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Food for Living: Time to Develop Yourself is Now

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

As fondly stated, change is the only thing that is constant in life. One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to continually improve himself. As a Human Capacity Coach, I cannot overemphasize the importance of personal and professional development. What most people don’t know is that, before you succeed in business, you must succeed in your personal life. This is because people will believe in you before they invest in your business.  You may be wondering how this work. It’s very easy. If you are teaching people how to get rich, they want to see you as a rich person. If you are teaching people about leadership and service to humanity, they would like to see you exhibiting such traits. Even in social media, celebrities normally have more followers than their business pages. That goes to tell you people will buy into you before they buy into your product.

You may be wondering what self-development is. Self-development is basically adding value to yourself. This value can be by reading, learning a skill/trade, getting a degree, or improving yourself in an area of interest. In a nutshell, self-development refers to doing better than you did yesterday. The best way to develop yourself is by competing with yourself as opposed to competing with other people. The hallmark of self-development is improving yourself by engaging in any productive activity than you did the previous day.

The benefit of self-development is priceless. It enhances your self-worth, increases your value, and enhances your personal and professional outlook. I will share with you a personal experience. About a decade ago, I was a horrible writer, I used to have stage fright speaking in public and engaging people. Over time, I had mentors who were willing to groom me to be a great writer, public speaker, and awesome communicator, in addition to the fact that I was intentional in improving myself. The desire to improve my writing skill was the catalyst I needed to inspire myself. When I look back on my writing, speaking, and personal relationship skills, I do know a lot of transformation has taken place.

When you develop yourself, you are bound to develop self-confidence. Self-confidence has to do with what you know, how you do what you know and who you know. All these fuels your self-confidence. When it comes to attaining knowledge, the biggest danger is not knowing what you don’t know. So, in order to improve yourself, you must engage in activities that can help you to improve yourself in the area you are lacking.

How to develop yourself

To develop yourself, the first point of call is the mind. You must be willing to change and leave whatever has made you fail. In other to do this, you must have a growth mindset which helps you to learn by thinking out of the box.

Acquire knowledge

There’s no end to learning. We’ll continue to learn until we leave this sinful earth. The moment we stop to learn, we stop growing. It should be noted that you’ll have to learn first before you earn. Learning comes in several stages; it can be online or in-person. One can even learn a language. In our contemporary society, learning a language has become additional value to one’s resume, especially when applying for certain international jobs.

Learn a skill

You cannot overemphasize the importance of learning a skill. In this 21st century, we live in skill and knowledge-based economy. Every progressive and rational being is expected to have little knowledge about technology to compete favorably in the global space. In any capacity you are working in, your ability to be technologically savvy will give you a winning edge among your contemporaries and competitors, especially the knowledge to reinvent.

Build on your strengths

Another good way of developing yourself is by focusing on your strength and working on your weakness. The irony of life is that most people focus on showing the world their weakness instead of their strength. The world don’t care about your weakness, they want to know how they can engage with your strength. Hence, it is imperatively important, that you maximize your strength and work on your weakness.

Focusing on good habits

If you are serious about developing yourself, a critical area you need to pay attention to is your habit. Habits play a big role in the development of any individual. For instance, if you are a consummate alcoholic drinker, it will be difficult for serious-minded people to take you serious. If you are determined to achieve a set target, you are generally expected to wake early, and sleep late. And if you want to improve your physique, you are expected to go to the gym on a regular basis and work on your diet.

Write a letter to your future

Another area that can inspire you to develop yourself is to write a note or letter to your future self on what you would like to be in the nearest future. Place this note on your bed or at a conspicuous area you can see it every day when you wake, and before you sleep. Do yourself a favour and recite the note to yourself. Trust me, if you do this for a substantial period of time, you’ll subconsciously be inspired to work on it.

Feedback

The final, but not the least point in developing yourself is by requesting feedback from friends, associates, colleagues, mentors’ family members, and from the general public on how you can improve. Sometimes, constructive feedback helps us to improve our product and personality. If you are a writer, actor, leader, artist, etc., always endeavor to ask for feedback from people to know how you can improve. Trust me, if you do this, you will be surprised to see the kind of feedback you will get from people, who ordinarily might not be open to reaching out to you.

In conclusion, make a conscious effort to add value to your life or business by developing yourself because people will buy into you first before they buy into your product. When is the time to develop yourself? Now!

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. 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

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US Lawmaker Weeps over Brutal Killing of Christians in Plateau

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A United States representative, Anna Paulina Luna, has raised the alarm over what she described as the incessant attacks and killings of Christians across different communities in Plateau State by Fulani ethnic militia terrorists and Islamist extremists.

The US lawmaker, who made the allegations in a statement shared on her verified X account on Friday, accused both the state and the federal governments of not doing enough to protect Christians in the state from the regular attacks they suffer when the terrorists descend on the communities.

In a post titled, “What is happening in Nigeria right now?”, the US lawmaker lamented that thousands of Christians in Plateau were facing a mortal threat while security forces had struggled to contain the situation.

“Hundreds of Fulani ethnic militia terrorists descended on Christian communities across Plateau State.

“Thousands of civilians are under mortal threat while the Nigerian Army and security forces struggle to hold the line,” Luna wrote.

According to her, the attacks were preceded by a series of violent incidents targeting Christians and other civilians in the affected communities.

Giving some specifics, Paulina said a pastor and his church secretary were shot dead while they were on their way to church in the days leading up to the latest attacks, while five Christians were attacked in another incident while travelling in a vehicle.

“A pastor and his church secretary were shot dead on their way to church. Five Christians were ambushed in their car.

“A civilian guard was killed outside his own home. A man and his son were beaten and left in critical condition,” the lawmaker said.

The US representative also alleged that security agencies had never taken warnings and security alerts issued before the attacks seriously, questioning why they had not been followed.

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Food for Living: Pursue Passion More Than Profit (Pt. 2)

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Last week, we began discussing a grey and near-controversial topic, “pursue passion more than profit”. The topic cannot be exhaustive. Depending on who one is speaking to, different answers and understanding will be received because different things work for different people, and as they say, ‘different strokes for different people’.

It I worthy of note that a family man who is passionate about teaching or working in the non-profit space will be tempted to engage in business to feed his family. But someone with a stable financial background can afford to follow his passion and work as a teacher or in the non-profit space where the pay is not lucrative.

From a practical perspective, I currently work for the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. This is an agency that pays a good salary to the uniformed officers after they work for 51/2 years. In addition to the money they receive, there are countless hours of overtime, which doubles their income depending on how many hours they work. Some call it blood money because they can hardly get the same money in other institutions.

Why am I sharing this information? According to most of the officers; they basically work in the agency because of the money. Most of the officers are of the opinion that they can hardly make such money working in other private or public enterprises. The majority of these officers are not passionate about the job; they are just there to take care of their pressing bills. Some of them even have a timeline: they can work and then resign to start up their business or work in their areas of interest. This goes to tell you that they are trading their passion for profit, which is kind of work if looked at from a particular point of view, but then they are trading their joy and peace.

Let me share another example. In Nigeria, a popular artist, David Adeleke, aka Davido, is one man who followed his passion. This young man came from a wealthy background. He literally left generational wealth to sing. Many thought he was crazy. Davido’s father, billionaire businessman Adedeji Adeleke, initially opposed his music career, but he eventually became fully supportive. Davido’s father went as far as having police shut down shows or arresting people involved when Davido left school in the US to pursue music in Nigeria. Due to his passion for singing, Davido had to fund his early career secretly and rebel against his family’s wishes before breaking through.

Once Davido achieved massive success and proved he could be successful in the industry, his father accepted his path and gave him his blessing. Davido once stated that despite making his own fortune, his billionaire father still surprises him with huge financial gifts, such as wiring him $300,000 after a major performance at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

I doubt that Davido would have become this famous if he didn’t follow his passion. Davido can be described as a man whose passion is stronger than power.

I had to share these two perspectives to give clarity on the relativity of passion and profit.

Let’s analyze the concept of passion and profit. If I may ask you, what is passion? What is profit? And what does passion and profit mean to you? According to Cambridge University, passion was defined as a very strong feeling, emotion, or deep enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause. For example, someone can have a strong emotion or a powerful state of feeling like intense love, excitement, anger, or hatred for something or somebody.

Passion can also be a deep interest or hobby which gives someone a strong liking or enthusiasm for an activity, such as cooking, music, or sports. In romantic cases, it can be a romantic or sexual desire: An intense physical or emotional attraction toward someone. In the spiritual context, it can be understood as the Sufferings of Jesus: Historically and in a religious context, it refers to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ between the Last Supper and the crucifixion (the Passion of Christ).

Profit, on the other hand, is the financial gain that remains when total revenue from an activity or business exceeds the total expenses and costs incurred, according to Investopedia. There are different types of profit:

  • Gross Profit: Revenue minus the direct cost of producing goods or services (COGS).
  • Operating Profit: Gross profit minus day-to-day operating expenses, excluding interest and taxes.
  • Net Profit: The final “bottom line” earnings left after all expenses, taxes, and interest are deducted.

Having given an overview of what passion and profit entail, let’s take a minute to understand the thin line between passion and profit. Just like authority is respected more than power, passion has more influence and is generally respected more than profit.  No doubt, it’s good to make a profit in business, but in this context, I am referring to the human resource space or human capacity development

On the surface, people may respect someone for the money one has, but they will value a person who is more passionate about a cause than one who has money but does not believe in the message they are preaching. There’s a saying: human beings are more than money. Just like, it’s better to have a good name than to have money.

People generally follow a leader or someone who they can relate to rather than someone who gives them money but is careless about their feelings. One message I heard countless times from one of my revered mentors regarding my career was to pursue passion over profits. According to him, passion is stronger than power. He likened passion to a scenario where a woman loves a man who has less money compared to a man who has money but does not have the values and vision she represents. According to these sets of ladies, money is good, but love conquers everything because if tomorrow the money travels, the marriage is bound to hit a rock, compared to a scene where a lady loves a man for who he is and what he represents. Even when the money is out, the friendship will still thrive.

According to the opposing schools of thought, while passion is good, it is they also believe that hard work beats talent, especially when talent is not put to good use.  So, even if one is passionate about a cause or has a talent that is yet to be developed, if one does not intentionally develop it, it will lie fallow. So, invariably, even if one is passionate about a cause, if they don’t have the strength to work on their passion, it’s advisable for them to focus on making money.

Here is my opinion: even though I subscribe to the position of focusing on or working for passion rather than for money, one must apply wisdom in navigating this tough terrain. One can decide to work for money and gather enough money to fund their passion because, at the end of the day, we all want to be happy, because happiness and fulfilment mean everything

In summary, while it is good to do what works for one and what is readily available, it’s imperatively important for one to strive for excellence and perfection, which can be found in passion.

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- Actualizing Your Birthright to Success, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Success . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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Police Detain Inspector over Ethnic Slur Against Igbo, Peter Obi

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The Lagos State Police Command has commenced disciplinary action against an inspector following a viral video in which he was seen making disparaging ethnic remarks while travelling in a public vehicle.

The officer, identified as Inspector Osumah Frank, made what the Command described as “careless, inappropriate and uncultured remarks,” according to a statement issued on Friday, September 25, 2026, and signed by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi.

In the video, Frank, who was in police uniform, was heard making remarks about Igbo people and discussing the political ambitions of a former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi. He also made comments involving President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The inspector was further heard suggesting that police officers could collect money to frustrate a political candidate’s chances of succeeding.

Reacting to the video, the Command said the officer’s remarks were made in his personal capacity and did not represent the position or views of either the Lagos State Police Command or the Nigeria Police Force.

“The Command has commenced appropriate disciplinary action against the officer in line with established regulations of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement said.

“It also wishes to make it clear that the statements made by the officer were made in his personal capacity and do not represent the position, views or official disposition of the Lagos State Police Command or the Nigeria Police Force,” it added.

The Commissioner of Police (CP) Tijani Fatai, said police personnel are required to maintain professionalism and respect for members of the public at all times.

“All personnel are expected to maintain professionalism, civility, discipline and respect for members of the public at all times,” the statement quoted Fatai as saying.

He said wearing the police uniform came with a responsibility to uphold the dignity and integrity of the Force, adding that the Command would not condone any conduct capable of bringing the police into disrepute or undermining public confidence in the Force.

The Command reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability and “policing with humility and integrity.”

The video, which circulated widely on social media from around September 23, had drawn criticism over the officer’s remarks, particularly those concerning Igbo people and his comments about police officers collecting money to frustrate a political candidate.

The police did not state the specific disciplinary measures being taken against Frank.

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