News
Food for Living: Life with a Purpose
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
This is one topic I am most passionate about. I can write about purpose a thousand and one times without blinking an eye. Even while I am in deep sleep, I can speak about purpose. This is because I have come to the sublime realization of who I am. The centerline of purpose, without equivocation, is self-discovery, and self-discovery is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Many people; students, parents, politicians, leaders, and businesses fail in life because they don’t understand the concept of purpose. Many of them are victims of defective success. Many people don’t know themselves. Many of them are just existing as opposed to living. Therefore, the topic of purpose is very important.
Purpose determines how we live our life. It is the reason you get up in the morning. Purpose influences the decisions we make; it determines how we behave, and it gives us a sense of direction.
As a human capacity coach, one of my strengths is centered on purpose and self self-discovery. Every being on earth has a purpose. Every animal, innovation, business, food, cloth, bag, remote, box, game, etc. have a purpose. Without purpose, it won’t be in existence. For instance, if you are thirsty, depending on how you feel, you might decide to take warm water or cold water. If you are traveling, you can decide to either go by road, water, rail or air. The choice is utterly yours to decide, and your decision will depend on the need-factor that will best suit your journey.
It should be noted that your life was given to you to accomplish a purpose, and a breath was give to you to accomplish that purpose. Everything you do outside purpose defeats purpose. When you work on your purpose, you will receive grace to accomplish the assignment. You can’t receive glory outside the place of your assignment Glory is what happens when people see your good work and appreciate your God/creator who made it possible. We are all global citizens, and as such, we are expected to shine.
Living a life of purpose is the most important thing. Any life without purpose is life in futility. Without purpose, there’s no value, and when there’s no value, there’s no life. Purpose determines function.
When you live your purpose on purpose, you’ll be intentional in whatever you are doing. When you’re living your life on purpose, the universe will align with you, and you won’t need to struggle to survive. In fact, you’ll find joy and peace of mind.
Purpose seems to be misunderstood and misinterpreted by so many people. It has been defined in many ways a particular author deems fit for his/her mission. To a student in college, purpose means something else; to an entrepreneur, purpose means something else; to a medical doctor, academic, writer, athlete, comedian, or Minster of God, it means also means something else. It basically means different things depending on the mission and goa they need to accomplish.
It might not seem rosy most times, when you work on purpose. There is a tendency that people will laugh at you if you don’t have anything to show for it and if you are not able to monetize the business part of your purpose. Every productive venture we engage in has a productive side, it is up to you to decipher by looking deep in addition to exploring other options, systems, structures, funnels, and strategies on how you can monetize your purpose.
It’s instructive to note that everyone you meet on the street is a potential client, because the challenge most people have is how to find a solution to the problem they have. Once you can create value for them, you will be handsomely rewarded. To that extent, you need guidance on how to apply this knowledge, and so I will strongly recommend you ask a coach or if you feel comfortable, you can reach out to me to assist you.
Purpose is very dynamic; many people have been wondering how can they discover their purpose. I will share some insight on how you can discover your purpose. To know your purpose, if you are spiritually inclined like me, you’ll believe in God or the creator, you’ll look up to him via prayers, or meditation to reveal your purpose on earth.
It should be noted that everyone has an assignment and purpose. Your purpose was ordained in heaven while your assignment is on earth. So, if you decide to detour, you might still attain success, but then, you might be a victim of defective success. You may be wondering what is defective success? Imagine leaning your ladder on the wrong wall to get to the peak of the ladder only to discover that it is leaning on the wrong ladder. Let’s put it in perspective, imagine having the interest to be an accountant, but the vicissitudes of life or your parents influence you to study law, yes, you might get to the pinnacle of the legal profession, but since your passion is to be an accountant, you will be regarded as a defective success.
Another way to discover what your purpose is, is by looking at what makes you happy vis a vis your talents, skills and gifts. You can determine purpose by looking at how you invest your time, what you do with your money, what interests you, the feedback you receive from your work, how you find fun, the people you surround yourself with, and what interests you. You can even discover your pulse due to the causes you pursue like injustices, domestic violence, sexual abuse, etc.
Furthermore, if you are asked what you would do or how you would want to be remembered if you knew you were going to die in a year from today, your response can tell one what you are passionate about. The same goes for if you are asked what you would do $100million dollars to enjoy. Note that the money is not for investment purposes though.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker. 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
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.
The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no gainsaying the fact that everyone desirous of making impact in life must live a life of purpose. This is where knowledge and information come to play. It is these knowledge and information that will set an individual apart from his contemporaries.
I strongly believe, if one is not informed, they are ill-informed, and when they are ill-informed, they can’t perform well in any given endeavour. This is because information leads to reformation and transformation. We can therefore, confidently say that information leads to formation because everyone is a product of what they know.
Knowledge acquisition is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. People with knowledge are revered, and highly respected. Having knowledge is like having money. People from all walks of life will seek you.
There are different kinds of knowledge, and they include Revealed Knowledge, which comes from those who wrote the Bible and Intuitive Knowledge, which comes from the mind. It is the ability to gain knowledge without conscious reason or explanation.
Others are Empirical Knowledge, which is information gained through observation, experimentation, and direct experience, rather than through theoretical reason or intuition; Authoritative Knowledge, which is the knowledge a man has because of his expertise in a particular field; and finally but not the least, Rational Knowledge, which is a form of knowledge that uses reasoning and philosophy to understand the world.
From this illustration, a decisive mind can see that knowledge is priceless. Knowledge is like education. It can provide security and access. Even the Book of life says in Proverbs 4:13, “your education is your life, guard it very well”; and in Hosea 4:6 that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”.
From my personal experience in life, apart from death, one of the greatest levelers of all time is education. This is because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. That explains why children from humble backgrounds ought to take their education very seriously, especially if they don’t have affluence.
On a personal note, I come from a very humble background, my late parents didn’t have the opportunity of acquiring a decent education, but they knew the value of education and endeavored to give me and my siblings a decent education. In retrospect, when I look back and see some of my contemporaries whose parents couldn’t give them a decent education, I bless my late parents because education has exposed me to lots of opportunities in the United States, and the global world in addition to granting me an audience with the high and mighty in society.
Sometimes, when I look at my modest achievement, I’m deeply humbled because I know it is the grace of God. Who am I to author two amazing trailblazers’ books, get featured and profiled by the New York Times, engage in high level conversation with leaders of thought and captains of industries. Apart from the grace of God, intentional seeking of knowledge, and wise counsel from mentors and strategically positioning myself have been some of the cornerstone to my success.
Imagine if my late parents didn’t give me a decent education and opportunity of travelling to the United States, most of these opportunities and exposure wouldn’t have been readily available.
When one is decently enlightened, educated and informed about life, their level of reasoning and understanding differ from an ordinary man. If one desires to go far in life, one must seek knowledge.
It is your knowledge that sets you apart from others.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished Ghostwriter, “If you are a man of great knowledge, people will have great respect for you. If you are a man of great wisdom, people will have great reverence for you. And if you are a man of both, great knowledge and great wisdom, you will be the most eminent of men. But in real terms, people don’t care how much you know, or how much wisdom you have, unless they know how much you care.”
The moral of this quote is that despite the knowledge and information at one’s disposal, if one lacks empathy, their knowledge, experience and whatever they have mean nothing.
The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. In our contemporary society, a fast way of attracting opportunities is by showcasing the knowledge at one’s disposal. It is so sad that many people don’t take time to read, research and learn new trends applicable in their industry, and in the world generally and as such, they find it difficult to fit in and grow.
It is instructive to note that when you seek knowledge, opportunities will seek for you. A major reason people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems and to solve problems, one ought to have understanding. Do you know that if you don’t have money, the reason is often because you are not solving a problem, or you are not solving enough problems, or you are not solving the right problem or you are not solving problems for the right people. Generally, we make money because we have something unique to offer to the world. Therefore, to solve problems, one must have knowledge and information.
We currently live in an age of technological, where skills, talent and creativity are in high demand. Any progressive being that desires to go far must be intentional in seeking knowledge. Successful acquisition of knowledge, information and understanding can lead to discernment and wisdom.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, if you want to make an impact, seek opportunities, and earn more money, do yourself a favour by endeavoring to seek knowledge, wisdom, and information. You can’t get these by sitting on your sofa or staying in your comfort zone.
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
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced this in a statement, on Thursday.
A former aide of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Bwala worked actively for his former principal who lost to Tinubu.
However, after the elections, he worked his way into the camp of Tinubu, sparking controversy.
Onanuga also announced the appointments of three directors-general of various agencies.
They are:
(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade — Director-General, National Sports Commission
(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade — Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism
(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun — Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement
Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.
He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.
The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.
Daily Trust
