“Thriving in Body, Mind and Purpose”
Introduction
I had the honour of being the keynote speaker for the Men’s Health Symposium 2025 which was held on Saturday, June 29th, 2025. In this article, I will provide excerpts from my speech.
My wife and I were in the process of getting a loan to build our first home, so I did my first medical screening at age 27 and during that time, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection. I urge those who avoid doctors to get a check-up at least twice a year so that you can detect potential health issues.
Healthy Living
We must live healthily. This means eating the right types of food as the root cause of your health issues is due to our diet. If you do not know what to eat, speak to a nutritionist who can guide you on what to eat or what not to eat.
Exercise regularly. This can involve walking, swimming or doing some exercises at home.
You need adequate sleep. We spend most of our time working so many hours with our business. Do you realize that the lack of sleep will jeopardize your health?
I also want to use this platform to encourage you to protect yourself. Sexually transmitted diseases remain prevalent in our communities, yet there is a tendency to overlook their existence.
Healthy Legacy
We are not just living for ourselves. We are planting seeds. Seeds that grow into habits, traditions, and norms. That is what we consider healthy legacy.
Think of your grandparents. Did they grow their own food? Walk everywhere? Value rest and community? That was their legacy. We now have the science, resources, and technology to advance further—if we choose to.
Your legacy can be one or more of the following.
- It’s the parent who teaches their child to love vegetables, not fear them.
- It’s the teacher who starts every day with breathing exercises in the classroom.
- It’s the Government that builds parks throughout the communities
- It’s you deciding that your life matters enough to treat your body with care and your mind with compassion.
Thriving in Body
The word of the Lord said that your body is the temple of the lord. You should be careful what you take in your body. If your body is weak, then there is little you can do. I know a lot of people like to drink and smoke. I cannot tell you what to do but be very careful about drinking and smoking too much.
Your body got to be strong. The doctor may prescribe medications. Folow the doctor’s advice. At times, we may believe we have more knowledge than medical professionals, which can lead to actions that jeopardize our health.
Talking about prescriptions, be very careful with consuming some of these sexual enhancement products. Please speak to a medical practitioner about this as you may end up losing your life.
Thriving in mind.
Your mind processes both negative and positive thoughts to help you make decisions. Control your thoughts and do not act on everything you think. This is why crime is prevalent because criminals are acting out whatever their minds tell them to do. The Bible encourages us to think of those things that are true, honourable, right, pure, lovely and admirable.
Thriving in purpose.
Everybody has a purpose and in fulfilling purpose, you are creating a legacy. Your health condition should not prevent you from fulfilling your purpose.
Conclusion
Live fully. Live wisely and above all, let us live intentionally. Healthy living starts a lasting legacy.