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Food for Living: Of Mindset and Attitude
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
One of the fastest ways of making a headway in life is having the right attitude. A right attitude is priceless, and grants easy access to and from people. This is in clear contrast with a nasty attitude, which attracts distaste and repulsion.
Attitude permeates relationships with fellow human beings at work, school or public spaces. People can literally see our personalities, mindsets, behaviors through our attitudes.
As a Human Capacity coach, one of the qualities I look for in any person is attitude. When you show an attitude that portrays allegiance to money as opposed to learning, your potential of going far in life will be limited. You luterally show you don’t have the capacity to be loyal when the chips are down.
While exhibiting the right attitude, theee is the possibility of everyone not agreeing with you, however, it is advisable not to burn bridges because you never know when you will need them. You can only do this when you have the right attitude to life.
The right attitude is a currency just like relationships, network, social media and value though a lot of people fail ro realiae the fact. In my relationship with the high and mighty in society and men of influence and affluence, I have seen how they perceive and interpret certain acts. What ordinarily might not amount to anything from an uninformed mind might be the icing on the cake for the great man. For instance, if a resourceful person asks you to do a job, it will be wise to do it for free. Resist the temptation to ask for money.
That’s a great way of marketing yourself to the person involved. If they appreciate your work, you might be surprised to get a good opportunity that catapults you to unimaginable heights.
Also, if the great man asks you to do some work, instead of saying, this is an opportunity to make some cool cash, consider doing the work with the least cost just to make him a potential client. I recently met a young man online who is good with YouTube videos, I asked him if he could cut a video for me, the amount he called was on the high side.
Be advised, I know value has to be appreciated. What this young man didn’t know was that I was testing his attitude with the hope of working with him, but quite unfortunately he failed the test. I had to devise an alternative means to get it done for free.
This is why mentorship is very important. When you have good mentors, they will advise you to think and serve in the right manner. Most young people always operate from a lack mindset. They want to eat their cakes and have it. They fail to understand that there’s seed time and harvest time.
In my relationship with some of my mentors, I have bought nice perfumes, shoes, and luxury gifts to them in appreciation of their kind counsel. What’s important here is not necessarily the amount per se, but the mindset and attitude. Be advised, I didn’t ask for money. I had to show them via my mindset, I’m not a burden so they can feel comfortable relating with me.
As a matter of fact, one of my mentors once said to me, I give him more money than he gives him. When you juxtapose this with contemporary youths, most of them are merely concerned about what they can get as opposed to what they can learn.
It’s instructive to note that it is your attitude and not your aptitude that will determine your altitude. With the right attitude, people will see through your thought process and mindset. My late mother will always say, when someone is talking, look beyond their words and focus on what’s inside their heart/mind. It’s just like communication, your focus is not on what’s being said, but on what is not being said.
One a personal note, I have learnt to study the attitude and mindset of many of my mentors, elders, friends, mentees, and strangers and this helped me a lot to relate with them differently. When you know how people behave, it will be easy to work with them. Sometimes, some people wonder how I relate smoothly with people and get things done, it’s simply a matter of attitude. One of my mentors once said, a general doesn’t fight many wars at the same time, a wise general selects his battles. That’s having the right attitude and perspective to life.
To understand how attitude works. There was a young boy who behaved badly, and his grandfather, an elderly, wise pastor, attempted to counsel him. The Pastor said, it’s as if we have two lions inside of us. One is good and the other is bad, and they both demand our obedience to them. The boy responded, which one wins? The Pastor said, the one fed. What’s the moral here? In the journey of life, it is what we feed that grows. If you feed a lion, a lion will grow into a deadly beast. If you take care of a woman, she’s likely to act soft towards you all things being equal. In the same vein, when an evil desire demands to be fed, we must say no. This is true because what we feed ultimately controls us.
The interesting facts about this Pastor and young man are centered on perspectives. It is how you see life that life will unfold to you. When some people fail in life, while positive minds will see it as an experience in which they hope to learn something from it, negative people see it as failure which has limited them from moving to the next stage in life. Again, while some people experience pain differently, some others react negatively to pain and this in turn hurts them more.
In conclusion, I don’t know what your experience is, nor do I know what you are going through, but one thing I can guarantee you is that, when you have a great attitude, your disposition will surely change. You’ll go far in life when you have a nice attitude.
Today, I charge you to learn how to relate with people with the right mindset and see how your life will unfold for good. I will conclude with the words of Maya Angelou; “People may forget what you say, people may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel” The only way to make people feel good is by having the right attitude.
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 Government has declared Tuesday, 15 July, 2025, as a public holiday in honour of the late former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.
According to a statement released by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani, the holiday is furtherance to the seven days of national mourning declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The statement said the Honourable Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, following the approval of His Excellency, President Tinubu.
The Minister stated that the holiday is a mark of respect for the late President’s service to the nation, his contributions to Nigeria’s democratic journey, and his enduring legacy in governance and national development.
“President Muhammadu Buhari served Nigeria with dedication, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to the unity and progress of our great nation. This public holiday provides an opportunity for all Nigerians to reflect on his life, leadership, and the values he upheld,” the Minister said.
He urged citizens to use the day to honour the late President’s memory by promoting peace, patriotism, and national cohesion, in line with his vision for a prosperous and united Nigeria.
As earlier announced, the National flags are to fly at half mast for the seven days of mourning period from Sunday 13th July, 2025.
The Federal Government extends its deepest condolences to the family of the late President, the people of Katsina State, and all Nigerians, while praying for the peaceful repose of his soul.
At a press briefing, the Katsina governor said following consultations with the late president’s family and close associates in London, it has been agreed that the remains of the former leader would arrive in Katsina on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, by noon.
He disclosed that the burial would take place in Daura, the hometown of the late president, by 2pm on the same day.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, has condoled with the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the immediate family of the departed former President of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari on the death of the ex-maximum and democratic leader.
In his letter of condolence made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the Minister acknowledged Buhari as a true leader and dedicated servant of the nation.
Details below:
Letter of Condolence to the Family of Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari
I, the Honourable Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, CON, wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Nigeria, especially the Buhari family, on the passing of our esteemed former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who departed us today.
The Ministry of Police Affairs and the entire Police Ecosystem share in this moment of grief and sorrow with the family, the people of Nigeria, and the nation at large. In honoring a statesman of such stature, we acknowledge the profound contributions he made to our country and the lasting impact of his leadership.
The loss of a true leader and dedicated servant to our nation deeply saddens us all. His legacy will endure through his unwavering dedication and tireless efforts to serve Nigeria. Notably, his foresight in prioritizing national security led to the re-establishment of the Ministry of Police Affairs as a dedicated entity to address the needs of the Police Ecosystem. He also approved vital funding for fuel supplies for police operational vehicles across the country, demonstrating his commitment to enhancing our security infrastructure.
This is indeed a profound loss for Nigeria. Buhari’s commitment to public service and his unwavering dedication to the security sector will always be remembered and cherished.
Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the passing of a distinguished statesman who served with honor and integrity. May his spirit of leadership continue to inspire generations to come.
During this difficult time, we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all Nigerians. His remarkable contributions to our nation will never be forgotten.
May his soul rest in peace.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Every human being is endowed with natural fitness to perform optimally any given assignment, or endeavour. These capacity fitness are, but not limited to mental, physical, social, academical, financial, spiritual, and emotional. When any of these great areas is lacking, an immediate vacuum which needs to be filled is created. To fill this vacuum therefore, one will need to perform a kind of surgical test to ascertain the source of the leak.
To put it into perspective, imagine a sick person with variety of symptoms, who can’t specifically say what the actual problem is; the best thing for them is to see a doctor, undergo some tests for proper diagnosis. The test will give an informed insight into what’s going on in the person’s body system.
This is simply how the surgical room of success works. All major work is done inside the room before healing takes place. As human beings, we all need to continually visit the surgical room to not only examine ourselves, but also, to develop ourselves. Yes, we need the surgical room to develop not only ourselves, but our craft.
In this surgical room, we don’t need a battalion, no, we just need the right people with the right vision, mindset and attitude. People who share similar values and goals. People we hold in high esteem. In this room, we don’t need much voice, but a lot of silent meditation to aid in fashioning our craft. A much more clearer scenario is the case of a web designer, who works at the backend to fix a website. When he is done, the work is made public.
The same principle is applicable when a blogger is working on an article. During the process of writing the article, he is alone with his thoughts reading, researching, writing and editing, and when he is done, the article will be published.
This is simply how life works; we all need silence to go through our phases. During this stage, we don’t need to be there for everyone, just the important people in our life who understand the surgical seasons, experience, and experience we are going through.
Above all, a critical area that all progressive humans need to pay great attention to is the health and mind. Both of them play a critical role in taking anyone to the next level of life.
Let’s look at the surgical room from another perspective; without good health on your side, there’s little anyone can do. Without a good functioning mind, there’s little anyone can do. And without God on your side, one is literally helpless. That’s why it’s very important for people to take a cursory look into their lives to see where they are missing the dots.
To effectively do this, one will have to go to the surgical room to critically examine his health, profession, psyche finance, social and emotional output among others to see if there’s a leak anywhere. One may be wondering why this is important; the surgical room is where major surgeries are performed.
In the surgical room, only experts are allowed because mistakes are not allowed, no matter how insignificant. Only people with eye for details, listening ear and most importantly supportive hands are allowed in the surgical room.
In the journey of life, we all need the surgical room to move to the next stage. For the surgical room to be successful, one would need to subject his own personal life to surgical operation, and this entails seeking a place of solace for self examination and reevaluation. In this surgical room, one needs to practice the art of silence and meditation to hear the inner still voice speaking to them.
One of the reasons most people find it difficult to get to the next level of success is because they are surrounded by many dissenting voices, which are living rent-free in their minds. This voice makes it hard for them to hear properly. It should be noted that in the journey of life, nobody knows you more than you know yourself, therefore, it’s important for one to be conscious of what to avail themselves to. This is because if one allows everyone to rent a space in their head, confusion will set as numerous voices will speak simultaneously and incoherently.
Imagine, if you are the owner of a house, it will be difficult for anybody to tell you what to do because they know you have been able to figure out what you want, and this is simply how life works.
Therefore, the surgical room for success is silence and concentration. You speak less, and do more.
In one of my masterpieces, I shared the six pillars of success namely: family, health, finance, spirituality, vocation/career, and personal development. As human beings we must continually strive to attain these six pillars by reevaluating and reexamining our lives on a continuous basis, and to effectively do this, one needs to apply the surgical principle of silence.
Again, one might be wondering how the surgical room of silence works. Let’s imagine a case where God wants to talk to you, he won’t organise a conference call to talk to you, He will speak to you privately, and this can only be done where you are in his presence seeking him silently via meditating or either when one is praying and worshiping him, or one is listening to what he’s saying via meditation.
It’s worthy of note that in the surgical room of success, nobody will be there with you except the doctor and his team. Again, that’s simply how life works, you don’t need much crowd; you only need the right people. In some cases, you need to work alone because it’s better to have one trustworthy friend than one million fake friends.
In conclusion, for the surgical room of success to work efficiently and effectively, one needs to be silent for the operation because nobody, and I repeat, nobody will save you. One will have to purge himself of the toxic substances by way of detoxification to rejuvenate.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
