Adding Value

Adding Value: The Power of Faith by Henry Ukazu

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

Eric

Greetings Destiny Friends,

“Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every journey of life undertaken without faith will surely end in frustration; nothing is guaranteed and there’s nothing worthwhile that can ever be achieved without faith. The reason is obvious; no one sees the end place before they begin a project. For instance, in business, one can never tell how far they can go if they do not begin; it is faith that makes a student believe a 4.0 or 5.O GPA on graduation is possible. It’s with faith an employee believes he will get to the managerial or topmost position in his field of endeavour.

Faith, ordinarily, is the capital to begin any enterprise, endeavour or life’s journey.

Let me make this disclosure, I’m nor referring to the spiritual kind of ‘faith’ in this article, rather I’m referring to the inspirational faith which progressive minds use to achieve the extraordinary.

It’s instructive to note that faith is a powerful force that can transform our lives and help us overcome obstacles. If you have a project or vision in mind you would like to accomplish, if you don’t have extraordinary faith, it will be hard to achieve your dreams.

Great and visionary leaders had absolute faith and believe in themselves and their projects. They were not deterred by the vicissitudes of life. As a matter of fact, they were inspired by their challenges because it enabled them to work hard.

According to NapoleonHill, in his book, Think and Grow Rich, “whatsoever the mind can conceive, believe, it can achieve it”. This tells you how powerful the mind is. It should be noted, success and failure start from the mind. If you believe you can do something, you will do it and if you believe you can’t do anything, trust me, you can’t do it. Even the Book of life states 1 John 4:4 that “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.

What is faith? Faith is the confident belief in something that is not yet seen or fully understood. As mentioned earlier, without faith, it’s impossible to achieve any commendable feat. Uninformed minds think faith is having everything ready before they begin a project. They have this mindset, if all the t’s are crossed, and i’s are dotted, what’s left is do the necessary. They fail to understand that done is better than perfect when perfect is not done. Sometimes in life, you don’t wait for the coast to be clear before you can soar.

Just imagine the ship thriving despite waves in the ocean and the plane flying the wind in the air. That’s simply how life works. We don’t give up due to the challenges of life. Sometimes, it’s through the challenges we are fashioned. It’s just like the gold and petroleum which must be processed before they become refined products. So also, we must pass through some challenges in order to be processed, refined and appreciated.

Furthermore, when one has faith and believes in a project, the universe has a way of bringing interested minds, who are either passionate about the project or cause to support the being.

One may be wondering how faith works, imagine being hungry as a student, one will not feel the hunger too much if one knows he has food in his refrigerator. Now compare that scenario to when there’s no food. My late mother will always say, the most painful part of being poor is, if one does not have money and doesn’t know anyone to borrow from. Trust me, it can be heartbreaking.

The importance of faith cannot be overemphasized, faith gives us hope, it strengthens us, it brings blessings, and it inspires hope and confidence.

The power of faith can enrich one’s life in many ways. Here are some of the ways faith improves our work and life.

1. Faith Improves Your Daily Work

When you love what you do, you will be inspired to spend some time developing your project. Faith impacts what you do, how you do it and how you live your life. With faith, you will be intentional. Faith keeps you going. If you want to do any task, you need to have faith that you will accomplish it. If you have faith, you feel motivated to get things done because the faith will serve as a propeller.

2. Faith Helps You in Difficult Times

There is a popular phrase, “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” If you have faith, you will have hope, and hope will help you endure difficult times and uncertainties in life. Times can be bad, and you may find yourself drowning in despair. But never lose hope. Even when you lose your job, suffer the pain of losing a beloved, don’t have enough money, or face any other challenge, having faith means to release control to a greater power, the universe or God.

3. Faith Encourages Others

Do you know your faith can inspire and encourage others? Have you wondered how creative-minded people come up with new ideas or directions to take after failing multiple times? They have faith that they can achieve their goal. No matter what comes their way, they remain focused and motivated, even after facing backlash from people. Their example can encourage others to follow the same path. You too can be the same way by having faith. People around you will learn from you. They will follow your lead. When you have absolute faith and believe in a project, people will notice.

4. Faith Gives You Courage

Courage helps you do the things that scare you. It plays a significant role in motivating you to act on something despite the risks or dangers involved. If you have courage, you show more strength in times of pain or grief. Courage comes directly from faith. For instance, you gather the courage to go on a job interview. You think you won’t get the job, but there is always a chance you will. You have faith in yourself and your abilities and take a bold step in going after the job, which can lead you to success.

5. Faith Helps you Discover Purpose

The ups and downs of life can take a toll on you. In some cases, it leads you to question why you’re here. But when you do, faith can save you from falling. It guides you to move in the right direction and helps you discover your purpose in life.

In conclusion, we all travel by air and trust the pilot to take us to our destination safely, we all use the sea and trust the captains to arrive safely, we all have faith that when we turn on the light, it will lighten up, why can’t we trust the creator we have not seen? When you trust the creator, believe in your project and believe in yourself, trust me, you will not only get to the promised land, but you will also exceed expectations. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.

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