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Food for Living: Nobody is Holding You Back
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
As humans, it is normal to feel disliked when we don’t get the desired attention or job we crave for. It is also normal to blame our environment or lack of education as being responsible for a lack of opportunities. Sometimes, we feel because our parents are born poor, that’s why we are poor. Let me tell you, if your parents are born poor, you don’t have to die poor. It is sadder to note most times, that we give excuses and blame others for our misfortunes in life. The truth is that nobody is responsible for your failure, you’re the one holding yourself down.
If you really want to get work done, you’ll have to get to work. Talk is cheap. I have since come to the sublime realization that the universe always set apart the man who knows where he is going. Waiting for the perfect time sometimes, is not the best. The more you explore, the more opportunities you will see. Most of the innovators who are truly successful didn’t see the big picture when they first began their project. The same is true for wealthy people who started their businesses with little capital.
Most times we think we need to be in a particular environment before we can make a difference, but that’s fallacy because if you truly want to make an impact in the society, you must start with yourself, with what you have and where you are. Let me ask you, have you ever wondered why you were born in a certain place? Have you bothered to know why you have peculiar traits or features? Have you ever wondered why you have an interest in a subject, business, or even arts? All these are very symbolic because they signify one thing; you have all you need to jumpstart your life.
Your success in life depends on many principles, but for the purpose of this article, we shall be exploring the TEA principle.
Time
If you are desirous of making an impact, what you do with your time defines a lot about you. You need to know how to maximize your time. Your time is the most productive asset you have in life. You can waste money and recover it, but you can’t waste time and recover it. Imagine if you are given $86,400 daily and you are told if you don’t use it will be erased, what will you do with it? That’s simply how time works. Each of us has 24hours in a day, to some, it’s not enough, to others it’s enough.
Environment
Your environment has a role to play in your life. I agree some environments encourage innovation, but remember, an artist, preacher, and comedian who was born and raised in the USA might have a challenge doing the same work in Africa and vice versa for an artist, comedian or preacher who was born and raised in Africa trying to entertain people in Europe. It is instructive to know that you’ll always be the same person except for two things; the books you read and the people you relate with. Avoid environments that bring out the worst in you. Once your environment is conducive and encouraging, your chances of succeeding in life will be high.
Association
Your success and failure can be linked to people. Human beings are the most priceless asset in life. According to Robin Sharma, “the business of business is human relation, but the business of life is human connection”. When you join worthy groups, associations and organizations, the tendency of succeeding will be high. Associate only with those who share the same or better values than you. And you will succeed.
How to Release Yourself from the Chains Holding You Back
Seek approval
If you are always focused on what others think of you, you are not ready to take charge of your life. Yes, there are times when it’s good to get the opinions of others, but you don’t need constant accolades from everyone around you. You are your own person, with your own successes and failure.
Define Your Goals
Defining your goals is the first step toward making them happen. It’s about creating a roadmap that will guide you. Without a plan to pull you into the future, you can easily go off course without even knowing it.
Avoid Self-doubt
Self-doubt is a dream killer. The fear of rejection will only fuel feelings of uncertainty and indecision. If you constantly doubt yourself and question whether your goals are attainable, you are one step from failure
Desist from Staying in Your Comfort Zone
Taking risks is a scary proposition for many. Stepping outside your comfort zone means taking a leap of faith and inviting the possibility of failure. But you will never know what you are truly capable of unless you try. Consider the many business leaders who took radical leaps out of their comfort zones such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Larry Ellison and Warren Buffet. All of them failed at one point, but none would have been successful if they hadn’t pushed themselves. Remember, with great risk comes the possibility of great reward.
Do Not Fold Your Arms Waiting for the right time
If you refuse to jump into the fray until it feels like the “right” time, you may spend your life as a benchwarmer. It’s one thing to make calculated risk by watching the economy or taking the time to fine-tune your skills. But don’t let fear keep you from moving forward. If you never start, you will never succeed.
Don’t Be Consumed by Fear of Failure
Sometimes, we let failures hold us down. Don’t let failure or past mistakes weigh you down. Instead, wear it like a badge of honour. I call failures experiences. No one succeeds without failing sometimes. In order to learn from failure, assess what went wrong. Learn the lessons you need to learn so you can move forward and make better decisions next time.
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
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
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has emerged as the Best Road Safety Agency in Africa. This monumental achievement corroborates the Corps’ almost four decades of dedication, resilience and passion towards safeguarding lives on Nigerian roads.
The Corps, according to a statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), received the award at the 3rd edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award held in Elzuwini in the Kingdom of Eswatini, South Africa between 14th and 15th of April 2025.
You may recall that Kofi Annan Road Safety Award was initiated by the Office of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Road Safety in collaboration with Kofi Annan Foundation to immortalize the contributions of African illustrious son Kofi Annan who served as the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The prestigious Road Safety Management Award represents a badge of honour for Nigeria, and a pure testament of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to unflinching support for the Federal Road Safety Corps and his believe in the Corps’ potential to serve as a model for other African nations. Indeed, FRSC’s tireless efforts to reduce road crashes and promote safe driving practices have paid off, earning recognition across the continent.
The recognition further speaks volume, as well as justifies the giant strides Nigeria has made in ensuring safety of road users and her leadership role in the Sub-region.
Reacting to the recognition, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed said that it is a testament to FRSC’s unrelenting passion for road safety. He thanked the entire community of the motoring public, stakeholders, partners, and the Nigerian people for their support. Emphasising that together, the Corps was able to achieve the enviable feat because of the collective energy and all round support received from the motoring public.
The Corps Marshal also revealed that FRSC’s winning formula includes, innovative strategies, implementing cutting-edge road safety initiatives that drive results, collaboration, fostering partnerships with stakeholders to promote road safety awareness, community engagement, educating the public on safe driving practices, full deployment of technology and road safety protocols.
The award was received on behalf of the Corps and the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Principal Staff Officer to the Corps Marshal ACM Meshach Adigizi Jatau.
A Chief Magistrate in the Rivers State Judiciary, Mr. Ejike George, has resigned his appointment.
He hinged his decision on the unease over the appointment of a Sole Administrator to oversee the affairs of the State.
His resignation was contained in a letter dated April 11, 2025, and addressed to the Honourable Chief Judge of Rivers State through the Secretary of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission.
The letter was titled “Voluntary Retirement From Service.”
George, who disclosed that he had put in 16 years in the judiciary, said the appointment of a Sole Administrator is tantamount to a “quasi-military administration.”
He expressed dismay over the direction of the governance of the State, which he said is “alien” and “antithetical” to the values of the legal profession.
The statement read: “This present is intended to convey my decision to voluntarily retire my appointment as Magistrate of the Judiciary of Rivers State.
“This difficult and regrettable decision is informed largely by my discomfort with the recent appointment of a quasi-military administration to run the affairs of a modern state like ours.
“Milord will agree with me that this type of governance system is not only alien but also runs antithetical to our hallowed profession as legal practitioners and adjudicators.
“Having put in a whopping 16 (sixteen) out of my 22 (twenty-two) years of legal practice into this Judiciary as Magistrate under successive democratic administrations, I find it difficult to work with the current setting, as doing so would amount to a tacit and naive acquiescence.
“Thanks Milord, for the opportunity to serve.”
