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Food for Living: Kick Out That Poverty Mentality
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It is generally believed that poverty is a disease. According to some schools of thought, poverty is infectious. These schools of thought believe that when you hang around with poor people, you’ll subconsciously begin to think and act like them. That’s why it’s highly imperative to be around great minds, and if possible, wealthy minds who have achieved genuine success. A popular saying has that if you are around nine billionaires, it won’t be long before you become the tenth billionaire.
Let’s contrast a poverty mindset as against a wealthy mindset with the full knowledge that a mindset is a lens through which we view the world. A poverty mindset is a set of beliefs and behaviors which has been subconsciously ingrained into one’s life. It comprised perceptions and attitudes that inform one’s thoughts and decisions. A wealthy mindset is a set of beliefs, habits, and behaviors that separates the wealthy from the rest.
Poverty mindset is commonly found in people who have experienced poverty in childhood. When you’ve got a poverty mentality, your mindset is fixed on a strong belief that everything is hard to get, i.e. it’s difficult to make money, get ahead in a career, make friends, and so on. In fact, you see life as a struggle or an uphill battle.
A poverty mindset makes you live in fear; it makes you feel you can’t achieve anything. It’s like tying a baby horse to a chair, the horse will grow to believe that the chair is responsible for his inability to move, not knowing that it is held bound by his mindset, and if only it can attempt to move, it will overcome any limitation surrounding it. But guess what? You can change your mindset. You are in control, you can re-engineer how you think.
To know someone who has a poverty personality, such a person normally always highlights a state of lack, the person always believe he or she cannot afford or attract what they need, the person plays the victim mentality, for instance, the person feels the wealth of some person is responsible for their misery. He always feels things will never change. Therefore, think, reflect and see if these signs are applicable to you.
The biggest misconception when it comes to wealth is that only people with millions of dollars in their bank accounts are “wealthy.” But that’s’ a fallacy because true wealth lies in ideas. It should be noted that lack of money is not only a result of finances but also, ideas. In fact, the greatest reason why most people are poor is as a result of a lack of ideas.
Some uninformed minds are quick to believe that provided they have “money”, they are smart. If the only thing you have is money, you are poor. This is because you should be able to get to a stage in life where your goodwill should be able to attract opportunities and favour for you. Let me put this in proper perspective, if you are given one million dollars and you have no idea of what to do with it, you’ll lavish the money with the hope that another money will come in. That’s simply how the poverty mindset works. But if you have ideas, you’ll invest money for good cause, no matter how little.
In our contemporary society, ideas run the world. Men of ideas are not only respected, but they are valued. According to Quincy Adams, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” The question you should be asking yourself is, whose voice am I listening to? Who are am I associating with? If I am working with the same people in the same environment, am I likely to achieve my vision? If your answer is no, it’s high time you told yourself the honest truth. Remember, you can lie to others, but you can never lie to yourself.
Sign of Poverty Mentality
Blame Game
Poor minds are always fond of playing the blame game. You blame everyone and every circumstance for any misfortune that come your way. You blame the economy, government, your employer, your spouse, your parents for everything. You fail to realize there’s a universal law that says, “What you focus on expands”. People who play this card always have an entitlement mentality.
Poor Mindset
According to Lao Tzu: “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” Most times we think just because we can’t afford something, we feel it is far from our reach. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “We become what we think about all day long. “Norman Vincent Peale opines, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
To Develop a Wealth Mindset?
The best part of developing a wealth mindset is that you can start immediately — by education, strategizing, and then take action. You can do this by saying, “I am good enough.” “I can succeed” “I will be rich.” This is called a shift in mindset.
Think Big
Use your thoughts to change your perception to life. Kick out any negative thoughts that tells you your environment or family background will limit you from becoming wealthy. Get into a group of big thinkers by investing in yourself. Attend courses, programmes, and events of interest to gain clarity.
Have an Abundance Mindset
Being consciously aware that you need to change how you think is the starting point. An abundance mindset is a belief that there’s plenty of everything for everyone, and lots of time to get it. When you have an abundance mindset, lack disappears. You can use the law of attraction to attract what you need. You can practice using gratitude and positive affirmations to change your mindset from a poverty mindset to a wealth mindset. When you spend time appreciating what you have (e.g. people, places, things, and character traits), you move into a much more positive mental space.
Poverty mentality is not only limited to money and ideas, it is also related to personality and attitudes. For instance, as a student, your grades are not enough for you to get a job, employers also look at your personality and vision to life. As a single lady, men are not only interested in your beauty, they scale up their search to know if you have a good character. As an entrepreneur or businessman/woman, your customers are not only concerned about your product, they also look to see how you treat them. As a job seeker, you can kick out the entitlement and poverty mindset by volunteering or working as an intern, by so doing, an opportunity can be created for you.
In conclusion, I will advise and suggest you sit down and evaluate your thoughts, actions, mindset, friends, and most importantly evaluate your life and ask yourself, am I existing or living? Do you see yourself reaching or living the kind of life you aspire with the kind of thoughts and lifestyle you are living today?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and self-discovery expert. 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 and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the North will, in the next six months, take a stand on who to support for the presidency in 2027.
He boasted that no politician can win the presidency in 2027 without the support of the region.
In a video interview he granted in Hausa language, Baba-Ahmed, who appeared alongside a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation and urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections.
He said: “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
According to the former presidential aide, the North has suffered greatly during the Boko Haram insurgency, which affected all groups, Muslims, Christians, Fulani, Baju, and others, highlighting the need for unity.
“Before Buhari became president, Boko Haram was bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. That was a time Northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect Northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he questioned.
He therefore warned against further marginalization of the North, noting that continued disregard for the region would have consequences.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching, elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say “enough is enough ‘. The injustice and sidelining must stop.
Baba-Ahmed urged the northern region to look beyond identity politics, stressing that competence and integrity should guide voter decisions.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has charged Christians to embrace the virtues that Christ preached as the 2025 Easter celebrations hold this weekend.
While congratulating Christians in Nigeria in a goodwill message released from its Lagos Head Office on Thursday, Globacom admonished them to imbibe the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
According to Glo, “Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”
Globacom charged all Nigerians to espouse the lessons of selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society and called on all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
The company praised their perseverance through the 40-day Lenten period which comes before Easter as it emphasized the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
Easter comes yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of unhindered voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
Dear Destiny Friends,
Every human being loves to get approval, either for the great work they have done or the ones they are doing. They love to be appreciated and admired. They also love to be given attention when they have something valuable to say or do. In all of these, one thing is certain, there is something special about us, and this special thing makes one unique, and ultimately attracts people to us.
Let’s face it, nobody will admire you, appreciate you, approve you and give you attention if you don’t have anything to offer. The reason most people associate with someone is because they feel or know there’s something they can gain from the person. It’s hard for someone to relate closely with someone who they don’t see potential value in.
There is no doubt each and everyone of us is unique, yes, there’s something unique about you. You can sing, you can write, you can dance, you can lead, you can serve, you can cook, etc. One can even be a good actor, athlete, comedian, or preacher. The list is literally endless. Now, what’s unique about you?
When you discover what’s unique about you, please do all within your reach to nurture and develop it. One day, the right person, who truly appreciates and knows your value will celebrate you.
I have a friend who is exceptionally skilled in writing and developing creative contents. I call him a genius because he can literally write a book within a week. How he does it is what I don’t understand. I was surprised when he once told me he wrote a book and manuscript in one week. According to him, he has been developing the contents mentally, but hasn’t found time to put his thoughts together, and when he finally gets his thoughts together, he was able to write the book and manuscript. This is a typical way of knowing a unique being.
Many, however, do not know what’s unique about them. We focus our energy chasing what is not chasing us instead of focusing on developing what we already have. It’s sad to see young and old people living their lives in an unintentional manner with a belief that somehow lines, favour or opportunities will fall in place for them.
Sometimes, we rely on other people’s affirmation and opinion, and accept it as our fate. For instance, just because one is tall, he might be told he will be a great fit for basketball without considering if the athlete loves basketball; again, just because someone is very intelligent, his parents will encourage him to major in a particular discipline, which is perceived as lucrative without considering if the person likes it pr not.
I once experienced this fate when my late dad inspired me to study taxation law in New York Law School, a major I detest with passion. It was like a suicidal mission for me because I do know, it will take miracle to graduate from the program. How I was able to get a scholarship for my grades and graduate in record time is a story for another day. I’m not wired as a finance person, I will better serve humanity in the social and developmental space where my skills, talents, gift and passion will be better utilized. And ever since I joined the space, I have seen results.
There are many cases where many people lose their identities without knowing they are unique. We are all unique in our individual ways. Just like there are several gifts and talents, we have different skills. When you know what’s unique about you, you will stand out and the world will not only appreciate you, but will celebrate you.
When one discovers the power of their uniqueness, we will gather strength to unleash it to the world. Uniqueness works in several ways. For instance, the mere fact that ten people are genius, talented, skillful or valuable in a particular work, the person with the unique gift is the person who will not only stand out, but will be called upon to do the work.
Let me share more insight. If ten people sing a particular song with a great voice, the person who is called to be a singer will receive a unique appreciation because he/she is working on purpose. That is why it is easy to see a lot of people venturing into a particular form of business, but the favour of the business will not locate them because they are not uniquely destined to do business.
Few years ago, one of my mentors shared a deep insight with me. He said that, as a trained medical doctor, he once observed that despite the fact there are hundreds and thousands of medical doctors practicing their profession. One fateful day, he noticed a particular patient was not responding to treatment despite all the medication that had been given to him by a nurse, his health was deteriorating, then another nurse came and administered the same pill a nurse gave the patient, and the patient began to feel better. What does that tell you? The second nurse was probably working in her purpose which aligns with her profession, and as such the corresponding success. This goes to show that when one is unique, it has a way of robbing off on their work.
Furthermore, he stated that Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce are some of the gifted singers and dancers the world has ever celebrated. He went on to say that we have hundreds and thousands of musicians, but only a few have got the spotlight.
What does that tell you? When you are unique, the world will celebrate you. I have understood that the fastest way to get recognition in life is to work in areas where one’s strength and unique gift will better serve the purpose. This is simply because the world does not celebrate one’s weakness, rather, the world celebrates one’s strength.
In recent times, I have seen myself as a counselor and human inspiration. My counseling skills have enabled me to influence people to live positive lives. Overtime, I have realized that when people share their burden with me, they feel relieved after speaking with me. What amazes me most is the fact that even my elders feel comfortable to relate with me on a cordial basis. Maybe, I have a unique gift for counseling and educating.
Today, I am going to charge you to focus your energy and time on whatever will bring you the highest satisfaction. Even if you are looking for a job, applying for school, or seeking any opportunity, your focus should be centered on what you have that the job, school or opportunity will amplify. When you do so, you will be in high demand.
In conclusion, please affirm to yourself today, I am a unique being with a unique personality, purpose and gift.
Say to yourself, ‘I am original’, and refuse to be fake.
Again confess that your originality, authenticity and uniqueness will attract favours, blessings, opportunities from leaders and queens to you, and you will be celebrated.
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
