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Food for Living: You Need a Community to Succeed
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
We all know the saying, failure has no friend or relative, but success has many friends and relatives. This therefore, gives credence to why it’s good for people to succeed in life.
It is normal for people to leave others by the wayside when they perceive them as having little or no relative value, but when they see someone as resourceful, they instantly get attracted to them. That’s simply human nature. It’s only on rare occasions that a selfless person assists another when he has little or no value to offer in return; that’s actually the height of selfless leadership and greatness.
Success in life comes with many components and variables. But one thing is certain, nobody succeeds alone. It’s rather sad to see people who boast that they are self-made. Let’s get this straight; there’s nothing like self-made. Somebody assisted you to become whatever you are. Your parents, siblings, mentors, employers, teachers, colleagues, partners and a host of others all contributed to the making of your successful.
What ignorant minds fail to understand is that nobody can do life alone. You need people in your life. You need a community, friends, family, colleagues, partners and distractors alike to succeed.
According to S. Kelley Harrell, “We don’t heal in isolation, but in community”. Imagine having a challenge, and you have no one to assist you. My late mother will always say, one of the worst things that can happen to someone is not having money and not knowing where to borrow from.
The power of a community cannot be overemphasized. Having a community is like having gold, diamond and money combined. Human beings are the most resourceful asset one can have in a community. They can be regarded as a priceless asset especially when you get it right. According to an African proverb, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with a team.
One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to have people around him. Regardless of the money, opportunities and challenges you may have, once you have people around you, you can live through life with relative ease. It’s sad to see people, who think that because they have money and attained status of influence in the society, they now think they don’t need people as such. The mistakes these people make is that they forget it’s still the same people that helped them to get to where they are.
It should be noted that without people, we are nobody, but with people, we are somebody. In recent times, some people seem to wonder how I do what I do. Some say I’m a cat with nine lives, while others say, I’m very smart and articulate. Each time I get such admiration, I simply tell them, I’m not just smart by its mere definition, rather I’m smart by association, and this simply means I have people whom I learn from.
It’s sad to see people who have valuable and resourceful people in their life, but fail to take advantage simply because they haven’t been able to develop themselves. One of the ways to be successful in life is by either having a product, service or a job. When you have any of these three valuable opportunities, your target would be how to get people to support your work.
According to statistics, there are about eight billion people on earth, imagine having a good product or service and one percent of the world supports you with a cent, you are literally a billionaire. This is how community success works.
Sometimes, uninformed minds don’t know how to tap into opportunities. When you offer yourself to the community by volunteering your talent, skills, and knowledge, there’s a probability you will be appreciated when they see how resourceful you are, especially when an opportunity becomes available. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Therefore, endeavor to bless the world with your gift.
To appreciate community success, choose something or do something of value that people can connect or engage with. You can begin by listening to the yearnings and desires of the people. Offer your community or tribe a unique product, content or service which can be a resourceful tool either online or in-person where they will get value. You can decide to teach or address community, national or global problems.
As mentioned earlier, nobody succeeds alone. I strongly believe you will get what you want faster when you help other people to achieve what they want. Sometimes, detach yourself from selfish needs and look out for the interest of others. When you assist people, and they are grateful, you don’t need to beg them to support you.
According to Andrew Carnegie, “No man can become rich without himself enriching others. When you show kindness and appreciation to people, trust me, the blind sees and the deaf hears.
In conclusion, endeavor to cultivate healthy relationships with people and community by being civil to all, social to many and familiar to few. There might be associated risk, because of the risk of exposing oneself, but then such is life because without those associated risks, one may not be able to explore and unleash their full potential.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer Design Your Destiny and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.
The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no gainsaying the fact that everyone desirous of making impact in life must live a life of purpose. This is where knowledge and information come to play. It is these knowledge and information that will set an individual apart from his contemporaries.
I strongly believe, if one is not informed, they are ill-informed, and when they are ill-informed, they can’t perform well in any given endeavour. This is because information leads to reformation and transformation. We can therefore, confidently say that information leads to formation because everyone is a product of what they know.
Knowledge acquisition is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. People with knowledge are revered, and highly respected. Having knowledge is like having money. People from all walks of life will seek you.
There are different kinds of knowledge, and they include Revealed Knowledge, which comes from those who wrote the Bible and Intuitive Knowledge, which comes from the mind. It is the ability to gain knowledge without conscious reason or explanation.
Others are Empirical Knowledge, which is information gained through observation, experimentation, and direct experience, rather than through theoretical reason or intuition; Authoritative Knowledge, which is the knowledge a man has because of his expertise in a particular field; and finally but not the least, Rational Knowledge, which is a form of knowledge that uses reasoning and philosophy to understand the world.
From this illustration, a decisive mind can see that knowledge is priceless. Knowledge is like education. It can provide security and access. Even the Book of life says in Proverbs 4:13, “your education is your life, guard it very well”; and in Hosea 4:6 that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”.
From my personal experience in life, apart from death, one of the greatest levelers of all time is education. This is because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. That explains why children from humble backgrounds ought to take their education very seriously, especially if they don’t have affluence.
On a personal note, I come from a very humble background, my late parents didn’t have the opportunity of acquiring a decent education, but they knew the value of education and endeavored to give me and my siblings a decent education. In retrospect, when I look back and see some of my contemporaries whose parents couldn’t give them a decent education, I bless my late parents because education has exposed me to lots of opportunities in the United States, and the global world in addition to granting me an audience with the high and mighty in society.
Sometimes, when I look at my modest achievement, I’m deeply humbled because I know it is the grace of God. Who am I to author two amazing trailblazers’ books, get featured and profiled by the New York Times, engage in high level conversation with leaders of thought and captains of industries. Apart from the grace of God, intentional seeking of knowledge, and wise counsel from mentors and strategically positioning myself have been some of the cornerstone to my success.
Imagine if my late parents didn’t give me a decent education and opportunity of travelling to the United States, most of these opportunities and exposure wouldn’t have been readily available.
When one is decently enlightened, educated and informed about life, their level of reasoning and understanding differ from an ordinary man. If one desires to go far in life, one must seek knowledge.
It is your knowledge that sets you apart from others.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished Ghostwriter, “If you are a man of great knowledge, people will have great respect for you. If you are a man of great wisdom, people will have great reverence for you. And if you are a man of both, great knowledge and great wisdom, you will be the most eminent of men. But in real terms, people don’t care how much you know, or how much wisdom you have, unless they know how much you care.”
The moral of this quote is that despite the knowledge and information at one’s disposal, if one lacks empathy, their knowledge, experience and whatever they have mean nothing.
The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. In our contemporary society, a fast way of attracting opportunities is by showcasing the knowledge at one’s disposal. It is so sad that many people don’t take time to read, research and learn new trends applicable in their industry, and in the world generally and as such, they find it difficult to fit in and grow.
It is instructive to note that when you seek knowledge, opportunities will seek for you. A major reason people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems and to solve problems, one ought to have understanding. Do you know that if you don’t have money, the reason is often because you are not solving a problem, or you are not solving enough problems, or you are not solving the right problem or you are not solving problems for the right people. Generally, we make money because we have something unique to offer to the world. Therefore, to solve problems, one must have knowledge and information.
We currently live in an age of technological, where skills, talent and creativity are in high demand. Any progressive being that desires to go far must be intentional in seeking knowledge. Successful acquisition of knowledge, information and understanding can lead to discernment and wisdom.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, if you want to make an impact, seek opportunities, and earn more money, do yourself a favour by endeavoring to seek knowledge, wisdom, and information. You can’t get these by sitting on your sofa or staying in your comfort zone.
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
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced this in a statement, on Thursday.
A former aide of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Bwala worked actively for his former principal who lost to Tinubu.
However, after the elections, he worked his way into the camp of Tinubu, sparking controversy.
Onanuga also announced the appointments of three directors-general of various agencies.
They are:
(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade — Director-General, National Sports Commission
(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade — Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism
(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun — Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement
Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.
He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.
The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.
Daily Trust
