Adding Value: Striving for the Success You Desire by Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Nothing that brings joy to the heart more than success. Success is an enabler, a tranquilizer, an encourager, and comes in various forms vis a vis academic, business, family, spiritual, personal, and professional. One thing however,  is certain, and that is in all these, one must work it out because none given on the platter of gold. Even if you accidentally stumble unto to success, you must manage or develop it, otherwise, it will easily slip off your fingers.

According to a accomplished researcher and administrator, Abdulakeem Sodeeq Sulyman, “You need to be deliberate with your life. Create time for yourself to grow towards the person of your dreams because nobody would do that for you”.  In the journey of life, there’s no free lunch anywhere, you must work for your success. My late dad, Chief Anthony Lazarus Ukazu, once told me that “any name you want to bear, you must work for it”.

What most people don’t know is that success starts from little beginnings in the same way little drops of water make an ocean. Success is not accidental, it’s an intentional and strategic step that involves smart and hard work. In every sphere of life, one must understand what is needed to succeed whether they are working in the entertainment, academic or even political environment. To work for your success, you must have a positive attitude, a good personal relationship, ability to work with people, and must be willing to go the extra mile.

In striving for your success, one must make their own career choice. It’s your life and nobody will live it for you. Your friends, parents, family, and the world’s expectations are all opinions. You know yourself and know what makes you happy. In doing this, one must identify his strength and weaknesses. He must focus on his strength and work on his weakness. Your ability to know your strength will give you an edge on where you should focus on.

When you take the initiative of putting yourself out there, it will be easier for people to support you. Imagine if your car breaks down along the road, and you are waving at people to assist you in fixing it, few people are likely to support you, but if you start pushing the car, people are likely to stop to assist you. That tells you one thing, people are always willing to help those, whose efforts are visible.

Nobody ever achieved success with a smiling face. There’s always a story behind every success. In your search for success, there are bumps along the way. There are red, yellow, and green lights, all giving signals on the vicissitudes of life. Again, according to Abduulakeem Sodeeq Sulymna, “Even if things are not going as planned, as long as you are on the right side of the fight, be courageous to keep fighting”. The question now becomes, how will you know you are on the right side of life? You will know you are on the right side when you have peace of mind.

To work for the success you desire, you must first make a mental preparation by imagining it, and what it entails. The more you prepare for it, the harder you practice, and the more your practice, the luckier you get, and invariably the more successful you become.  In a nutshell, you must plan, prepare, and practice.

Three essential keys progressive minds need to work out their success are communication, confidence and character. Among these three, the most important is character. Even if you have confidence and can communicate well, people will still find it difficult to do business with you if you don’t lack character. Contrast it to when you have a good character but lack confidence and communication skills, your goodwill is likely going to attract the necessary opportunity you need.

To work for your success, you must take the initiative to be your own cheer leader, and self evaluator. At periodic intervals, you need to assess your performance by your own standards as opposed to other people’s opinion and rubric. You know yourself more than other people do.

In conclusion, one must make an intentional effort to overcome any challenge preventing them from achieving their set goals, dreams and vision, which will ultimately give them fulfillment in life.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a Human Capacity & mindset coach. He’s also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com