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Food for Living: Grace to Succeed
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, while some have greatness thrust upon them” – Williams Shakespeare
One may be wondering whether leaders are born or made? Depending on your side of the divide, one message is clear, success comes with a sprinkle of grace. This is because no matter how smart and hard you work, if you’re not destined and favoured to succeed in your craft or business, you’ll have a hard time bringing your idea to fruition.
It is pertinent to note that one of the most difficult nuts to crack on the road to success is self-discovery. Self-discovery has led many people and businesses to fail. This is because many people fail to take into consideration the success or otherwise of the business or task they are about to embark upon.
It is quite unfortunate to know that many people don’t know the difference between their purpose and assignment. Some people even find it difficult to differentiate between their vocation, profession and mission.
Let me assist, and explain each concept. Your purpose is your assignment. It can be likened to the gifts and talents which you came to earth with. Your purpose cannot be changed. It comes with a customized manual which can only be used by you or the product it was designed for. Your assignment, on the other hand, can be regarded as skill which can be learned or acquired. Your assignment can changed overtime as different tasks and responsibilities arise.
Your profession is what you are trained to do; for example you might be trained to be a lawyer, doctor, or to work in a skill acquisition programme. Your vocation is what you are paid to do, which is whatever legitimate work you are paid to do, while your mission is what you are created or made to fulfill.
This can be called your purpose in life. It’s only in your mission and purpose that you find fulfillment and grace to succeed, and that is if you work according to the voice of reason. But when you work outside your territory or what you were created or destined for, you might hit the rock.
If you are not working on your purpose, you might succeed, but will never have the inner joy and fulfillment in comparison to someone who’s working in accordance to his mission. Great minds who dare to succeed know very well that they have a burning purpose to be agents of change in the society, and as such they close their eyes to other factors which can serve as a detraction.
It is interesting to know that some people figured themselves out very early in life, while some figured themselves out later in life, while some others never figured themselves out until they left the surface of the earth.
If you are having a hard time figuring yourself out, or wish to know how you can unleash your potentials, please reach out to me via email via info@gloemic.com and I will be glad to walk you on this awesome journey to self-discovery towards unleashing your divinely orchestrated potentials.
For you to excel in life, you must have a touch of grace and excellent. Both of them work together because if you have grace and don’t do a good job to complement the work, your work might not be greatly appreciated. In the same way, if you have excellent work but don’t have the grace, you’ll be surprised to know that someone with less than what you have may be selected for the task.
You may be wondering, what’s grace? Grace in this context means a supernatural blessing and favour that comes with every human being on creation. Your grace can be likened to your DNA which you got from your parent(s). Everything you need to succeed in life is inside your DNA which you can call manual.
We all need this grace to succeed. Your grace is not your mentor, father or teacher; your grace is the blessing your creator gave to you when you were coming to fulfill your life purpose.
There’s a slight difference between favour, grace and mercy. Favour is a blessing which the universe bestows on you due to likeness or luck. Grace on the other hand is the blessing which you don’t have to labour to earn. But mercy can be linked to a punishment which one deserves, but was pardoned.
That said, let’s see how grace can spur one to success. You might have all the favours and opportunities life can offer, but if you are not programmed and destined for the task, you will lose out on the opportunities, but even if all the odds are against you, and you have grace and mercy, the universe has a way of bringing fortunes to you even in unprecedented manner.
Grace is a sprinkle of blessings and favours, which comes from different people. It can be from your parents, supervisors, managers, employers and even strangers. When the right people with the right energy and blessing favours you, you will succeed, but if the wrong people with all the titles, like your parents, supervisor, manager etc. empower you even without having grace, you might just be moving in motion without any movement.
Therefore, I will strongly advise you to locate your destiny helper by seeking for grace from the right people to not only favour and have mercy upon you, but also bless you
Impeached Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has described the corruption allegations against him as “fictitious and unsubstantiated”.
Speaking during a welcome rally at his residence in GRA, Ikeja on Saturday, Obasa maintained that he was not afraid of being impeached but emphasised that due process was not followed.
The former Speaker alleged that his removal was orchestrated while he was away, and accused the state commissioner of police of aiding the process.
He claimed security agents, led by the police commissioner, invaded the assembly complex and his homes in Agege and Ikeja, locking his family indoors with over 200 officers present.
Obasa dismissed allegations of misappropriation.
He mocked claims that a gate construction had cost N16 billion, saying, “Is it the wall of Jericho?”
He said: “I am not afraid of being removed, after all, it is not my father’s chieftaincy title. I am representing my people and they have returned me six times. If you want to do anything, do it well.
“They did the removal all because I was out of the country. Lagos is a special place, we cannot denigrate the state.
The former Speaker cited the case of the former speaker, Rt. Hon Jokotola Pelumi.
He said when Pelumi was removed, he was in the assembly and “we did not invite policemen.
“When my sister, former deputy speaker of the House, Hon. Adefunmilayo Tejuosho was removed, we did not invite the police.”
Obasa said an innocent person should not be discredited, and there must be proof of allegations showing exactly what he has done.
“The Lagos State House of Assembly is above common standard of excellence.
“I appreciate the members of the governance advisory council and Governor Babajide Olusola Aanwo-Olu of the state. He is my brother and he always calls me his younger brother.”
Obasa was impeached on January 13 by more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house over alleged misconduct and sundry offences.
His Deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately elected the new speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in the State.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has confirmed that 38 persons, including seven crew members, were injured when a United Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Lagos on Friday morning.
The Boeing 787-8 flight with 245 passengers was en route to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), in the United States, from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, when it developed problems midair and was forced to return to the airport.
There were also 11 crew members – eight attendants and three pilots – on the plane.
The FAAN Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, who confirmed the incident through a statement, said all passengers and crew disembarked safely.
She, however, said four passengers and two crew members sustained serious injuries.
According to her, 27 passengers and five crew members had minor injuries.
The statement read: “The United Airlines Boeing 787-800 departed Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, at 11:59pm on Thursday, but made air return and landed safely at 3.22am on Friday.
“On board were 245 adults and 11 crew members.
“The team of Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services, Aviation Medical, and Aviation Security were already at the gate when the aeroplane parked for deboarding at D31 without incident, and the door was opened at 3:37am.
“While all passengers and crew disembarked safely, four passengers and two crew members sustained serious injuries, and an additional 27 passengers and five crew members had minor injuries.
“The rescue team responded swiftly and effectively, having been on alert and standby.
“Aviation medical ambulances transported the injured passengers, some to the MMA Clinic and others to the headquarters clinic.”
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There’s no doubt that human beings by nature are insatiable. When we get one opportunity, we always look for another. When we attain one height, we always look for another accomplishment. Isn’t it true that the end of one mountain is the beginning of another.
However, I don’t think it’s selfish for anyone to dare to succeed.
Being ambitious doesn’t make one an opportunist or disloyal. It all depends on one’s perception or outlook to life. It’s just natural for one to dream big. It’s only ugly when the process one chooses to achieve his desires becomes dirty and nasty.
According to a former Nigerian presidential candidate and seasoned Economist, Mr. Peter Obi, “if you must be referred to as “Your Excellency”, then the process through which you arrived in office must be excellent”.
If you desire to be reckoned with on the journey of existence, you must be legitimately hungry for success. One’s hunger for success will facilitate the drive to accomplish great tasks despite daunting obstacles posing as challenges.
When one has this mindset, one will not be bothered by the noise which serves as obstacles and challenges along the way. Negative and weak minds are always concerned on why something won’t work. They tend to focus their energy and reasons on the obstacles facing them. But great and productive minds always focus their energy on the reasons why it will work. This is the spirit of an insatiable mind who is a goal- getter.
It’s instructive to note that we can’t please everyone. According to Bill Cosby, a famous actor, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” Isn’t it true that when you talk, people will still talk about you, when you don’t talk, people will talk about you, so whether you talk or not, people will still judge you, so, do what’s best for you. There’s nothing you can do to please human beings. Your best option is to live your best life.
To understand how the insatiable nature of man works, one must be oneself. You don’t have to “please” anyone. Be yourself, and don’t try to be like anyone just to curry favour. It’s important to note that when you are yourself, the people that matter will come through for you, and the people that don’t matter will gradually find the bearing in another space because those that truly care don’t bother and those that bother don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Life has truly taught me to focus on the important things of life as opposed to the mundane things. It’s truly sad to see people spending more time on the little things of life, and spending little time on the important things of life. That’s just a misplaced priority.
When you are yourself, the best people can do is to copy or imitate your style. They can never imitate your creativity nor can take your originality from you.
We live in a world or society where people don’t generally care or show empathy. Most people tend to live around themselves, their family, and close associates. They generally find it hard to lift a finger to assist others for reasons best known to them. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka once said, “we live in a wicked generation”, re-echoing the voices of a lot of people of the world. Some people in authority just have criminal expertise in amassing wealth of opportunities meant for the citizens without thinking of the citizens they are meant to serve.
It’s worthy of note that not everyone will like you nor support your work, but when you find people who truly care about you; please hold them tight. This is because despite having family members you have shown love and compassion, they might not still appreciate you even if you lay your life for them, they will still find something to say. Again, this is the insatiable nature of man.
It’s okay for everyone not to like you, normalize living your life for God, yourself, family and those that care about you. If everyone likes you, you have a problem.
Did you know that you can get a new family from friends, strangers, and acquaintances? These sets of people might appreciate you more than your own family members. They might not demand or under appreciate you like your family members and close friends or associates. Any little support you give them will be highly appreciated. Their focus is to see you do better.
In conclusion, as you desire to succeed in life, never give in to failure until you have made your last attempt, and never make your last attempt until you succeed. This literally means whatever you desire, dream it, think it, say it, and believe you can achieve it. This principle is generally applicable to relationships, businesses, family, personal and professional development.
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
