News
Food for Living: Wake Up and Act on Your Dreams
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There’s no doubt sleep is good for the human body. The benefit of a good sleep is priceless. Sleep helps to relax the body system, especially when it is worn out and exhausted. When one sleeps, there’s a certain kind of nourishment and peace that comes to the human body. However, the quantity of sleep is not as important as the quality of sleep. You might sleep for eight hours, but the quality might not be as rich as the one who slept peacefully for just four hours.
Whenever sleep comes with a blissful dream, one must wake at once, and face the reality towards actualizing the dream. Just like we all need to wake up from our dream, we also need to tell ourselves the home truth, we are the architect of our life and as such, we are responsible for the outcome of our life. If you don’t wake up to build the kind of life you want, you might end up working or building someone else’s life.
Don’t get me wrong; we are called to serve humanity in one way or another. While some people are born to be great leaders, some are born to be great followers, who will help the leader to lead well; some are born to be great entrepreneurs, while some to be employees serving in different capacities. What’s important is to know your calling, purpose, mission, vision, and concept of life, and then be intentional in actualizing it.
A renowned capitalist, Michael Roberts, in his book, “Action Has No Secret 2.0”, coined a word “Actionaire”. According to him, action has no season, and anyone can take action at any said time. He further stated that as an actionaire, one must decide to take action to bring forth their dreams. Without taking action, dreams will be mere desires.
An actionaire takes action. Michael Robert added that an actionaire always wakes up from his sleep and begins to take action.
To express how one takes action, my late dad counseled his children not to sleep too much. As a matter of fact, during our formative years in the USA, my late dad normally sprinkles water on me and my siblings when he feels we have had a decent sleep. He’s fond of saying, we have many hours and years to sleep when we die, but while we are alive, we should work.
In order to understand how one can wake up from sleep, there was a story about a gazelle and a lion. Every day, the gazelle wakes up, it knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or be killed and eaten for breakfast. Conversely, the lion also knows it must outrun the fastest gazelle or starve to death. The morale of this post is that whether you are a lion or a gazelle, at sunrise, you had better be running.
The principle here is simple, in the journey of life, if you don’t wake up, and act decisively, you will definitely remain where you are. Nobody is going to give you what you desire, rather they will give you what you deserve. It’s just like an employee or a skilled worker who is looking for a raise or better pay, your boss won’t pay you what you deserve no matter your degree. Though your employer will factor your degree and appreciate the effort, he will subtly inform you, he’s working on a budget, or this is the best they can offer. The option will now be open for you to decide if you want the job or not.
Again, if you are seeking for an opportunity, the opportunity will in turn seek you, and if you don’t seek an opportunity, the opportunity will not seek you.
In every sphere of life, you must wake up, and go after your dreams even if it means taking strategic risks. It’s instructive to note that no matter the dream, passion, academic qualification, certifications, prophesy, prayers, intuition, feeling, skills or even talents one may have, if one does not becomes intentional in taking action, their desires and ambitions will be mere wishes.
On a personal note, I have sought opportunities, networked with the right people, supported my mentors, and followed most of their principles, but my fortune didn’t change much until I began to take action. I have since discovered that great things happen when we take actionable steps to birth our vision.
Most of us want to write a book, get a Masters or Ph.D, apply for a fellowship, learn a skill among others, but due to procrastination, excuses or situations beyond our control, we couldn’t take action.
It’s worthy to note that life will not be easy and will never be easy anytime, we just need to do the best anytime we can whenever we have the opportunity. Sometimes, I pay to attend events of interest just to meet one person. Sometimes, I buy luxury items and gifts to associates, mentors, elders and people of interest just to get attention. I may not get the desired result now, but I do know one day, it will pay off. To tap into these blessings, please give and support with love. Don’t do it with vested interest. All these are ways of waking up from the dream and taking action.
It is sad to see lazy opportunists, who just believe manna will fall from above. These people will prefer to beg instead of looking for an opportunity to serve or work instead of taking action by making an effort to change the status quo.
It should be noted that opportunities will have to be created. The reason some rich or wealthy people find it hard to give people money might be because some of them took an amount of risks; some paid dearly to get to where they are; some even volunteered, while some took loans to set up their businesses and all of a sudden, somebody feels entitled to their money without making reasonable or strategic effort to show why they need support.
In conclusion, if you are sleeping, please wake up from your dream and take action. Act like a businessman who knows his target audience and takes effort to meet them where they are as opposed to having them come to him. That’s how to take action.
I charge you today, whatever you desire in life, dream it, say it, think it, see it, believe and most of all, wake up and act on it. I look forward to seeing you at the top.
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
Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the North will, in the next six months, take a stand on who to support for the presidency in 2027.
He boasted that no politician can win the presidency in 2027 without the support of the region.
In a video interview he granted in Hausa language, Baba-Ahmed, who appeared alongside a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, lamented the state of the nation and urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections.
He said: “In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear: nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them. After Buhari’s eight years, we became wiser. Now, we are in another government, and we are still crying. Is crying all we know how to do?” Baba-Ahmed asked.
According to the former presidential aide, the North has suffered greatly during the Boko Haram insurgency, which affected all groups, Muslims, Christians, Fulani, Baju, and others, highlighting the need for unity.
“Before Buhari became president, Boko Haram was bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. That was a time Northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect Northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he questioned.
He therefore warned against further marginalization of the North, noting that continued disregard for the region would have consequences.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria. The North is watching, elders, masses, and interest groups will soon say “enough is enough ‘. The injustice and sidelining must stop.
Baba-Ahmed urged the northern region to look beyond identity politics, stressing that competence and integrity should guide voter decisions.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
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
