 2, 2025.
Recall that Justice Ekwo had on Monday, ordered Achimugu to submit herself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in connection with an on going investigation bordering on Money laundering and other offences.
Justice Ekwo, also held that following her appearance at the EFCC office, the antigraft agency is to return with her and make an appearance before the court on Wednesday April 30, for report.
Meanwhile, the EFCC arrested Achimugu at about 5am on Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The EFCC is investigating Achimugu on a case involving conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, corruption, and possession of properties reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
While she was previously arrested and questioned by the EFCC, she was released on administrative bail by the commission.
However, EFCC alleged that she jumped bail and declared Achimugu wanted.
The EFCC in a press statement urged the public to provide information about Achimugu’s whereabouts, “The public is hereby notified that AISHA SULAIMAN ACHIMUGU is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering,” the statement read.
The EFCC in its affidavit to show cause, averred that on February 12, 2024, when Achimugu was previously arrested, in their office with her lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, she wrote a statement.
The commission said in the statement, that she explained some of the huge funds which passed through her corporate bank accounts.
It said that Achimugu admitted the sum of N8, 710, 000, 000.00. (eight billion, seven hundred and ten million naira) was paid by her partners as an investment fund into the purchase and payment of a signature bonus for the acquisition of oil bloc on Nov. 8, 2022.
It said further investigation however revealed that Achimugu, through her company, Ocean Gate Engineering Oli and Gas Limited, acquired two oil blocs, namely Shallow Water -PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore-PPL 302-DO for the total sum of $25, 300, 000 (twenty-five million, three hundred thousand dollars) through majorly cash payments made to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators who in turn made payments to Federal Government via corporate accounts.
The commission alleged that the ultimate sources of the said sum of $25,300,000 used in the acquisition of the oil blocs were not linked to her lawful earnings or income or any business partner.
