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Food for Living: Elevate Your Game
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friend,
In the journey of life, everyone’s goal and desire is to constantly elevate their game. Elevating games means several things to different persons. To some, it is going up the ladder of success, while to others, it can be stepping up their game plan by scaling it up. Most of us are driven to succeed, yet it is amazing how many of us view the process of getting to where we want to go as a chore, rather than as the greatest, most fulfilling adventure of a lifetime.
The pursuit of success is our greatest gift, as it is exactly what develops our character and makes our lives extraordinary. When we have a goal in mind, we are instantly purposed. Succeeding comes down our mindset. Our mindset must be driven to succeed, to sacrifice and to have the resiliency and patience to chart our path.
In today’s business world, the only entities that will stay relevant are businesses and people who are willing go the extra mile to gain not only theoretical knowledge, but practical knowledge through learning, unlearning and relearning. In an evolutionary point of view, those who are not adaptable to change will not survive. This is the most reliable way of elevating your game. It’s quite unfortunate many corporate organizations don’t take time to learn contemporary skills and certification which will enable them to be ahead of their competitors. The same philosophy is applicable to progressive beings who don’t take time to improve themselves. When you elevate your game plan, opportunities will locate you. This is because you have set yourself apart from your contemporaries.
In elevating your game, it is important to mind who you spend time with, your network of friends, the books you read, the associations/organizations you relate with, and most especially, your mindset. It is instructive to note that you cannot achieve more than your imaginations can assimilate. According to Henry Ford, if you think you can and if you think you can’t, either way you’re right. It is pertinent to note that who you spend your life with will determine how your life will be. You cannot hang out with chicken and expect to soar. Isn’t it true that your friends can make or mar you? It is widely believed that, if you hang out with nine millionaires, you’ll be the next millionaire. Therefore, today, I charge you to look at your friends and see where you are likely to be in five years.
You can’t be doing the same thing over and over again and expect to get a different result. Always make it a point of duty to set new record for yourself. In setting a record, you have to be on the lookout for certain qualities you’ll like to learn. You can also check out the qualities you can learn from your friends. Whatever qualities your friends have is likely going to rub off on you. Just like spirits are transferable, bad friends can influence you with their character
Set Boundaries
In order for you to elevate your game, you need to set boundaries. For instance, If you’re going to reach your highest potential, you have to step up your game by raising the bar for only a select group of people who identify and share in your vision. You need to ask yourself hard questions on what you really want. Inferior minds are always concerned with what they’ll lose if they cut off from certain boundaries/person. They fail to ask themselves, like what is important to them? Money, fame, value or vision. If you are among these categories of people, who always ask what if I lose my business? I have a simple question for you, what if you miss your destiny?
When you’re in the process of elevating your game, what you’re unwilling to separate from, will continue to follow you. The law of the group says, we associate with people with the way we see ourselves. Happy people hangout out with happy people. What most people don’t know and understand is that twenty years from now nobody will care about your friends. It’s not about quantity if your friends but quality. A one loyal and impactful friend is better than ten general friends.
You shouldn’t apply sentiment in business. Don’t mix family and business together. It’s not a good business idea to do business with only people associated/connected with you, because they may not have the same spirit unlike strangers. Treat them with respect but relate from a distance.
In the journey of life, your joy is your joy, none can share it with you. What this really means is that your success and failure lies with you. If you don’t get the wrong people out, the right people won’t come.
How Can We Elevate Our Game
It is generally believed that one’s entrepreneurial journey won’t be such a grind if they learn to take joy in your growth along the way.
1. Start a personal project. Define a specific goal/project to realize in a specific period. It should be something that you absolutely feel is yours.
2. Get trusted advisors. It is time for you to stop taking suggestions from anyone who has an opinion. Search for a mentor who has the expertise in the industry you are passionate about.
3. Read as vast as you can. Trying to have knowledge about almost every aspect of life. In that way, it makes you to position yourself very well.
4. Run Your Race
To get to our next level we must focus on our own race. We must not succeed for anyone but ourselves. We must not pursue success to show up, get revenge, or take someone down that we fear is better. The reason race horses have blinders on their eyes is so they don’t get distracted by the other horses when they’re racing. The blinders do not allow the horse to see anything but what is in front of them. It forces the horse to stay focused on their own race. We must do the same thing. We all saw what happened in the Olympics with the South African swimmer and Michael Phelps. The South African was watching Phelps, and Phelps was watching the finish line. It’s no wonder Phelps won. We must each focus on our own finish line.
5. Keep the faith.
To elevate our game, we must always hold a vision of the next step in our process. The vision we hold is the picture of success we chase. We must drive, dig, grind and then let go, and have faith, as we witness how the results of our actions land. Every single day our eyes open in the morning, we must make sure we’re clear about what we want. We each have control over how hard and how smart we work; the rest comes down to having the faith that our efforts will pay off in the ways we want. The large majority of successful people work from faith. Faith is the energy that funds belief. Without belief, success isn’t a possibility.
6. You must believe.
The more we push ourselves beyond our perceived limits, the more we expand our belief in ourselves. This is exactly how we elevate to the next level. If we see a door that has a sign that says “limit,” “fear,” “I can’t,” “its not possible,” or “who are you kidding?” on it, we must take it upon ourselves to push through every single one of those doors. The majority of the time we will find that the signs on those doors were lies we’ve been telling ourselves. When we walk through them and achieve the “impossible,” we build our character and greatly increase the confidence we have in ourselves. The more confident we are, the more we elevate our game.
7. Be a team player.
One of the most important ways to elevate our game is to be inclusive. Success is a team sport. There’s an African proverb that says if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to far, go with a team. If we are selfish, and we try and hoard or hide our success, we won’t get nearly as far as when we choose to include others in achieving our goals. It’s teamwork that makes the dream work. When we’re on our mission and we see anyone on our team wearing thin, we must partner up and bring them along, and expect the same in return. We must drop our egos, and ask for help whenever and wherever necessary. We are much more resilient when we have a community of support to turn to.
What are you doing to elevate your game?
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
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Secrets are exclusive preserves of certain individuals or institutions. They are one’s advantage over others, in the sense of ‘there’s something I know, which no one else knows. No one can ever claim that they don’t have a secret, either in the good or bad light.
Secrets therefore, exist in the family circle, business terrain, academic environment, career/professional pursuit, health management, spiritual connectivity and even in everyday personal living. It is an undeniable fact that everyone has a secret that works for them.
Let’s take a minute to discuss some of the aforementioned secrets.
Family
Every family has a secret. It will be foolhardy for anyone to disclose family secrets. Most families die with their secrets. To understand how family secrets work, imagine the Coca-Cola company. The family is said to be the only one in the world that has the formula for the beverage; a trade secret that originated with its creator, John Pemberton.
It is said that not even all family members enter the room where Coca-Cola is mixed or manufactured for fear of the secret being divulged. Imagine where spouses have access to the room and the marriage goes south, there’s a tendency that a spiteful divorced partner might leak the secret and the rest as they say is history.
There are many secrets that bind many families which only the immediate family members know. In some cases, only the parents or grandparents know. They can decide to share the secret to either the first male child, first female child or even a member of the family that one considers rational. For instance, imagine where a family is faced with a peculiar life threatening illness which ordinarily might scare anyone who wants to get married into that family, it will be stupid for anyone to spit it out, that act alone can make the intending spouse to reconsider his/her plan to marry from the family.
Business
Every business has a trade secret. Trade secrets are what makes a business unique. Every business has a unique selling point. (USP), which is a distinct benefit that sets the business or product apart from its competitors. A shrewd businessman will never leak his secret to his employees or competitors. The best his employees will know are the values, the operational systems or structures of the business and how his mindset works. But what makes the business stand out is the mystery that one will need to unravel.
Academic
Every student has a distinct trait that makes him/her succeed academically. This unique trait makes the student exceptional. For any student to succeed in their academics, he must know himself and what works for him. While some might study at night, some might study during the day, others might just listen during the lecture and understand the key points.
It’s sad to see students, who haven’t discovered who they are and what works for them following students who have discovered who they are. For example, while some students have good listening and understanding ability, and can listen to lectures and read a little and pass their examinations, some other students will have to read the course material before the lecture, listen during the lecture, read after the lecture and read thoroughly for examination before they can get a decent grade.
In some cases, they might not get the desired grade. Some students will even party hard during the day and at night they study, while some will party at night and study during the day. So, you can see that while some students have discovered themselves and what works for them, some others follow them sheepishly. Moral: Know what works for you and do what works for you because according to Oscar Wilde, “be yourself because others are taken”.
Career/Profession
Every career professional has a secret that works for them. In the same way, every industry knows what makes it stands out. The secret of what makes someone in the entertainment industry successful is quite different from what makes someone in politics or law enforcement, energy, education, legal, or health sector different. They all have different strokes, and the ability of one to do the needful in addition to playing the associated game can be the game changer.
Health
Health is a personal thing. Nobody knows you more than you know yourself. To show you how secretive and important one’s health is, it’s been said that there are three kinds of life: Public life, private life and secret life.
Your public life is the life that is generally known by everyone. It is the character we exhibit in the public space. It can also be regarded as the image perception lifestyle; we don’t generally go around revealing our health status in the public domain except where necessary. The private lifestyle; this is the kind of life only our family and close friends know.
Again, we don’t disclose such pertinent information to them only where and when necessary, then we have the secret lifestyle which only us and our creator knows. In some cases, we go to the graveyard with this. Do you see why health is a personal issue which needs to be kept in a secret place?
Personal
As mentioned earlier, everyone is unique. One of the best things that can happen to anyone is knowing themselves, and knowing what makes them different. I strongly believe we all have seeds of greatness in us. What works for Mr. A might not work for Mr. B. Like I always say, you can copy my style, but you can’t be me because imitation is a limitation.
For instance, I have unique energy and inspiration when it comes to writing. I have developed a keen interest and passion for writing. If tomorrow I become very successful or attract a unique opportunity, and someone decides to try writing to attract similar opportunities, the person might fail because God is the one that decides what opportunities come to anyone nor matter how hard someone may work.
Spiritual
This is another interesting aspect of life. Life is indeed spiritual. There’s nothing that happens physically without taking place spiritually. Everyone has a covenant point that was assigned to them at birth. Once that covenant point is touched that fellow might lose their blessings, anointing or what makes them strong.
There have been many testimonies about this. For instance, in the Bible, Samson’s touching point was his hair. He knows his power lies in his hair, that’s why Delilah tried so many times to know the secret of his strength, but Samson refused to tell her. She tried to make him drunk, but Samson still has the power. Samson repeatedly lied to Delilah about the secret of his strength, first saying it was new bowstrings, then new ropes, and finally by weaving his hair into a loom. Each time, he easily broke free, but Delilah continued to pressure him.
Weary from her constant questioning, Samson finally confessed that his strength was tied to his hair, which had never been cut because he was a Nazirite from birth. Delilah then called for a man to shave Samson’s seven locks of hair while he slept in her lap. His secret was revealed. His hair was cut. He strength was gone.
Do you see that Samson’s secret place was his hair?
In conclusion, depending on what we are working on, we all have our secret strength and place. The onus is on us to cultivate and dwell on this secret place to avoid losing power and focus.
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
Amid growing insecurity in different parts of the country, Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has urged residents to defend themselves against persistent bandit attacks.
He insisted that his administration would neither negotiate with nor pay ransom to criminals under any circumstances.
Bago made the declaration during a visit to the Rijau and Magama local government areas, where several communities were recently attacked by bandits operating from the Kontagora axis.
The governor said the State has reached a critical stage that demands collective action, warning that ransom payments would only embolden the criminals and turn kidnapping into a profitable venture.
“I will not negotiate with bandits. I will not pay ransom.
“The moment we start paying, they will open shop on our heads and continue kidnapping people,” he said.
“The situation has reached a state of war that requires collective resistance. We are surrounded by enemies, but we will not give up.
“The constitution gives us the right to defend our lives and property, and we will do just that,” the governor added.
Describing the recurring attacks and displacement of residents as “embarrassing and unacceptable,” Bago announced plans to recruit and train 10,000 personnel into the state’s joint task force to strengthen community security and restore peace.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Print Media, Aisha Wakaso, the governor also announced a total ban on all mining activities across Zone C of the state.
The affected local government areas include Magama, Kontagora, Rijau, Wushishi, Mariga, Borgu, Mashegu, and Agwara.
Bago explained that illegal mining had become a major driver of insecurity in the zone, noting that many miners had unrestricted access to forest areas considered unsafe for residents.
“It is suspicious that miners can enter the forests freely, yet the bandits don’t touch them. I have ordered the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to arrest anyone caught engaging in mining activities,” he said.
Governor Bago also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending the cycle of violence and restoring lasting peace throughout the state.
The Nigeria Police have reportedly arrested human rights activist Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore was taken into custody at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
This was revealed in a post on X by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong, who accused the police and President Bola Tinubu’s administration of undermining Nigeria’s judicial system.
He wrote: “The arrest of Omoyele Sowore at the Federal High Court in Abuja moments ago is preposterous.
“The police and the Tinubu regime are making a mockery of our judicial system.He should be freed immediately. Stop the shenanigans.”
Sowore had earlier posted on Facebook that he was with Kanu Agabi, the lead lawyer for Nnamdi Kanu, at the Federal High Court.
According to him, Agabi disclosed that his team would be withdrawing from the case, leaving Kanu to continue his trial without representation.
