IT CAN BE DONE
“The best way to Predict your Future is Create it.
No Education, No Future”.
The Eight out of ten Children and the Father of four. Form modest upbringing in South-South of Nigeria. He has become Founder and CEO of fourteen conglomerates in Nigeria and pressing on, to establish fifty organizations before he clocks seventy years.
Fred Ndubusi Okonne was born Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Fred Okonne grew up in the Farming Community of Ibusa in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. His mother taught him discipline, values and hard work. These laid the base for his success. Fred’s life journey was filed with fun, challenges and sacrifices that helped set the stage for his achievements today. He attended his elementary education in Ibusa and secondary School was in Benin City. And his higher school in Suleja, Niger State. Fred earned his degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria before proceeding to the United States for his Postgraduate studies. He studied Cross-Cultural Communication Logos Christian University, Jackson-Vile, Florida, and His Doctorate Degree in World Missions at the Prestigious Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States.
Professor Fred N. Okonne served on the foreign Mission with International Missions Centre (IMC) Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States with a network of in 130 (one hundred and thirty) countries in the world. He currently anchors and drives as Director General of Academy for Governors, Ibusa, Delta State and Oversee its own institutions in Benin City. He also consults for Christian Universities and Colleges in the United States, Europe and Africa. Furthermore Fred Okonne consults for organizations promoting partnership between market place leaders and Faith-based organisations. He served as Vice President and Executive Director of African Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans, Louisians, United States. Fred has held leadership roles organizations in Africa and around the world. He is the Author, Teacher and Consultant. He has written over 100 (one hundred) Books and several publications ranging from Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Theology, and World Missions Fred’s Passion include: Arts, Travels and Books.
BEYOND SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
“Adult life begins when one ask yourself what do I want to be remembered for? What do I want to be remembered for? None of my books or ideas means anything to me in the long run. What are theories? Nothing. The only thing that matters is how you touch people.
My childhood and young adult
experiences helped prepared me for what I am today. My real life experiences has taught me great deal about being a winner in the game of success. But now I realize that there are other games played on other fields and I have learnt that there are other ways to win besides dominating the ratings race and pilling up the score through increase market share or burgeoning profit. Though, Professor Fred Okonne grew up in the Village but he had a City mindset.
He returned to Nigeria in 1993, from the United States and established a leadership school in Asaba Delta State. Fred is a servant of God. As a Professor, he is not disconnected from teaching biblical truths. He teaches the word of God with soundness, boldness, anointing and wisdom. He has inspired many leaders and managers and helped to develop over 45,000 (forty five thousand) young entrepreneurs across Nigeria and Africa. He is endowed greatly with talent and entrepreneurial skill.
Fred’s accomplishment is even more pronounce in the social sector. He professed to see his game plan in the “second and third-half of his life-“moving” beyond success DE significance”.
EARLY ACHIEVEMENTS
Professor Fred Okonne lives a selfless life. He sacrifices all to help others achieve their goals in life. He says, “That life is built on principles and patterns. The guiding principle that helped to form, frame and shape his life is that, a real adult life begins when one ask himself, what does he or she want to be remembered for… none of my books or ideas means anything to me in the long run. The only thing that matters to me is how I touch the lives of other people”. The man Fred has learnt to:
- Depend on God for success each day.
- Centers his life around specific goals.
- Ask himself questions about failures and successes of others.
- Move beyond success to significance.
- Create and invests on social capital.
- Work only on things that (matters) make a difference if it succeeds.
- Devoted himself to lifelong learning.
- Work to finish daily activities as if that would be his last day on earth.
- Write his own epitaph.
- Concentrate on what he does well.
Fred says, “I know that I am a born and gifted teacher. And when I was a child my desire was to be a professor and nothing else. No, nothing else!! So today, my prayers of yesterday have become my hope and reality today. Fred has Jettisoned anything in his life that didn’t fit any of this six pack:
- To serve God by serving others.
- To grow his organization at least 10% every year.
- To have a vital life with his family.
- To engender high self-esteem on his children and students.
- To grow culturally and intellectually.
- To figure out with the money he makes.
This focus has increased his productivity in life. Between to 2021 his organizations and institutions sustains at least 25% growth rate.
In the year 2000, Fred divested his leadership institution into areas of human capital development. This and other strategic changes allowed his organizations to continue a solid growth. He is now fully engage in his second half mission for life-Education and Education, Training, Investment and Development. Against the back drop of double-digit achievement, a drama become to unfold in his life. Fred said that, “I started to wrestle with what I wanted out of the second-half of my life”. Fred remembers, “an unformed but compelling idea griped me-I should make my life significant not merely successful.
Fred says, that “One of the common characteristics of a person nearing the first half of life, is that unquenchable fire and desire to move from success to significance. After the first-half of doing what I was supposed to do, I desired to do something else in the second half of my life that is more meaningful. Something above perks and paychecks into the stratosphere of significance”.
I did this, I redirected my abilities and energies towards different goals.
My mission for the second half is, “To transform my latent energy into a more active one”-I have become a social entrepreneur.
MY SECOND-HALF CAREER
Peter Drucker Defined on Entrepreneur as someone who transfer wealth, resources-knowledge, time, capital, and labour-from a state of lower productivity to a higher productivity.
A Social Entrepreneur is someone who creates of multiplies social capital-time, money and knowledge-and invest it in the Community. Believing we create capacity for what matters. These are the ten things I do that mark me out in life:
- I have learnt to delegated responsibilities to others – at work and home. I and you cannot do everything and shouldn’t try.
- I’ do. What I do best, and I drop the rest. I am involved in capacity building through training and education (Haman Capital Development).
- I know when to say no to other people’s agenda. I pursue my mission strictly.
- I set my limits by reallocating my time to my mission, my core values and issues.
- I protect my personal time by putting my time on my calendar.
- I work with people I like not with those who drain my energy.
- I learnt to establish time tables, my mission is important and therefore, deserving of my attention and care. I transform good intentions of mine into results.
- I downsize. I get rid of what stands between me and regaining control of my life.
- I play around a little-not much in a sense that would get me in trouble-evil socializing. But as a way to keep a handle on who is in charge.
- I take my phone off the hook-not literally-at least not all the time but I do it gracefully.
Fred says, “That he learnt three cardinal principles from Peter Drucker that guide his work and activities and helped to keep him in control of his life”:
- He build on his health and strength.
- He works only with those who are receptive to what he’s doing.
- Lastly, he works only on things that will make a big difference if he succeeds.
Professor Fred Okonne is proving as successful in the social sector as he was in the First-half of his life, channeling his time, talent and resources including money into launching organizations that reflect his interest both as an entrepreneur and a servant of God wanting to make a difference in the world. Till date, he has helped to established organizations and institutions:
- Train to Reign Group, Nigeria – Is a capacity building consortium that is established to promote partnership between market place leaders, entrepreneurs and faith-based his institutions on organizations that fosters and encourages Education, Training, Investments, Innovations and creativity.
- Pan African Business Connections- Focuses on connecting emerging market in Africa with the rest of the world.
- Train to Reign Educational Center-Building human Potentials and Possibilities through Local and Foreign Education.
- Pastoral Leadership College and Graduate School – Leadership Development Institution is a private Mission’s College created to identify, teach, train and provide resources to equip Faith Based Leaders and Church Organization.
- Train to Reign Global Services – Involved in a human Capacity building.
- Bethel College of Entrepreneurship and Graduate School.
- Kingdom Citizens Seminars Nigeria Limited.
- Bethel College of Leadership and Graduate School.
- Entrepreneurship Publishing and Events, Inc.
Entrepreneur: Fred Ndubusi Okonne
Company and Institutions: Train to Reign Group, Nigeria.
Year Started: September 14th, 1994.
Startup Costs: 100USD
2020 Revenue: ___________________
No of Graduates: Over 45,000 (Forty Five Thousand).
SUMMARY OF KEY PRINCIPLES
- Center your life around specific goals.
- Ask the right questions for success.
- Move beyond success to significance.
- Create and Invest Social Capital.
- Work only on things that will make a big difference if you succeed.
- Devote yourself to lifelong learning.
- Write your own epitaph.
- Discover and follow your calling.
- Concentrate on what you do.
INFLUENTIAL BOOKS/REFERENCES
- The Post Capitalist Society. New York Harper Collins 1993. Hendy Charles. Boston. Harvard Business School, 1994.
- O’Neil, John Rev. and Jeremy Tucker: The Paradox of Success – When Wining at Work mean losing at life 1993.