Adding Value

Be the Best Version of Yourself by Henry Ukazu

Published

2 years ago

January 27, 2024

Eric

Dear Destiny Friends,

It is a known fact that everyone wants to be the best in any field or activity they engage themselves in. But truth be told; being the best is not easy; it takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, consistency and patience. One must put in the work to bear the name he wants to be reckoned with because nothing good comes easy, apologies to the legendary Bongos Ikwue.

Being the best in life is not just about people, it also extends to products, schools, hospitals, businesses, sports, etc.

To understand how the best works, imagine a football coach about to play a final match; will he use his second team or first team? A serious coach will surely go for his best team if he wants to win the match. Again, imagine, someone who is sick, they will look for the best of doctors to treat them even if that person is an enemy, if they truly want to be alive.

Let’s consider the definition of best. The new website Dictionary defines best as “something of the finest quality”. A closer look at the word “finest quality” will explain why every employer employs the best persons for a job. When you work with people who are talented, gifted and at the same time intelligent, the rewards and blessings are priceless.

I have been privileged to work with some intelligent folks, and I will say without equivocation that Abdulakeem Sodeeq Sulyman, Ohimai Amaize and Ebuka Uchem are some of the best exceptional beings on planet earth.

Again, there’s no doubt, we all want to be the best, the question we need to ask is. Are we ready to do the needful? According to Usain Bolt, “I trained 4 years to run 9 seconds and people give up when they don’t see results in two months.”

Now, you see it’s not easy to be the best in life?

Before you can be the best version of yourself, you must uncover your essential values, interest and passion that define who you are in life and the world.

Once you’ve identified the person you want to be, you can plan how to become the best version of yourself.

The benefits of being the best in life cannot be overemphasized. Being the best makes one unique, attracts fame, and makes one rich and successful.

One may be wondering how to become the best version of himself?

The first duty of a progressive mind is to know himself. No one, who doesn’t know himself can succeed or be the best in life. It’s like being successful in your craft. You can make money without loving what you do, but you can’t be successful without loving what you do. When you love what you do and what you do loves you, therein lies your authentic success.

Another way to be the best version of yourself is by being unique. According to Oscar Wilde, “be yourself because others are taken.” In our contemporary society, we see a lot of people trying to imitate other people just because they feel they are succeeding in their professions, business, or craft. These uniformed minds don’t know everyone is different. When you know what’s unique about you, you won’t spend time trying to be like another person. The person you are trying to imitate made himself by understanding himself.

Again, it’s like someone who is passionate about a cause or business. When you know what you love, it’ll be easier to develop interest in learning more, and trust me, there’s a certain level of spiritual blessing and ingenuity that comes to one who is working according to their purpose and passion. Other people might be engaging themselves in the business or craft, but their level of success and favour won’t be like yours. That’s why you can imitate someone’s style, but you can’t imitate their creativity.

Your ability to know what’s unique about you will make you make the right choice. It will help you to focus on what’s important, you won’t be distracted by the noise around you; you will meditate, spend your time wisely and network with the right people.

According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, “to get the best, one must do three things: resolve to think only the best thoughts, work for the best and entertain and expect the best results”.

Even the Bible knows the value and importance of seeking the best. In the book of life, the word says, “….whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things”.

When one is so focused on achieving positive results, the person won’t be concerned about focusing on trivial things. Most of the great people that made an impact in the world had a powerful mindset and they devoted their attention to noble activities.

Being the best does not come easy. One will have to go through pains just like gold and oil will have to go through a furnace to be refined.

Being the best is like working on a purpose, for which the journey and process of refinement might not be easy. Here, people might laugh at you saying you don’t have money, you are wasting your time and so on. Some might even say, you will die wretched working for purpose and advise you to be wise. Here’s my advice; regardless of the negative opinion or thoughts you may have, if you are truly convinced in your purpose, don’t give up. Maybe you are being tested. You may get a temporary side job to support yourself or family while working on your craft, but don’t lose focus on the big picture.

The moral here is, don’t worry about being famous or making money, the most important thing is being the best. When you are the best in what you do, your enemies will seek you, leaders, kings, queens, and influential people will seek you. According to Anastasia Soare “You have to become a master of your craft, and everything else will come”.

In conclusion, as you sojourn through life, affirm positive thoughts to yourself every day by saying, I am the best. Also, endeavor to give your best in whatever you are doing, even if you don’t succeed, be glad you did the best.

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 and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@glo emi.com

Adding Value

Adding Value: Make Efficiency, Effectiveness Your Watchword by Henry Ukazu

Published

6 days ago

July 11, 2026

Eric

Dear Destiny Friends,

To be successful, everyone needs to be effective and efficient in all they do. Success does not come from nicety, speech articulation or fine diction, spotless dressing, connections, good proposal or even from having a good product. Though all these factors might play a role, a business man must not only be efficient in their business, they must also be effective.

These words, effective and efficient no doubt, are so closely related, however there’s a thin line of difference between the two. If you stay with me for awhile, you’ll understand.

One might be wondering what the difference between being effective and being efficient is. According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, a prolific and exceptional ghost writer, efficiency is the ability to do something well without wasting energy or effort, whilst to be effective is simply to do something well. Let’s talk a minute to explain how this works. One can be efficient and not effective, and one can be effective and not efficient. But a truly great mind is both effective and efficient. When one is efficient, it means that he can do the work within the shortest possible time. This may be because he has done it over and over again, and have mastered its nitty-gritty.

There’s a saying, if someone can’t explain something to a six-year-old child, that person doesn’t understand the subject very well. I agree with this saying because when someone understands something, he/she won’t go through stress explaining it, and will spend minimum time doing it. Whilst for someone who is effective, he knows the issue or has a subject matter expert on the business very well. He can literally do it when he wakes up from sleep without rehearsing. So, in summary, an effective person saves time, while an efficient person explains better.

As progressive beings, we must be proactive with not only our life, but also our business, career, and whatever we find our hand worthy of doing. By doing so, people will appreciate us and support us. In business, one of the best forms of advertising is referral. When one’s work is exceptionally good, he doesn’t need too much advertising; his work will speak for itself. For instance, anyone who may have used the product might say ‘I have used this product or service, and I can guarantee its effectiveness’. Another person might say ‘the staff are very efficient, professional, and great at customer service’.

All these are great reviews. Trust me, one doesn’t need too many reviews to believe in the authenticity of what people are saying. They can sense a genuine review devoid of sentiments and vested interest. So, imagine a case where there’s no review, one might have a challenge in believing the durability and effectiveness of the product/service.

As a business owner, one must be intentional with respect to how he treats his employers and customers. What most uninformed business owners don’t know is that when you take care of your staff, they will in turn take care of your business. When the staff are happy, they’ll treat the customers well, and when the customers are happy, they’ll in turn tell the world. Do you see how effectiveness and efficiency work in a company?

In a similar way, if one is consistent in publishing articles every week like I do, opportunities are bound to arise soon when there’s alignment. As a business owner, I can authoritatively tell you being good at what you say you do is a currency. Nobody likes shady or dirty work. I can also tell you people are ready to pay for premium services provided you can deliver.

Let me share a personal experience with you; two months ago, I visited my home country – Nigeria, for a business opportunity. During my meeting with some established institutions, I had to submit proposals to them. But because I wasn’t proficient in writing proposals, I had to hire a consultant to do the job for me. Not only did I hire a consultant, I also flew him for business meetings because I trusted his judgment, and guess work, it paid off.

Imagine, if I had to do it myself, I doubt if the work would have been given the kind of positive attention it attracted. Why am I sharing this information? When one is good at what they do, it won’t take long for them to be seen when the right opportunity comes.

Being efficient and effective does not only apply to our professional lives, it’s also applicable in our personal lives. In the world we currently live in, things are governed by perception. When people see how effective and efficient you are, they will be inclined to associate with you, but when you appear like an unserious person, they will find it hard to recommend or refer you for business opportunities.

So, today, take stock and ask yourself if are you an effective and efficient person; if your company is effective and efficient. If your answer is no; ask yourself what you can do to make you and your company effective. The answer will set you on the right path to success.

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

Adding Value

Adding Value: The Inherent Power of Gift-Nurturing by Henry Ukazu

Published

2 weeks ago

July 5, 2026

Eric

Greetings Destiny Friends,

The saying, the joy of life is not how happy you are, but how happy others can be because of you, is no fluke. The statement emphasizes the importance of building human relationships. Relationships are skills that need to be nurtured.

Building and maintaining relationships is a skill that everyone needs to learn. But importantly, one must be intentional in the kind of relationship they intend to build because failure to cross the t’s and dot the i’s can have devastating effects on a person.

As human beings, sometimes, we don’t know what we have until we lose them. It’s instructive to note that one of the major challenges Third World countries have is maintaining culture. These third world countries find it difficult to maintain their roads, schools, provide good health hospitals, or build infrastructural facilities for their citizens. Even as human beings, sometimes, we lack this mindset of not maintaining or developing what we have. This is because we might know how to sing, swim, dance, play soccer, write or even teach, but we don’t develop it.

It’s instructive to note that the world is usually attracted to strength and not weakness. Isn’t it true that nobody celebrates poverty, rather they eulogize successful and wealthy people. So, if you desire to be celebrated, endeavor to develop what’s inside of you.

Let me tell you, nobody can celebrate or talk about you if you don’t talk or celebrate yourself, and nobody can save you without you making an attempt to save yourself. According to a former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, “you can’t wake a man who is pretending to be asleep”. That’s a powerful statement insinuating the power of self-determination. When you develop what you have, the world will resonate with you. This is what I mean by the power of maintenance.

The question we need to ask ourselves is how do we maintain what we have? Well, maintaining what we have is not as hard as it may appear. All that is necessary for one to be intentional in developing and adding value to their life.

Everyone has a gift or talent, but the challenge we have is that we don’t take time to groom it. Beloved, if you don’t groom your gift, nobody will do it for you. If you don’t speak about yourself, nobody will speak about you. Sometimes, we want glory, but we are not willing to pay the price.

Furthermore, in every sphere of life, maintenance culture is very important. Failure to do so can make one spend more. Imagine having a car with a minor break, if the car is not properly fixed, it will affect other parts of the car. The same principle is applicable if one has a house which needs repairs. The principle of the broken window tells us when a window is damaged, it will be better to pull it out or fix it so we can focus on other things otherwise, it will affect other components in the house.

This principle is also applicable to business, politicians, academics, spirituality, health and family. As a matter of fact, it is applicable in every area of our life. According to Myles Munroe “whatever we don’t manage we lose”. So, imagine what will happen if we don’t develop our skills and talent. The grave is considered the richest soil on earth because of the millions and billions of talents that have been buried inside the soil.

As a budding entrepreneur, we have been told about the power of consistency. When one is consistent, the universe has a way of showcasing us to the world. Let me share a practical example of how consistency works. In 2018, I was given an opportunity to publish weekly articles by Chief Dele Momodu on this online newspaper. I took up the challenge and have been consistently publishing inspirational and creative articles that will assist entrepreneurs and progressive minds to unleash their potential.

Here is the catch, I have received numerous opportunities and recognition globally from resourceful organizations, in addition to meeting great leaders of thought who have developed interest in my work. It’s important to note that I wasn’t a great writer at the initial stage, but over time, I have honed my writing skills by interacting and reading from resourceful minds

For business owners, if you have a business, consider learning all necessary information including taking certification classes, training and networking with the right people to acquaint yourself to the extent an opportunity presents itself. Also, sometimes we wait for people or big organizations to give you big opportunities to showcase your work to the world, but we fail to understand that we have what it takes to attract global attention which will bring the big names and organizations we desire to come to us. But we are not willing to pay the price.

I can remembered when I started my business, I had no clarity of what I was doing, but because I was intentional to learn, I attended many online trainings and today I can boldly say that by the special grace of God, my organization have partnered with global organizations and United Nations Development Programme to train youths in Rwanda on Leadership. The moral of this message is that I maintained my line, I maintained my skill, talent, I developed myself, but more importantly I didn’t give up on what I have inside me. I may not know your experiences or situations or expectations, but if you can stay focused and do the needful, I have no doubt the world will celebrate you in due time.

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

Adding Value

Adding Value: Operate Silently by Henry Ukazu

Published

3 weeks ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

Dear Destiny Friends,

Silence is powerful. silence is golden. And silence can also be misinterpreted. Silence can mean acceptance, the same way it can mean rejection, depending however, on the context and usage.

The power of silence cannot be overemphasized. It’s a strong weapon only great people understand. While most people make a lot of noise, great leaders of thought practice silence. Silence, most of the times, is a strategic weapon creative minds use during negotiation.

To succeed in any chosen career, one must move in silence because there’s no sense announcing one’s work prematurely. When one is tempted to do so, the work might lose its vitality. The success of any project is best appreciated when it’s the best kept secret, especially when the work is underrated.

To understand how silence works, try being discreet while working hard, and allow the outcome/success to announce the dedication. Personally, I find it odd when people make noise about their personality or showcase their work for people to notice when it’s still supposed to be in incubation as opposed to expressing humility about the said achievement.

There’s a Nigerian adage that says, money can’t be hidden, no matter how hard one tries. The adage further states that when a poor man acts rich, something is likely going to happen which will expose the individual as poor despite trying to act rich. The same principle is applicable when a rich man is acting poor, something will happen which will showcase the man’s wealth despite acting like he’s poor. The moral of this analysis is that it’s always good for one to be humble about life and their modest achievements.

This is how I know greatness. Great people operate in silence. They know what they want, and they work hard by remaining focused. They don’t share their vision with any Dick, Tom and Harry. They are very intentional and strategic in their thought process and relationships. On the other hand, those without understanding just move with speed devoid of direction thereby making mistakes.

Silence is very powerful. The proper use of silence can prevent trouble. Even the Bible exposed that a foolish man is considered wise when he keeps silent, and a wise man is considered foolish when he opens his mouth to speak. This literally means that one ought to know when to speak and when not to speak.

In the spiritual realm as well, silence assists to solve more problems than prayers. For instance, too often, people commit to loud prayers to solve problems, not knowing that a few moments of silence with meditation, can provide wholesome answers.

In case you are wondering how that works; did you know that when we pray, we are talking to God, but when we meditate, God is talking to us. That explains it!

As progressive minds, we ought to meditate. Meditation is powerful. There are many blessings and benefits that come to us when we meditate. Meditation helps us to have less stress, better focus, better memory, enhance creativity, reduce anxiety, and anger.

One of the greatest benefits of mediation is that it helps us to relate cordially when strange people try to serve as detractors. To understand this ideology and principle, when people provoke you, you don’t have to respond. Just move in silence by acting like you didn’t notice their actions. They will be wondering why you are not provoked to react. Well, it makes no sense to come down to the level of pigs when one is dragged in the mud. According to Michelle Obama, when they go low you go high.

There’s no way on planet Earth one won’t be misunderstood. One of the best ways to relate with the public is by practicing the still act of silence. Keep them in suspense. Let them keep guessing and wondering. Silence is the only thing people can’t misquote. After all, we would not all be here if Eve had been silent when the serpent spoke to her. Silence is, indeed, golden.

I’ll strongly advise that if you are working on a novel project, please move in silence, don’t announce your elaborate plan. Allow it to mature, and if possible, let it hatch before you announce it. The world is not concerned about your struggles or theories, rather, they want to see your results because results make the difference. It’s your result that will make your stories sweet and endearing to the heart. The only time however, one is encouraged to announce or share whatever they are working on is when they need technical or superior expertise or advice on the project. And the subject of contact MUST be resourceful mind or an absolutely trusted ally, who knows his onions.

I remember when I was working on my first, second and third books, I stayed committed to the project in my corner. Even when I shared excerpts from my manuscript, it was to people that matter in as much as they still allowed me to work on my own. And when the book was finally published, I received lots of commendations and support. That’s how life works.

In conclusion, experience has taught me to operate in silence because it gives me confidence and a better understanding of how life and people think. This is because silence reveals a lot with time, silence heals, and silence speaks volumes.

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@glo emi.com