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Food for Living: Navigating the Success Terrain
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It is a widely held claim that success is a journey and not a destination. In truth, only complacent persons relax when they get to the promised land (success). When we talk of success, most people see the end product as opposed to the process and journey. Did you know that it is the process that makes success admirable? To understand how journey works, imagine solving a complex mathematical problem; it is the formula that enables you to arrive at the right answer.
Success is a journey, and is associated with many twists. One must navigate the storms and challenges that come with it. To understand success better, imagine the time and different ingredients a cook must have invested to prepare a delicious meal. When you wrongly add an ingredient, you are likely to get a different taste. That’s simply how success works. Again, imagine driving a car with “GPS” and you miss your route, your GPS is likely to take another route, that’s how success works. It takes a lot of twits.
The focus of this article is to encourage us to be strong in our pursuit of success. There will definitely be setbacks and challenges, but then, every traveller on the success route must know there is a price to pay. Personally, I always focus on the big picture, and by so doing, draws a lot of inspiration and energy to follow it through and win.
It should be noted that there is no single way to success. Your success might come from your network, strangers, family, academics, government, mentor, mentee, or even your enemy trying to pull you down. What is required is for you to recognize the opportunity that is presented to you and capitalize on it.
To navigate the terrain of success, you must first build and develop the success mindset. This enables you to learn and develop your talents and gifts as opposed to limiting your thought process through a fixed mindset.
A growth mindset enables you to have emotional intelligence which helps you to understand and reason with emotions without allowing sentiments to cloud your reasoning and understanding. Emotional intelligence makes you focus on other people by practicing empathy. It also enables you to explore other variables.
To navigate the terrain of success, first believe in yourself, then believe in your project/vision. This is the only way others can believe in you and your vision. Remove every doubt, and negative energy, and focus on the work at hand. Even when the journey is rough and seems impossible, always think about the big picture.
Another component one must bear in mind in the journey to success is courage. Not everyone will believe in your work, and that’s okay. You don’t need everyone to believe in your project, just the right people. It is like thinking everyone will like you. All you need is the right people to love you and you’ll be fine.
Curiosity is another great attribute for great minds to navigate the train of success. When you are curious to know why something is working and why it is not working, you are bound to explore other opportunities. When you are curious, you are likely to experiment new things by taking strategic and reasonable risks.
When you are curious, you will brainstorm on what is needed to generate ideas, engage in creative problem solving and learn through inquiry. When brainstorming is used for problem-solving in a team environment, it incorporates team members’ diverse experiences to increase the depth of the ideas being explored,
Brainstorming enables you to practice inquiry form of learning. It enables you to through the process of exploring the targeted issue by asking questions, making new discoveries, gaining a new sense of understanding, and fulfilling your own curiosities.
Other attributes needed to navigate the path of success are:
Competitiveness
Successful people are always competing with themselves as opposed to competing with other people. To navigate the terrain of success, you must nurture your project by focusing on how you can improvise your work when you face opposition.
Seek Out Mentors
To navigate the terrain of success you must ride with people who are more experienced than you. These people must have certain traits that have distinguished them. Study them to know what makes them tick. Ask them questions. Even if it means paying, please do. Read as much as you can about them. Research a lot about them to understand their thought process especially if they are relevant in your industry or what you’ll like to do.
Be Optimistic
This is one of the biggest qualities you will have as an individual. You just must be optimistic. If you lose all options never lose hope. Your optimism is capable of drawing people close to you. You can choose to be optimistic by practicing gratitude, patience, humility, and kindness and you also choose to be pessimistic; the choice is truly yours.
Check-In With Yourself Regularly
To increase your chances of success in life, you need to consistently monitor, evaluate, and adjust your approach, methods, and work on craft. This helps you to adjust to the realities of life.
Act
This is one of the most interesting aspects of navigating the terrain of success. Execution is very important in life. This is where most people fail, complain, and give excuses. One attribute that often separates successful people from unsuccessful people is simply taking action. Those who achieve success may not be smarter than those who don’t, but they make plan to act. Let me tell you, done is better than perfect when perfect is not done. Do you know that the value that you get from that first action will inspire you to continue on to the next project?
In summary, your success ultimately comes down to your actions, perceptions, and attitudes. There are a lot of tips out there on how to be successful in life, but unless you are proactive in doing the work that is required, you will find yourself settling for a life that wasn’t what you dreamed it to be. Having read this life-changing article, are you willing to take action? Are you confused? Do you need help in taking action? If yes, I can use assist you, kindly reach out with the email below.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. 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
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
