By Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

“True leadership is not the exercise of one’s own power, but the stewardship of a power that is divinely bestowed. We do not conquer by our own hand, but through a grace that guides it. I therefore pause to say thank You, God Almighty: My Source, My Owner, My Helper, and My All in all” – Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD

In the grand theater of human endeavor—from the halls of global corporations to the quiet labs of research scientists, from the strategic command centers of nations to the intimate classrooms shaping young minds—we are conditioned to celebrate the visible. We laud the innovative strategy, the decisive action, the brilliant intellect, and the relentless work ethic. These are the pillars upon which we believe success is built.

Yet, this focus on the tangible is to admire the grand facade of a cathedral while remaining oblivious to its unseen foundation. Today, we must pause to acknowledge the bedrock upon which all human achievement truly rests: the sovereign and sufficient grace of God Almighty. It is a profound and humbling truth that cuts across every culture, sector, and stratum of society: We lead, innovate, heal, govern, and ultimately conquer, not primarily because of our own merit, but because of the divine grace that empowers our efforts and crowns them with favor.

1. The Universal Law of Received Power

The principle of grace dismantles the modern myth of the “self-made” leader. In physics, no system creates its own energy; it merely transforms energy from an external source. So it is with human achievement. Our skills, our intelligence, and even our very breath are not self-generated; they are gifts bestowed.

• In Business and Innovation: A CEO may possess sharp acumen, but it is grace that orchestrates a chance meeting with a pivotal partner, sparks a moment of breakthrough innovation when logic has failed, and grants the wisdom to navigate an unforeseen market collapse. The idea that became a billion-dollar company did not emerge from a vacuum; it was a spark of insight granted to a prepared mind—a mind that itself was a gift.
• In Science and Medicine: A researcher dedicates decades to a problem, yet the final, elegant solution often appears as a flash of intuition—a “Eureka!” moment that feels less like a construction and more like a revelation. The healing of a patient, despite the most advanced protocols, often involves an inexplicable, supernatural turn toward recovery that humbles the most brilliant physicians. This is grace in the laboratory and the clinic.
• In Governance and Nation-Building: A political leader may craft a perfect policy, but its success depends on a thousand uncontrollable variables: the public’s reception, global economic tides, and the collective will of a people. When a nation avoids a crisis or emerges from disaster with renewed unity, it is not merely a political victory; it is a national testament to divine providence and restraining grace.

Our role is to diligently till the soil and sow the seeds. But the germination, the growth, and the harvest are miracles of grace. To claim otherwise is like a farmer boasting that he created the rain and the sun.

1. Grace as the Antidote to Leadership’s Twin Poisons

Understanding this universal law is the most powerful strategic and psychological advantage a leader can possess. It serves as the definitive antidote to the two toxins that corrupt leadership: pride and despair.

1. It Eradicates Destructive Pride: When success is internalized as a personal creation, it breeds an arrogance that isolates a leader. They begin to believe their own press, seeing subordinates as instruments and competitors as enemies. This pride inevitably leads to a fall. Conversely, the leader who sees success as a stewardship of God’s grace remains humble. They lead with a sense of awe and responsibility, knowing they are managing assets they did not create. This humility fosters collaboration, attracts loyalty, and enables course correction.
2. It Prevents Paralyzing Despair: The weight of leadership can be crushing. Failure, criticism, and unforeseen crises can lead to burnout and cynicism. If a leader believes they are the sole author of success, then they must also be the sole bearer of failure. But when a leader is anchored in grace, setbacks are re-framed. They are not definitive indictments of their ability, but rather part of a larger, divine curriculum. This perspective fosters resilience, allowing a leader to get up after a fall, learn the lesson, and continue with renewed hope, trusting that the same grace that opened past doors can redeem present failures.

III. The Evidence of Grace in the Tapestry of Life

This is not abstract theology; it is observable reality. Let us trace the fingerprints of grace across the facets of our collective experience:

• The Wisdom We Claim: That moment of perfect clarity in a tense negotiation or a complex coding problem—was it not a gift that arrived precisely when needed? That was the grace of divine insight.
• The Doors That Opened: Consider the promotion that came from a departing superior you didn’t orchestrate, the investor who believed in your vision against conventional wisdom, the visa that was granted against all odds. These are not coincidences; they are the grace of divine favor.
• The Strength We Found: In our moments of profound exhaustion, grieving a loss, or facing immense pressure, did we not discover a well of fortitude we did not know we possessed? That was the grace of divine sustenance.
• The People We Encounter: The mentor who guided us, the team member whose unique talent complemented our weakness, the spouse who offered unwavering support—these individuals are not random occurrences. They are living, breathing manifestations of God’s grace in our lives.
• The Restraint We Experienced: The catastrophic mistake we were unknowingly prevented from making, the harsh word we were restrained from speaking, the disastrous partnership we were diverted from—these are evidences of a protective grace, operating silently behind the scenes.

1. Cultivating a Posture of Grateful Stewardship

Therefore, the most critical leadership competency is not strategic planning or financial modeling, as vital as those are. It is the cultivation of a heart of gratitude. This is the lens that brings all of life into focus.

A leader grounded in this truth leads not as an owner, but as a steward. They understand that their organization, their nation, their talents, and their platform are on loan from a higher authority. This transforms their entire approach:

• Decision-Making: They seek wisdom beyond their own, praying for guidance and listening for the divine “nudge.”
• Resource Allocation: They manage people and capital with justice and generosity, knowing they are handling resources that belong to God.
• Legacy Building: Their goal shifts from building a personal monument to fulfilling a divine purpose, leaving a legacy that benefits humanity and glorifies the Giver.

Conclusion: The Conduit of Conquest

Let us then move forward with a renewed paradigm. Let us work with impeccable excellence, as if everything depends on us. But let us pray, trust, and give thanks, knowing that everything ultimately depends on Him.

Our skills are the conduit; His grace is the current. Our plans are the vessel; His providence is the ocean.

We are the conduits of effort, but grace is the current of conquest. To mistake the one for the other is the height of leadership folly.

The most dangerous leader is the one who believes they are the architect of their success. The wisest is the one who knows they are merely a steward, building upon a foundation laid by grace.

Our skill prepares the vessel, but only grace can fill it. Lead accordingly.

I pause to say thank You, To God Almighty—the unseen Architect of our triumphs, the silent Partner in our ventures, and the ultimate Source of every victory across every facet of life—we ascribe all wisdom, power, and glory. For it is by His grace that we are positioned, it is by His might that we persevere, and it is for His purpose that we ultimately conquer.

In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.

Dr. Tolulope A. Adegoke, AMBP-UN is a Recipient of the Nigerian Role Models Award (2024), and a Distinguished Ambassador For World Peace (AMBP-UN). He has also gained inclusion in the prestigious compendium, “Nigeria @65: Leaders of Distinction”.

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Secrets are exclusive preserves of certain individuals or institutions. They are one’s advantage over others, in the sense of ‘there’s something I know, which no one else knows. No one can ever claim that they don’t have a secret, either in the good or bad light.

Secrets therefore, exist in the family circle, business terrain, academic environment, career/professional pursuit, health management, spiritual connectivity and even in everyday personal living. It is an undeniable fact that everyone has a secret that works for them.

Let’s take a minute to discuss some of the aforementioned secrets.

Family

Every family has a secret. It will be foolhardy for anyone to disclose family secrets. Most families die with their secrets. To understand how family secrets work, imagine the Coca-Cola company. The family is said to be the only one in the world that has the formula for the beverage; a trade secret that originated with its creator, John Pemberton.

It is said that not even all family members enter the room where Coca-Cola is mixed or manufactured for fear of the secret being divulged. Imagine where spouses have access to the room and the marriage goes south, there’s a tendency that a spiteful divorced partner might leak the secret and the rest as they say is history.

There are many secrets that bind many families which only the immediate family members know. In some cases, only the parents or grandparents know. They can decide to share the secret to either the first male child, first female child or even a member of the family that one considers rational. For instance, imagine where a family is faced with a peculiar life threatening illness which ordinarily might scare anyone who wants to get married into that family, it will be stupid for anyone to spit it out, that act alone can make the intending spouse to reconsider his/her plan to marry from the family.

Business

Every business has a trade secret. Trade secrets are what makes a business unique.  Every business has a unique selling point. (USP), which is a distinct benefit that sets the business or product apart from its competitors. A shrewd businessman will never leak his secret to his employees or competitors. The best his employees will know are the values, the operational systems or structures of the business and how his mindset works. But what makes the business stand out is the mystery that one will need to unravel.

Academic

Every student has a distinct trait that makes him/her succeed academically. This unique trait makes the student exceptional. For any student to succeed in their academics, he must know himself and what works for him. While some might study at night, some might study during the day, others might just listen during the lecture and understand the key points.

It’s sad to see students, who haven’t discovered who they are and what works for them following students who have discovered who they are. For example, while some students have good listening and understanding ability, and can listen to lectures and read a little and pass their examinations, some other students will have to read the course material before the lecture, listen during the lecture, read after the lecture and read thoroughly for examination before they can get a decent grade.

In some cases, they might not get the desired grade. Some students will even party hard during the day and at night they study, while some will party at night and study during the day. So, you can see that while some students have discovered themselves and what works for them, some others follow them sheepishly. Moral: Know what works for you and do what works for you because according to Oscar Wilde, “be yourself because others are taken”.

Career/Profession

Every career professional has a secret that works for them. In the same way, every industry knows what makes it stands out. The secret of what makes someone in the entertainment industry successful is quite different from what makes someone in politics or law enforcement, energy, education, legal, or health sector different. They all have different strokes, and the ability of one to do the needful in addition to playing the associated game can be the game changer.

Health

Health is a personal thing. Nobody knows you more than you know yourself. To show you how secretive and important one’s health is, it’s been said that there are three kinds of life: Public life, private life and secret life.

Your public life is the life that is generally known by everyone. It is the character we exhibit in the public space. It can also be regarded as the image perception lifestyle; we don’t generally go around revealing our health status in the public domain except where necessary. The private lifestyle; this is the kind of life only our family and close friends know.

Again, we don’t disclose such pertinent information to them only where and when necessary, then we have the secret lifestyle which only us and our creator knows. In some cases, we go to the graveyard with this. Do you see why health is a personal issue which needs to be kept in a secret place?

Personal

As mentioned earlier, everyone is unique. One of the best things that can happen to anyone is knowing themselves, and knowing what makes them different. I strongly believe we all have seeds of greatness in us. What works for Mr. A might not work for Mr. B. Like I always say, you can copy my style, but you can’t be me because imitation is a limitation.

For instance, I have unique energy and inspiration when it comes to writing. I have developed a keen interest and passion for writing. If tomorrow I become very successful or attract a unique opportunity, and someone decides to try writing to attract similar opportunities, the person might fail because God is the one that decides what opportunities come to anyone nor matter how hard someone may work.

Spiritual

This is another interesting aspect of life. Life is indeed spiritual. There’s nothing that happens physically without taking place spiritually. Everyone has a covenant point that was assigned to them at birth. Once that covenant point is touched that fellow might lose their blessings, anointing or what makes them strong.

There have been many testimonies about this. For instance, in the Bible, Samson’s touching point was his hair. He knows his power lies in his hair, that’s why Delilah tried so many times to know the secret of his strength, but Samson refused to tell her. She tried to make him drunk, but Samson still has the power. Samson repeatedly lied to Delilah about the secret of his strength, first saying it was new bowstrings, then new ropes, and finally by weaving his hair into a loom. Each time, he easily broke free, but Delilah continued to pressure him.

Weary from her constant questioning, Samson finally confessed that his strength was tied to his hair, which had never been cut because he was a Nazirite from birth. Delilah then called for a man to shave Samson’s seven locks of hair while he slept in her lap. His secret was revealed. His hair was cut. He strength was gone.

Do you see that Samson’s secret place was his hair?

In conclusion, depending on what we are working on, we all have our secret strength and place. The onus is on us to cultivate and dwell on this secret place to avoid losing power and focus.

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

By Henry Ukazu

Greetings Destiny Friends,

It ua an undisputable fact that the rich have more friends than the poor. As a matter of fact, almost everyone wants to be a friend of the rich. That explains the saying that the rich have many relatives while the poor are orphans.

We live in a society where most people are respected and reverenced because of their status, title and the resources at their disposal. However, this should not be so; everyone deserves to be respected irrespective of their titles and resources.

Respect comes in different ways. Anyone who has made significant impact or achieved a commendable feat ought to be accorded a decent level of recognition for their uncommon feat because it’s not easy to do uncommon things most people only dream of doing or achieving. The question now is, what is the fate of those who tried but didn’t succeed?

Well, a lot of variable factors might contribute to why someone fails in his endeavour. It might be a case of not preparing enough; it might also be a case of being unlucky and not encountering favourable opportunity; it can also be a case of benefactors not aligning with the person; it can so be as result of weather, while others may say it maybe because of the universe not favoring the said individual.

Whatever may be the case, everyone deserves to be celebrated for the effort they have invested regardless of how life unfolds.

It’s sad however, to see people who have succeeded in business, politics, academic, entertainment, religion, health or even personal development looking down on other people, who are still struggling to succeed. What some people failed to understand is that nobody remains at the top forever. Those who have truly succeeded need those who have failed because there are symbiotic lessons they will enjoy.

The big question begging for answer now is, who will help the poor? The poor in this context refers to those who have tried and failed, the less fortunate, those who have tried and keep trying but are yet to succeed.  The big answer is not far fetched; nobody will save you; you’ll have to save yourself. That’s the sad reality. Sometimes, we think our parents, mentors, family, benefactors, or God will come to our rescue, but in the journey of life, miracles happen within the limits of probabilities.

Let me explain further; though I believe in the power of miracles, especially coming from the spiritual aspect because the Book of Sirach in 11:21, tells me that “God can make a poor man to suddenly and instantly become rich” Also in Psalm 30:5, the Bible states that “tears may come at night, but joy comes in the morning”. That said, I’m quite aware that Heaven helps those who help themselves.

One can’t be preparing for an examination, and concentrate on praying all night, without making attempt to study. God will help you to fail. One can’t be praying for a child and fails to consummate the marriage with their partner, one can’t be praying to be rich and wealthy and fail to work. The list is endless.

It is when one has done the needful that the universe and God will conspire to assist them. In the same manner, your friends, mentors, family, benefactors can’t assist you if you haven’t assisted yourself. What most people don’t understand is that nobody owes you anything. Whatever act of goodwill anyone does for you is more like a favour, but it’s said a lot of people have an entitlement mentality.

A businessman, Emeka Ukazu, stated that “the four stages of an entitled mind are appreciation, anticipation, expectation and entitlement”. According to him, when someone is given a monetary gift, they always express appreciation at the first instance, next time, they look towards receiving another monetary gift or favour from you in form of anticipation, then it becomes a pattern of expectation for reasons best known to them before it finally becomes an entitlement.

Here is the gist; nobody will save the poor, the poor will have to save themselves. Just like nobody saved the rich, yes one may say the rich had one or two favours that made them to triumph. It should be noted that they may have played the right cards, paid their dues by interning, volunteering, or doing the needful to get the desired attention. They may have also had the right mindset, practiced delayed gratification or even did the work which attracted the right mentors to them. The question the poor or anyone who has failed should answer is, can I pay the price the rich man paid to get to where he is today?

Life is indeed a sacrifice; nothing is easy. I have personally sacrificed my time and resources to get certain opportunities. Needless to talk about the strategic risk I explored which some became positive while some didn’t go as planned. Back to the analysis – the rich man might have been once a poor man, who refused to stay poor, and he decided to take a proactive step to change the trajectory of his life.

I have had the opportunity to relate with some wealthy minds to see how they think. They don’t like social climbers or praise singers; they respect people with value. They also have their problems. I once heard that the richest Black man in the world, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, took the risk to borrow hundreds if not billions to fund his business. Imagine if the business had failed, that would have been tantamount to suicide. Then contrast that to if he succeeds and somebody somewhere will expect him to give back or even give them money because he is wealthy.

He might just smile if he’s in a good mood. In some cases, he might give if it aligns with his values or ideas in life. As much as I support giving back, the area I’m not comfortable is where some uninformed minds think that he will support them just because he has so much money. They don’t take into cognizance the risk he took to get to where he is. Some of them might not even dare to take the risk. That’s why it’s said, if a poor man is told what a rich man does to get rich, he will prefer to remain poor. That’s food for thought.

Now let’s flip the question. Who will help the rich? If the rich becomes broke, sick and bankrupt; who will help him? That’s the question I would want us to ponder for a minute. Everyone needs help. Just like I always say, everyone is experiencing a secret frustration, and as such needs help in one way or another.

So, when anyone gives you anything, please appreciate it from the bottom of your heart because in real sense, he doesn’t really owe you, unless he is paying you back for service or showing you appreciation or gratitude for whatever you have done for them in the past or presently.

In conclusion, as you go about your daily activities, explore avenues to add value to your life because you are the one who will save yourself, just like we save money so that money can save us.

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