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Food for Living: The Success of Failing in Life
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends
It is no secret that everyone wants to be a success. No one wants to be a failure. But the irony of life is that in order to succeed in life, you must fail. Success and failure are terms used to describe how we did at a particular event in our life events, not people, not how we are in totality.
Failure comes in different stages of life. Though some people might say they passed their exams on the first attempt, accomplished success in their first year of business or even made great impacts due to their great advisors and mentors, and research they did, great minds only know too well that in the journey of life, failure is a necessary component of success.
Failure and success mean different people to different people and they react differently. Some people take failure personally; these set of people see it as a permanent situation and give up, and there are people who use it as a lesson; they do not take it personally but as a temporary setback.
Just like you won’t value a good man/woman until you lose him/ her to another woman/man, the same way, you can never appreciate success unless you have failed. Failure humbles you.
We have all failed in several capacities in life. While some people fail and wail, other rational minds will fail and pick up the lessons. Failures come in different shapes and sizes of life. Failure can come to you in your early or late years of marriage, business, careers, and life. It’s quite unfortunate to know that many people don’t know that failure can prevent disaster in their life. For instance, won’t you prefer leaving an abusive marriage than dying in the marriage? Wouldn’t you like to experience betrayal or fraud from a friend than to lose a fortune that will cost you all you have labored in life? That goes to tell you some failures are a blessing in disguise.
As human beings, we are scared of failure. These failures arise as a result of phobia or the fear of the unknown. We fail to understand that when we embrace of face our fear, there’s a probability of succeeding. Imagine having the fear of talking to a lady you like just because you are scared she might turn you down, imagine having fear of starting a project just because you feel you are not prepared for the task, you fail to think out the box, you fail to realise that nobody has ever gotten it 100% right before they embarked on their project.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett a Life Coach “it’s impossible to evolve into your full potential unless you face adversity and learn from t. Life’s great victories come from overcoming defeats and setbacks. May your own road be rough enough for you to profit from the portholes and narrow bridges.
The sad part of life is that many people don’t recover from their failure, they allow their failure to define them, and they blame it on circumstances. The good thing about failure is that you can turn your mess into a message, you can make your fate your faith, you turn your pain into pleasure, and your disappointment into an appointment if only you are able to think out of the box.
The advantages of failure
Failure is life’s greatest teacher
You are probably familiar with the saying. Experience is the best teacher. This is because the wise man learns from his mistakes, but the wiser man learns from other people’s mistakes. Failure will humble you. According to Ralph Heath “The quickest road to success is to possess an attitude toward failure of ‘no fear’ Failure will teach you a life lesson you won’t forget in a haste.” –, When you fail well, life will show you the reality of life. One key lesson in failure is that it shows the kind of person you are. That’s why it is always said “never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart.
Just to understand the practical nature of failure and success. Imagine a newborn baby. When a baby is first learning to walk, he/she is going to fall down many times. This, in fact, is a failure, but as time goes time the baby’s leg will be strong and he/she will be able to work well without staggering.
Why It is Necessary to Fail
Knowledge
The knowledge you will gain from failure can be harnessed in the future to overcome that very failure that inflicted so much pain in the first place. Nothing can replace the knowledge gained from failure. When Thomas Edison famously failed nearly 10,000 times to create a commercially viable electric lightbulb, with each failure, he gained the knowledge of just one more avenue that didn’t work. It was the accumulated knowledge developed from nearly 10,000 failed attempts that ultimately led to his success.
Resilience
One of the true test of failure is resilience. This is because resilience goes a long way to show how passionate and eager a progressive is eager to push. In order to achieve great success, we must be resilient. Because, if we think that we’re going to succeed on the first try or even the first few tries, then we’re sure to set ourselves up for a far more painful failure.
Growth
According to Marilyn Monroe “Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie?”
Failure helps us to grow in life. When you fail at a particular task, the knowledge and experience you will gain will make you strategic in planning. The good thing about this type of failure is that it makes you grow. When we see successful people celebrating their business, marriage, academic achievement, or event career, it will be good to ask them about their failures and how they were able to come this fear. When we fail, we grow and mature as human beings. We reach deeper meanings and understandings about our lives and why we’re doing the things that we’re doing.
Value
Do you know failure can be an asset? Imagine a divorcee, politician, or businessman sharing their mistakes with the world. Many people will pay to listen to them because they have practical insight based on their experience. The value lies at the heart of success and a lack of value is a fundamental pillar to failure. To appreciate value, write out what you failed at and why you failed? What could you have done differently? How will you tackle those failures in the future when you’re faced with them? How will you learn from the past to help shape a bigger and brighter future?
How to Recover from Failure
1. Ignore the Naysayers
When you fail, surely there will be the people telling you, “I told you so,” Ignore those people. Ignore the naysayers. Be glad you showed up and learned one of two things.
2. Understand that it’s Okay to Fail
One mistake we do in life is to assume that it’s not okay to fail. It’s okay to fail. But it’s not okay to give up when you fail.
3. Leverage your failures
Each failure is simply feedback on how to perfect your craft. Know that nothing works unless you act. According to Arthur Jones, you can’t teach anybody anything, success comes from good judgments. Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment”.
In conclusion, as you go through the journey of life, fall and stand gallantly because that’s one sure way of succeeding in life.
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
Fresh facts have emerged over the abduction of school pupils and the killing of two teachers alongside an okada rider in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as investigators uncovered how suspected informants allegedly maintained communication with the abductors through telephone conversations.
The Oyo State Police Command disclosed that investigators tracked the suspects through calls believed to have been exchanged with the bandits during and after the operation.
According to the police, the conversations allegedly contained details on how the criminals could successfully navigate routes within the National Park to hidden locations used as safe havens.
The breakthrough led to the arrest of no fewer than six suspects, who are currently in police custody and assisting security agencies with ongoing investigations into the gruesome incident.
Confirming the development on Tuesday morning, the State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said the suspects were apprehended during coordinated security operations across different locations in the State.
“We have six suspects in custody and they are assisting the investigation,” Ayanlade said.
He added that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects allegedly served as informants to the bandits responsible for the abduction and killings.
“Our findings showed that some of the suspects were in contact with the abductors through telephone conversations and investigators are analysing those communications as part of efforts to uncover the full network behind the crime,” he stated.
Ayanlade further disclosed that security agencies uncovered discussions allegedly centred on routes through the National Park and locations believed to have been used by the criminals as hideouts.
“The conversations contained information on how the abductors could move through the National Park undetected and reach safe locations,” he added.
The police spokesman explained that the suspects were arrested during joint operations involving the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Agro-Rangers.
“The arrests were made possible through intelligence-driven operations carried out by joint security operatives working collaboratively to dismantle the criminal network,” Ayanlade said.
He assured residents that security agencies were intensifying efforts to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate linked to the attack.
“We are committed to ensuring that every individual connected to this criminal act is identified, arrested and brought to justice. Investigations are still ongoing,” he said.
The incident, which claimed the lives of two teachers and an Okada rider while school pupils were abducted last Friday, has continued to generate concern among residents of the affected communities and neighbouring areas in Oyo State.
Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has confirmed that one of the teachers abducted during the recent terrorist attack on schools in Oriire LGA of the state, has been killed in captivity.
Speaking on Sunday during a press briefing on the incident, Makinde described the situation as “difficult and challenging”, saying the state government is intensifying efforts to rescue the remaining victims.
On Friday, gunmen riding motorcycles invaded communities within the Ahoro-Esiele/Yawota axis of Oriire, Ogbomoso, and abducted students and staff members of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, L.A. Primary School, Esiele, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School.
The attack left an assistant headmaster, identified as Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist dead.
According to Makinde, a video received by the state government confirmed the killing of one of the abductees identified as a mathematics teacher.
“What we know is that seven teachers in all were abducted and unfortunately, we got a video this morning that one of the teachers, the maths teacher, was killed by the terrorists this morning,” Makinde said.
Authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of schoolchildren abducted.
In the aftermath of the incident, videos recorded from captivity began circulating on social media, showing abducted teachers pleading with the government and Nigerians for urgent intervention.
One of the viral videos featured Rachael Alamu, principal of Community High School, Esiele, appealing to the government to help secure the release of the victims before they are killed.
Makinde detailed that six persons had been arrested within the affected locality over alleged links to the attackers, and that another three “persons of interest” were also arrested in connection with the attack.
“The information available from the Commissioner of Police is that six individuals have been arrested within the locality. Some of them were believed to perhaps be informants to people running logistics for the terrorists,” he said.
Following the attack, the Oyo Police Command announced the commencement of an intensive manhunt and rescue operation involving multiple security agencies.
Makinde said personnel of the police, military, the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun, and local hunters were mobilised immediately to pursue the attackers.
The governor said, however, some Amotekun operatives sustained injuries after encountering improvised explosive devices planted by the terrorists during the operation.
“After the incident, Amotekun, the police, military and hunters were mobilised to go after the terrorists and it was along that line that they ran into IEDs and some of the Amotekun operatives were wounded,” he said.
Sources told TheCable that the terrorists had initially opened fire on the security operatives who were approaching the Old Oyo national park on motorcycles, causing them to flee.
“When the shooting subsided, the operatives decided to go for their motorbikes. Unfortunately, a dynamite exploded against one Amotekun corps member and he was wounded. He has been taken to the hospital for medical attention,” a source said.
“Apart from air raid, the Old Oyo National Park Area can’t be easily accessed through infantry. It’s a long distance from the Oowe River which forms a natural landmark boundary for the park. Motorcycles would have to be used for the journey, but the noise of the approaching motorcycles alerted the terrorists.”
Makinde linked the attack to increasing pressure being mounted on terrorist groups in the north-east, warning that fleeing armed groups are moving into other parts of the country, including the south-west.
“With the pressure on the terrorists in the north-east theatre, they will keep moving southwards. Today, the governor of Kwara state has spoken to me. But the problem we have is that when you have pressure in one place, we must be prepared on this side to either repel or neutralise any terrorists fleeing the pressure,” he said.
The governor harped on the need for sustained government and security presence in vulnerable communities, warning that temporary military operations without long-term security measures could leave residents exposed to future attacks.
“If all we can do is clearance operations for a week or two and leave that place, the terrorists will come back and the people will become vulnerable,” he said.
He assured residents that the state government would be deploying military and non-military strategies to secure the release of the abducted victims and tackle the growing security threat.
“We have decided that we will adopt not just the kinetic approach. We have not taken this lightly,” he added.
Makinde also appealed for calm and patience from residents, acknowledging the complexity of the operation.
“I want to appeal to everyone that we are doing everything within our power to ensure that this would be resolved quickly and we bring our children back safely, but it is a very difficult and challenging situation so there may not be quick fixes,” he added.
Source: TheCable
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Complaining is part of human nature. We complain about our health, school, family, friends, work, finances, government, and life in general. Human beings literally complain about everything and anything.
Over time, I have come to discover something about life: complaining doesn’t solve a problem; it adds to it. According to the Book of Life, why worry when you can pray? The moral of this statement is that instead of worrying, why not look for solutions? When you worry, it only accumulates the problems, but when you explore avenues to solve a problem, you’re literally praying.
Complaining is like having a problem and apportioning blame to another person instead of fixing it. One of the hallmarks of great minds is the ability to solve problems, while little minds complain.
In the world of visionary leaders, they don’t complain; rather, they see complaints as challenges of life, while lesser minds see complaints as problems of life. Again, while great leaders see problems as a gateway to make money and succeed by proffering solutions, little minds see problems as obstacles limiting their growth to succeed. Same action but different results and consequences.
As human beings, we tend to focus on what we don’t have instead of focusing on what we have. It’s only when we appreciate what we have that we give room for opportunities and favors to come to us. It’s unfortunate some of fucus on what we are going through instead of what we are becoming.
It’s instructive to note that complaints don’t lead us anywhere, rather it hinders our progress. Nobody likes complainers; complainers are usually seen as energy suckers because all they do is take without giving. Instead of complaining, why not practice gratitude? Gratitude helps to draw and attract opportunities.
In the world of human relations, the ability to manage people is an uncommon skill. One must learn to nurture relationships. Human beings can be difficult to manage. While some exhibit meekness, gratitude, cheerfulness, and loyalty, some exhibit bitterness, frustration, depression, sadness, and sorrow. What most people don’t know is that we have the ability to change how we manage our lives and how we react to what life throws at us through our attitude.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insinuating that complaining is wrong; rather, I’m insinuating it’s not healthy for our mental health. The only time we can complain about something is when we are proffering a solution; by so doing, we have highlighted the problems and proffered the solution.
Complaints make us blind to see the good in others. As a word of advice, if you focus exclusively on the shortcomings of the people with whom you have to relate and forget that they have a good point, it will be difficult to see the good in them.
According to Yomi Garnett, focus on the good side of people and be intentional in learning about their mindset and inquire what made them who they are. Also, focusing on the good side of people despite their bad or weak side makes them feel valuable as human beings, and by so doing, we show our empathic personality.
In conclusion, resolve today to stop complaining and start appreciating the challenges of life with gratitude.
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
