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Food for Living: Develop Your Craft
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Dear Friends,
It is an indisputable fact that succeeding in life can be a very challenging feat. Whether you are in business, school, church, corporate organizations, sports or even politics, you need an element of luck, hard and smart work, God factor (which I call grace), great network and both theoretical and practical knowledge amongst other factors in order for you to succeed. Just like the parable of the sower, on the journey to success, some of us fell along the way, some germinated, but weren’t strong enough to withstand the storms of life, while some were able to bear the much-desired fruits with the right nutrients needed for growth. In all these, one thing is certain; to attain any particular level of success, it is important for one to understand or master the art required. This is an uncommon skill which most people don’t have and therefore, it has contributed to some of the challenges militating against their success.
In the course of this article, we shall be discussing how we can develop or master our craft with the mindset of succeeding in any field of endeavor one is passionate about. It’s quite unfortunate to note that a lot of people desire success, but they are not willing to pay the price. Developing or mastering your craft is very critical to succeeding in any endeavor. In civilized climes, most people learn before they earn. Even the word learn confirms the saying by encouraging us to (L)earn before we (E)arn or develop the skill before we can earn.
Developing or learning a skill can be difficult and rewarding at the same time if we are diligent enough to pay the price. We all have the capacity to master any skill, but many of us succumb to pitfalls such as impatience, uncertainty, and fear which cripple our learning and halt progress. In a similar way, we all have the potential to succeed, but we don’t take time to understand and develop our selves/ businesses.
WAYS TO MASTER/SUCCEED IN YOUR CRAFT
Reconnect to Your Roots — Discover Your Calling
The first key to succeeding in life is by knowing yourself and what you are passionate about. In one of my articles which I published a couple of months ago, titled Passion is Stronger than Power, I opined that there’s more to success and life if we focus on passion and value as opposed to focusing on money and material things. I also stated that you’ll get more in life in addition to succeeding if you love what you do more than what you are paid for. Therefore, identifying your areas of interest is a critical part of self-discovery. According to Robert Greene, “The first move toward mastery is always inward — learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force. Knowing it with clarity, you will find your way to the proper career path and everything else will fall into place.” It’s worthy of mention that some of us discovered this as children, but it couldn’t see the light of the day as a result of parental or societal pressures which suppressed our ambition.
The Mentor Dynamic
In our contemporary society, we cannot underestimate the power of mentorship in the lives of a progressive-minded person. In one of my most informed articles titled Mentors Are Life Savers, I stressed the importance and role of mentors in fast-tracking the success of any person or organization. Mastering and developing your craft requires mentorship. You cannot underestimate the power of mentors. It is important to note that mentors will not work for you, but they’ll be instrumental in facilitating a smarter way of achieving your vision in a more realistic and dynamic manner. I am a product of mentorship. In the words of Robert Greene, “To learn requires a sense of humility. We must admit that there are people out there who know our field much more deeply than we do. Their superiority is not a function of natural talent or privilege, but rather of time and experience.” According to Greene, he advised four Strategies for finding the perfect Mentor:
1. Choose a mentor according to your needs and inclination: It is important to really know what you want in life. Most people choose mentors for the fun or just to associate with the name. It For instance if you are interested in politics, governance, leadership, academics, writing, sports, entertainment, religion etc., it will be of your own best interest to know the role each of them will play for you as opposed to having one mentor and generalizing him/her. In choosing your a mentor, it’s important to note that, the more specific you are the better for you to get what you need or desire or what output you are looking for. Mentors do provide informal training such as support, confidence, direction, space to discover things on your own.”
2. Gaze deep into the mentor’s mirror: There’s a big difference between a mentor and a role model. In simplest terms, a mentor is someone who teaches and guides you in your area of interest. He/she must be an expert in his/her chosen field of practice. You can have several mentors for several projects. Your mentors can be online or offline. Your mentor can also serve as a role model to you depending on your mission and vision in life. On the other hand, a role model is someone you definitely want to be like. In this sense, you imitate the works of the person, you reading about the person and his/her works in addition to the philosophy and lifestyles. The person can also serve as an inspiration to you. You may not have access to the person like you do for mentors because the person may be far from reach (dead or alive), but the works of the being in question warms your heart. Mentors will point out your weakness, embrace it like constructive because you will gain more confidence through objective feedback.
3. Transfigure their ideas: As you continually learn concepts from your mentor, apply them with your own creative spin. As mentioned, mentors won’t do the work for you, they’ll guide you on the most rational and informed way of succeeding or expanding your vision or business.
4. Create a back and forth dynamic: This isn’t a one-sided relationship. Be very clear about what you want to learn and adjust their instruction to fit your needs. You can appreciate your mentor by adding value to their work. In that way, it becomes a mutualistic friendship as opposed to a symbiotic relationship.
Practice
A sense of purpose amplifies grit, ambition, focus and virtually every other characteristic that is needed to achieve mastery. A person could have all of the natural talents in the world, but without practice, that talent will never enable them to achieve mastery. The hallmark of deliberate practice is that you try to do something that you cannot do- that takes you out of your comfort zone. According to Durant “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Isn’t it true that practice makes perfect.? Developing your craft entails practicing. Continuous practice horns your skill. With continuous practicing, you develop more insight into your craft. The interesting thing about hard work is that it doesn’t kill, rather it is lack of work that can kill.We rarely see what went into when we practice, we only see the results. Practice leads to proficiency and determines performance. Practice can be likened to performance: This is because We practice an instrument to play in front of an audience. An athlete practices his sport to play in a game. An actor rehearses to film a movie. A writer writes every day to publish a book. Continuous practice leads to performance, and this is where your level of mastery gets tested and measured.
Purpose:
Discovering your purpose is probably one of the most important decisions to make. When you know your purpose, it will be hard for you to lose interest when you fail. This is because your desire for success should always outweigh your fear of failure. Studies have shown that purpose, autonomy, and mastery are among three forces that drive people to do what they do. It’s instructive to note that passion follows engagement.
Failure
You can never master or develop your craft without experiencing failure. Failure is necessary for our growth. So, if you have not experienced failure yet, wait for it and if it comes, turn it into your friend. In the words of Robert Greene, Masters are those who by nature have suffered to get to where they are. They have experienced endless criticisms of their work, doubts about their progress, and setbacks along the way.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. 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. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com
Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.
The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.
Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.
She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.
“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.
“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”
The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.
“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.
“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.
“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.
“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to stay the execution of the judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The Commission also threw its weight behind a notice of appeal lodged by the political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, the electoral body said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver the judgment despite an order that stopped him from doing so.
INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Haliru Mohammed, decried that it was not notified that the judgment would be delivered, saying it only heard about the court’s decision through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Likewise, counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the delivery of the judgment via WhatsApp.
Insisting that the decision of the high court was an invitation to anarchy, counsel to the ADC urged the appellate court to invoke its powers and sanction Justice Lifu for disrespecting the judicial hierarchy.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay,” ADC’s lawyer submitted.
The other parties also drew the attention of the appellate court panel to the fact that on June 20, INEC would conduct by-elections across six states of the federation.
They contended that if the judgment were not stayed, it would create problems across the country, maintaining that the Court of Appeal has inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and not allow its orders to be disregarded by lower courts.
The appellate court is still hearing submissions from the other parties in the matter.
It will be recalled that aside from the ADC, the other parties the high court directed INEC to deregister are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the court, the five political parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.
It barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
Moreover, Justice Lifu ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in the country.
He held that there was merit in a suit filed against them by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).
The group, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.
It was the position of the plaintiff that the five political parties listed as defendants had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.
The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.
They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
