Monday, November 27, 2017

How to Give Back During the Holiday Season

As a leader in his church and community, Courage Igene encourages others to give back to those in need this holiday season to make a positive impact on the world.
Holidays are a time for family get-togethers, overflowing food, lots of fun, laughter and cheer. It is also the time for being thankful for all the things that we have – food, family and a roof over our head. But there are many who are not so fortunate to have things that we take for granted.  There are many families who cannot even afford food for their kids. There are many homeless who are in need of shelter to protect them from the coming cold weather. By helping those in need, we would not only make our holidays brighter but would also get a feeling of contentment by being able to give back to the community and put a smile on the face of someone in need. There are various ways, some big, some small, through which we can bring some cheer to the lives of others.
Courage Igene Give Back During the Holidays

Participate in food drives
Food drives are run by groups or individuals. Find out about any food drive going in and around your community. You can either participate in one or you can start your own food drive. Apart from helping stock non-perishable food items in a food drive, you can also help in soup kitchens. Since they are mostly driven by volunteers, your help would be very welcome. During the holiday season and due to the cold weather, these places are generally overcrowded. By helping during this time your service would be much appreciated. With All Nations Church, Courage Igene tries to hold food drives a few times a year especially during the holidays.
Donate clothes
By donating clothes and coats you would help many people to stay warm during the harsh weather. Many clothing drives are run by corporates or charities. You can make a neat bundle of all the clothing items that you no longer need but are in good wearable condition. Donate them to the appropriate charitable organization. 
Contribute Towards Gifts
The holiday season is also all about gifts and giving. You can buy gifts like toys for children of less privileged homes. The happiness on the children faces when they receive their gifts would make your day. 
Participate In Community Events
There are many community events going on especially during the holidays. There might be some park/beach cleaning activity requiring volunteers, or there might be some fundraising event taking place. It can be in the form of a run/marathon or a charity dinner. By participating in these events you can make some monetary or non-monetary donation towards the community. There are many community events which require contribution in the form of skill. You can contribute towards them through your skills as a doctor, architect, singer or any other professional skill. 
Remembering soldiers, fire fighters, police officers
Soldiers, fire fighters and police officers sacrifice so much to safeguard us and our homes. By remembering them through our selfless acts during the holiday season we get a chance to express our gratitude towards them and their families. By sending a card or baking some cookies and hand delivering them we can make them feel special.
Spending time in the hospitals and elderly care homes
By visiting hospitals we can spend some time with people who are feeling lonely or neglected during the holiday season. By reading some books or treating them with home cooked goodies we can bring some cheer in their lives. 

Courage Igene uses his expertise as a community leader to help spread joy and holiday cheer. You can choose any one or all the activities depending upon your resources. The act of kindness is important, its size is immaterial.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Courage Igene on Passion, Faith, and Success

Courage Igene understands that life isn’t easy, especially as we get older and obtain more and more responsibilities. We are often being pulled in several different directions at the same time to care for friends, family, faith, ourselves, our careers, paying the bills, and beyond.

Throughout his life, Courage Igene has always been a big believer in the phrase of “working to live, not living to work”. Our time on earth is a mere blip in the vast history of the world, until we are with God in the afterlife. Because of this, Courage Igene encourages others to pursue a good and successful life, trying to become the best version of ourselves.
Courage Igene Passion and Faith


As an active community member and church leader, Courage Igene was inspired to write about how passion and faith can lead you towards success in other areas of your life.

The term success is very subjective; it can mean many different things, especially when it comes to the individual. Taking some time out, whether that is taking a walk to think, or visiting your place of worship to speak with your God, is important. Understanding what drives you as a person, is it: giving back, spending more time with your family or starting a new project? Knowing ourselves is fundamental to accessing our passion. Where is it you find yourself pulled? What is your hobby, what makes you happy or where do you seek fulfillment?

These are some of the questions Courage Igene recommends you sit down and ask yourself and really reflect upon. Find what you are really passionate about and what really drives you to want to succeed. The point Courage Igene is trying to help you find is to understand what drives you and what will make you excited to get up and do this thing today, tomorrow, and the next day. Find something you want to improve upon.

Finding that one special "thing" isn't always easy, but Courage Igene believes that some of the most worthy things in life are earned through hard work, focus, and dedication.

Finding your passion is really half the battle, maybe even less, as retaining your drive is the hard part. Especially in the early stages of a new endeavor, Courage Igene has found throughout his community work that it can sometimes feel overwhelming and stressful.

Faith has really benefitted Courage Igene during this life long process. It has allowed him to relax and remain focused, reigniting his passion when it happens to run low or gets lost in the moment.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

The Power of Positive Thinking by Courage Igene

The Power of Positivity: Change Your Mind

As a community leader and leader in his church, Courage Igene is always looking for new ways to improve the lives of others.


Many people throughout the United States have heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” While this is a true statement, a statement that holds an even greater truth is “you are what you think.” Courage Igene has studied and researched the effects the human mind can have on the rest of the body. In fact, he has witnessed it first hand, speaking with many of his church members and peers.
Courage Igene Power of Positivity


Negativity can cause our bodies to function negatively, while positivity causes our bodies to function positively. For example: you received a bad report from work or the doctor’s office. When you begin to worry, and think negatively, about the report you received, your body goes into stress-mode and produces certain hormones that store fat in your body. The long-term effects of these hormones, if not shut off, include heart problems such as high blood pressure, heart attack, and angina. On the opposite end, by remaining positive your body is less likely to produce those stress hormones, leaving you to feel happy, healthy, free, and productive.

For Courage Igene, traveling to events and preparing for presentations can cause a lot of stress and sometimes negativity if something goes wrong. The first step to conquering these situations was to change his mindset. Courage Igene understood he had to change the way he thought, how he perceived things, and how he responded to negative situations. Of course this was the biggest struggle, but it was very obtainable. Once he began to think positively in every situation he witnessed his mind and body begin to heal themselves naturally.

Not only does negativity affect your own mind and body, but it also affects those around you. When anyone is angry and begins to express that anger in a negative way those around that person can physically feel the vibrations of the anger in their own bodies. Negativity is a ripple effect that can cause those around us to react negatively.

This is why Courage Igene and others thrive in environments where people are working together and supporting each other while promoting positivity. On his missionary trips and day to day happenings around the church, Courage Igene feels motivated and inspired by the positive actions of all the wonderful people around him.