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Food for Living: No Pain, No Gain
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
In our business and academic journeys, or even in the race for heaven for those who believe in heaven, we all may have heard of the idiom “no pain no gain” as used in different contexts. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the fact remains that treasures are always hidden. Gold and diamond are valuable treasures that can’t be found on the surface of the earth. If you need treasures, you must seek them.
The journey to success is not an easy route. You will encounter so many challenges, bumps, and disappointments. These are some of the prices you have to pay. You might wake up a little bit early, you may need to spend an extra hour(s) working on your craft after your normal working hours just to develop your business. You need to exercise to keep fit. You need to save for the rainy day.
No genuine and successful human being will tell you the journey to success was easy. Some successful people take the pain to write their stories in form of a book, blog, songs, etc. for the world to read and at the same time be inspired.
To achieve success, you must put in the work. It’s sad to note that many people like to wear crowns, but don’t like the thorns or process that is associated with the crown. They desire your glory, but they don’t want the story associated with the glory. They want your Blessings, but they don’t want your burdens. That’s why a celebrated Nigerian artist, Tuface Idibia said, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.
Success is not guaranteed in life. In fact, nothing is guaranteed in life, not even the life itself. Nobody gives you any sensitive position, valuable opportunity, or treasure just because you are a “nice guy”. You must earn it. There are opportunities you must create by making yourself available for them.
The interesting thing about grinding for success is that the world does not see you when you are in the backroom building your craft, neither do they celebrate you then, but when you are done and the work is good, you’ll be appreciated and celebrated.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, “In any venture, there’s no gain without some form of some of pain. After all, anyone who wants to be delivered from a bad tooth must be prepared to go through the journey of tooth extraction. You must be prepared to put in more to get more. You will have to invest effort into life for life to deliver its bounties into you. Decide today to despise the free lunch. Launch yourself into action. Start now”.
It is a universal principle of life that there’s no gain without pain. There are situations ladies have been told you have to use what you have to get what you don’t have. These ladies decide to use sex as a weapon to lure men for jobs/opportunities. However, they forget to understand that sex can only attract a man, it can’t keep him. What keeps a man is a value you bring to the table. So what’s the reasoning behind attracting a job/opportunity you don’t have the mental capacity to sustain? Hence, this is one reason progressive ladies decide to work harder and smarter to get whatever position they desire.
Furthermore, we have seen instances where people equate suffering with discomfort. For a better illustration, there’s a difference between pain and comfort. Pain results from injury, but discomfort is a result of sacrifice you have to go through to enjoy the fruit of your labour. According to Jeanette Coron “Success requires sacrifice.
To put discomfort in proper perspective, you can decide to pay now and play later, or you play now in order to pay later. The choice is yours. The big question I like to ask my friends is, what do you want? What result would you like to see/get at the end of the day? Depending on your answer, you will have to decide if you can pay the price.
Let’s take for instance, you are interested in losing weight, your best bet will be to work on your diet, before working in the gym, but its quite unfortunate some people spend time working out in the gym and spend less time on their diet. It should be noted that top athletes who have carved a niche and name for themselves understand that there’s no gain without pain.
In summary, what are you willing to sacrifice today to gain your desired glory?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and 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
