Dear Destiny Friends,

In our business and academic journeys, or even in the race for heaven for those who believe in heaven, we all may have heard of the idiom “no pain no gain” as used in different contexts. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the fact remains that treasures are always hidden. Gold and diamond are valuable treasures that can’t be found on the surface of the earth. If you need treasures, you must seek them.

The journey to success is not an easy route. You will encounter so many challenges, bumps, and disappointments. These are some of the prices you have to pay. You might wake up a little bit early, you may need to spend an extra hour(s) working on your craft after your normal working hours just to develop your business. You need to exercise to keep fit. You need to save for the rainy day.

No genuine and successful human being will tell you the journey to success was easy. Some successful people take the pain to write their stories in the form of a book, blog, songs, etc. for the world to read and at the same time be inspired.

To achieve success, you must put in the work. It’s sad to note that many people like to wear crowns, but don’t like the thorns or the process that is associated with the crown. They desire your glory, but they don’t want the story associated with the glory. They want your blessings, but they don’t want your burdens. That’s why a celebrated Nigerian artist, Tuface Idibia said, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

Success is not guaranteed in life. In fact, nothing is guaranteed in life, not even life itself. Nobody gives you any sensitive position, valuable opportunity, or treasure just because you are a “nice guy”. You must earn it. There are opportunities you must create by making yourself available for them.

The interesting thing about grinding for success is that the world does not see you when you are in the backroom building your craft, neither do they celebrate you then, but when you are done and the work is good, you’ll be appreciated and celebrated.

According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, “In any venture, there’s no gain without some form of pain. After all, anyone who wants to be delivered from a bad tooth must be prepared to go through the journey of tooth extraction. You must be prepared to put in more to get more. You will have to invest effort into life for life to deliver its bounties into you. Decide today to despise the free lunch. Launch yourself into action. Start now”.

It is a universal principle of life that there’s no gain without pain. There are situations ladies have been told you have to use what you have to get what you don’t have. These ladies decide to use sex as a weapon to lure men for jobs/opportunities. However, they forget to understand that sex can only attract a man, it can’t keep him. What keeps a man is a value you bring to the table. So what’s the reasoning behind attracting a job/opportunity you don’t have the mental capacity to sustain? Hence, this is one reason progressive ladies decide to work harder and smarter to get whatever position they desire.

Furthermore, we have seen instances where people equate suffering with discomfort. For a better illustration, there’s a difference between pain and comfort. Pain results from injury, but discomfort is a result of sacrifice you have to go through to enjoy the fruit of your labour. According to Jeanette Coron “Success requires sacrifice.

To put discomfort in proper perspective, you can decide to pay now and play later, or you play now in order to pay later. The choice is yours. The big question I like to ask my friends is, what do you want? What result would you like to see/get at the end of the day? Depending on your answer, you will have to decide if you can pay the price.

For instance, if you are interested in losing weight, your best bet will be to work on your diet, before working in the gym, but it’s quite unfortunate some people spend time working out in the gym and spend less time on their diet. It should be noted that top athletes who have carved a niche and name for themselves understand that there’s no gain without pain.

In summary, what are you willing to sacrifice today to gain your desired glory?

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and public speaker. 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