Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Tony D. Johnson.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. My life started out with humble beginnings, I grew up in an urban neighborhood in South Florida. I was blessed to be raised by my loving, spiritually grounded and selfless mother. She instilled in me the value of hard work, taking responsibility for your actions, using our faith as a compass for life, and how important it is to work with vigor to pursue my goals. I am a proud graduate of Florida State University, and I am involved in a numerous community-based initiatives. I work hard, I am a direct but kind and considerate man. I believe these are the key ingredients for a life filled with happiness and success. I am resolute in my determination to help others which is ingrained into who I am. I am the founder of two organizations, Captivate Perspectives where I serve as President and CEO, and the Institute for Lifelong Learning where I serve as Chancellor. Both organizations provide education, training, project and program management leadership and support for schools, nonprofits, and the private sector. I am pragmatic, a strategic thinker, and a problem solver. I believe we all have carte blanche on our ability to succeed. It takes a deep resolve to push against the tides of mediocrity to achieve greatness. I would encourage everyone to surround themselves with people who are supportive, encouraging and who will provide you critical feedback about the things you need to hear.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
We know that life can be filled with some people who are nefarious. However, we have more control of our life and situations than we give credit. Born to a teenage mother who worked 2 jobs to make ends meet and in my neighborhood where gunfire and violence was common place I could have easily become a statistic. However, I was adamant that I would work to create a better life for me and my family. I am a firm believer in God, and I believe he makes no mistakes in how his architects people and events in our lives. There were many times when life was very challenging; I had a strained relationship with my father, limited resources at home, and was fearful to just live in my neighborhood. I had experienced a lot of traumas throughout my adolescence to early adulthood. Resilience and grit are the cornerstone of overcoming challenges in life. You can learn and grow from almost anything you experience in life. It is this ethos creed that has provided light in my pathway of life. Having a mindset that I would advance despite of adversity has and remains important to my life.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
I am the President and CEO for Captivate Perspectives. My minority firm provides supports for K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, nonprofit, and private sector organizations. This work includes workforce development, training, program and project management, performance management, strategy, and transformational work. I approach this work from a systems-design and value-added model. I build upon the successes of the organization, and provide the tools and supports for organizations to achieve their intended outcomes. There are a numerous organizations that provide great work in the areas of training, program and project design and management. My organizations are highly specialized and we should be desired over our competitors for five reasons: 1) We identify and solve pain points for our clients 2) We build our own nice to have more room for expansion 3) We provide competitive pricing models 4) We are innovative, strategic and a value-add and 5) We provide high quality customer service. Lastly, our work is focused on high quality outcomes, a collaborative team approach and flexibility to achieve measurable goals. We work with organizations by leveraging talents, and we approach the work from a value-added proposition of support. Through 20 years of experience organizations have seen tremendous success from my work. I am pleased that this work has expanded across cities and states in the United States.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?
There are important correlates that are key to success professionally and in life. First, there is no easy way to get there. You must work hard, inspire yourself and others, be kind to everyone who crosses your path, know when to draw boundaries, and persevere in spite of what life throws your way. Success is the belief that you will achieve your goals no matter what occurs, and with grit and determination you will unleash your natural born excellence. I believe too often people give up on themselves and others. Life is a symbiotic echo system and as such we need each other to thrive. Success is also an individualized blueprint in which your plan is specific to only you. It should not be compared to someone else’s success matrix, unless you use that comparison to bolster your own trajectory towards achieving your own goals. Successful people share things in common, they are often: complimentary of others, work hard, accept responsibility, want others to succeed, continuously learn, operate from a transformative paradigm, and have a sense of gratitude. We live in a world where the images of social media creates a narrative about success and what success looks like. However, true success is achieving goals by doing those activities and things that you truly enjoy. The great thing about success is that it is focused on what is important to you, and those goals can shift as you deem it appropriate to change them.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
Success for me is achieving my goals. Those goals are holistic in that they include my mental, spiritual, financial, emotional well-being. I think success is a road and a journey. I am also a firm believer that that there isn’t a shortcut to success for many of us. Once I am on my way to reach one set of goals, I begin to think about my set of goals. Also, success is believing you can achieve overcoming fears, and celebrating small victories along the way. When we take control of our destiny and know that we can curate a life of success that truly makes us happy then we will find the spice of life. For me, success also includes ensuring that we fully support people around us, success isn’t a singular goals, but others around me are always supported by me to succeed as well. Also achieving success is not easy, it requires long days and nights, hard work, taking risks, being courageous, and persistent. I possess 4 degrees, a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a Master in Public Administration & Public Policy, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Evaluation all earned from Florida State University. However, possessing those degrees are only one facet of success. Success is doing what I love and supporting others to achieve their goals.
What’s next for you?
I am driven by service to others and to make the world a better place, one person at a time. I will continue my work with my firms as the President and CEO of Captivate Perspectives and The Chancellor of The Institute for Lifelong Learning & Workforce Innovation and continue to be involved in community service work. I have an aggressive five-year growth strategy for both companies and will partner with others to achieve those goals. Projects include expanding workforce development training, project management, school reform, performance coaching, training and development. I am a firm believer of lending a hand to others so that we can all prosper together. I firmly believe that there is enough kindness and blessings to go around for all of us.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
The following provides information for how people and organizations can connect with me. I look forward to the synergy.
Dr. Tony D. Johnson
Email: tony.johnson@dccaptivate.com
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/captivate-perspectives
