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Food for Living: The Path to Greatness
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
No doubt, we all have dreams and desires. Each one of us has a desire to be great, do something the world will remember, be successful and even reach the peak of our career. Nobody ever desire to be a mediocre.
As human beings, we love to be loved, admired, appreciated, approved and accepted for who we are and what we represent, in addition to being respected. These are the cravings of the human soul. Naturally, these feelings make us feel good. In this digital era, where social media has become the new kid on the block, everyone wants to be regarded as a celebrity with huge followers or influence. Some people don’t really care about the content of information they put out provided it attracts followers to them. A handful of creative minds, on the other hand, are not concerned about their followership base; their interest is how they can create content that will add value and impact humanity. This set of creative minds also want to be recognized as a man/woman of repute. To me, that’s the virtue and characteristic of a great mind.
Either way you look at it, everybody wants to be great. The question now becomes how do you become great? What kind of greatness are you aspiring to? It should be noted that greatness comes in different forms. A leader views greatness with one eye of the lens while a Priest/Bishop views greatness with the other lens of the eyes. In the same vein, the President of Country, Chief Executive Officer of any organization or even a General in an army views greatness in another form. The list is endless. What one party may consider great, may be considered trivial by another party. However, one fact is indisputable, when you accomplish a task which ordinarily has made a huge impact and difference in the lives of people, it will be fair to consider you as being great.
The path to greatness can be very rough and challenging. One will have to persevere, network, sacrifice, read, work hard, fail, experience disappointments amongst other factors. These are simply the paths to success. There’s no secret or defined road to succeed in life. One just has to do the needful at any point in life and hope for the best while preparing for the worst.
In order to appreciate this article, imagine you are driving a car; as a driver you will experience traffic signs or occasional delay due to bad road or construction. You’ll also see green light which symbolizes moving forward, the amber light tells you to be cautious while the red light tells you to stop. All these road experiences and traffic points to one direction; there’s no perfect journey to greatness.
Just like success comes with its own challenges, greatness has also its challenges. As mentioned earlier, before you embark on this journey, you have to define yourself and what you really need with respect to how you can become great. It’s instructive to note that you can become great in simple ways without having millions or billions of dollars in your bank account. Let’s take a case study of someone who died for a worthy cause he/she believes in; or health care workers and first respondent workers who are daily risking their lives to save humanity during this Coronavirus pandemic. These are some of the examples of great people distinguishing themselves in simple ways. Irrespective of the kind of greatness one is aspiring to, however, there is the need to aim for the accolade that will outlive you.
According to Alexander Graham Bell, “before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”
The first step to being great is by being yourself and doing what you love. You can hardly distinguish yourself in your career if you don’t love what you’re doing. It should be noted that great people are people who do ordinary things in extraordinary ways. If you love what you are doing, the tendency of giving it your best is very high. You might even go over and beyond to add value to the work.
You may have heard of the term ‘run your race’. That’s very symbolic of greatness because if you don’t define yourself, people will define you. In the race of life, you must choose your own path, as opposed to the path other people may have chosen for you or may want you to follow.
In order for you to be great, you have no choice but to step out of your comfort zone. You have to set goals and stick to them. Besides, you have to strive to be better every day. Nobody will do this for you. According to Edmond Mbika, ‘Don’t be discouraged if the people around you don’t see what you see in your dream. Most great people were doubted in the beginning of their journey to greatness.” This is normal. Isn’t it true that the whole world sets apart for the man who knows where he/she is going?
If you have an idea or business plan you are either trying to conceive or pitch to a potential investor, it is very normal for you to get a lot of rejection in addition to failing. Whenever you feel this way, “hang in there because this too shall pass. Winston Church once said, ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going.” It is this sacrifice, perseverance and die-hard attitude that the world will reference when writing your history.
Becoming great does not entail running alone. Greatness comes with an attitude mindset. It’s instructive to know that you’ll get what you want faster when you help other people to achieve what they want. A popular saying among Americans goes thus “do what you have to do’. Society makes you feel you have to step on somebody toes, put people down or even betray someone to get a particular position. This set of myopic minds are merely concerned about themselves that they fail to think of other people. When we help people, we rise higher. Try looking for how to help people and see what will happen to you. Don’t be selfish. Society will say, stay busy, but try to take time out of your busy schedule to hear what someone in need has to say. Moral: Take time for others.
The true path of greatness is helping people to achieve what they want. There’s no other blissful feeling than to hear someone testify that you are very instrumental to their success. Don’t think about the position and opportunity others will get if you help them. The universe has a way of compensating you. Be creative in your approach to life. If you’re looking for a job, people say network. However, the better approach should be what can I do for others and not what I can get from them.
In conclusion, I charge you today, dare to be great by going out to help people who might need your assistance in any little way you can.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. 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. He can be reached via:
Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has charged Christians to embrace the virtues that Christ preached as the 2025 Easter celebrations hold this weekend.
While congratulating Christians in Nigeria in a goodwill message released from its Lagos Head Office on Thursday, Globacom admonished them to imbibe the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
According to Glo, “Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”
Globacom charged all Nigerians to espouse the lessons of selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society and called on all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
The company praised their perseverance through the 40-day Lenten period which comes before Easter as it emphasized the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
Easter comes yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of unhindered voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
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.
