Titles:
(a) I’m Better Than This: How to Overcome Stagnation and Complacency
(b) Be Fruitful! Strategies for Enhancing Productivity and Unlocking Versatility
Author: Pastor Kennedy Bienose
Publishers: New Tees Media Limited, Lagos
Date of Publication: April 2026
Reviewer: Godfrey Ubaka
On 1 May 2026, as part of the events lined up to celebrate his 51st birthday, Pastor Kennedy Bienose unveiled two books, adding to his body of impactful publications. They are I’m Better Than This, with the subtitle, How to Overcome Stagnation and Complacency; Be Fruitful! Strategies for Enhancing Productivity and Unlocking Versatility.
Both works come in slim, handy, easy-to-read volumes. Their contents are, however, intentionally designed with the capacity to reconfigure mindsets, reposition worldviews, unlock destinies, bring about a shift in perspectives, change in trajectories and engineer a creative explosion in potentials
Thematic thrusts focus on the dimensions of fruitfulness, correcting the pervasively wrong perception that fruitfulness starts and possibly ends with the number of biological offspring one is able to procreate in order to multiply and replenish the earth. Focuses rather on how to set out on an impactful life and sustain steady, consistent progress in life endeavours. These are obviously core to the desires of man, irrespective of race, colour or geographical location.
The author evidently draws from his background as a pastor, quintessential communicator, thoroughbred journalist, committed administrator, zealous, visionary, sacrificial father, impactful teacher and politically exposed liberal ideologue to provide time-tested antidotes to stagnation and complacency and usher readers who dare to put the principles into practice into the realm of multidimensional fruitfulness.
I’m Better Than This and Be Fruitful! are not books of learned theories or motivational antics but lived practical principles and proven life nuggets that, when followed duly and diligently, predictably lead to a fruitful life of steady progress. It is indeed a familiar road Bienose has been through these past years. These years he instructively refers to as the wilderness years in the poetic dedication of I’m Better Than This to his dear wife, Joy. Desirous that people’s wilderness experience can be shortened through consciously taken life-transforming steps, he has come out with these evidently inspired works both for the now and for posterity.
Bienose posits that, from creation, man is programmed for unending progress and not to short-circuit destiny by operating below his installed capacity. Stagnancy is a common fact of life. Many, however, detest it without knowing how to overcome it in practice. That is where Bienose’s I’m Better Than This and Be Fruitful! become very useful life manuals. What you know becomes important because progress hardly ever happens on its own; it is usually orchestrated. Progress or stagnation are the result of the application or non-application of principles rather than the end or byproduct of some unseen forces.
In a time such as ours, when many are struggling with stagnation, Bienose’s books come as inspired works that arm the reader with what it takes to engineer and enjoy progress, destiny fulfilment, and impactful living, irrespective of the climate and dispensation.
Knowing and deploying the principles are guaranteed to set one free from the stranglehold of stagnation.
I’m Better Than This opens with 1, Anatomy of Stagnation 2. Understanding the dynamics. 3, the imperatives of going forward.
Core to the foundational wisdom nuggets in the books is that we should never allow our previous results or accomplishments to befog us from seeing the need to forge ahead to maximise true potential. While you relish yesterday’s victories, set new goals and targets for tomorrow, and constantly strive to surpass your own records for life and success, progress is meant to be continuous. There is, therefore, a new height to scale, a new record to set, a new mountain to surmount, because in the true sense of it, there are no mountains anywhere; each man’s ignorance is what constitutes a mountain.
From page 20 of I’m Better Than This, Bienose touches on a very practical issue of our times, where people are retiring at 60 or 65, just about the time when the experience gathered over the years should begin to have practical expression and impact on the system. That is the system, Bienose writes “there is not much anyone can do to change the system, but there is so much you can do to prevent retirement from putting your life on hold or in a reverse mode.
Actually, retirement is supposed to be a transition, not an end to productivity. If you were working for the government or any other employer before retirement, nothing stops you from channelling your time and energy to working for yourself now that you are not answerable to anyone. It shouldn’t be the end of the road. The system says you are due for retirement, but you decide to re-fire to explore more aspects of your life. We saw this play out in the life of the chief presenter of today’s event, General Lucky Irabor, who, upon retiring as Chief of Defence Staff in the Nigerian military, began doing a number of things, including writing books, SCARS. It is possible that if General were still in active service, the world would not have had the historic opportunity to read the detailed, insider account of Nigeria’s journey and the Boko Haram conundrum. Retirement could, in fact, signal a euphemism for declining productivity, liability, or no longer being good enough to be hired for creative or productive endeavours. With this mindset, however, many have turned retirement into an opportunity for refirement, breaking new grounds, scaling new heights.
The author posits that retirement should not be the end of the road but a bend that must be negotiated for the journey to productivity to continue. Should be seen as the beginning of a new phase. He draws several examples, including that of Caleb, who, at 85, was still insistent on being given a new mountain for fresh occupation. Under the power of perception, the author insists that it is everything, noting that only those who see possibilities can maximise opportunities. His word “Divinity can only partner humanity to the degree that we see or perceive accurately. In other words, the almighty is hamstrung when perspective is warped…. No external push or force can help the fellow whose mind’s eye can only picture failure and defeat.
We are therefore urged, through Bienose’s works, to look beyond the present gloom, and rather strangely, he posits that in spite of the current challenges in the land, “this is the best time to be alive as a Nigerian,” insisting that there are rare opportunities to optimise even in the prevalent economic woes. For beyond every gloom, there is a boom.
He harps on the magical combination of courage, positive mindset and drive needed for us to impact our world.
Under the dynamics of stagnation, the author acknowledges that the first agent that orchestrates stagnation is spiritual in nature, “life is two-dimensional- spiritual and physical. The two realms are inseparable because the former, to a very large extent, determines the happenings in the latter. Anyone condemned to a life of stagnation and unproductivity in the spirit realm will still end up a pitiable spectacle even with the best opportunities and efforts in the physical. He states that the best anyone under spiritual embargo can achieve is near breakthrough- near success syndrome. It therefore becomes imperative for anyone desirous of a productive life and endeavour to, as a matter of necessity, settle the God-factor, making it right with God. This is not coming as a surprise, as the author is first and foremost a pastor. He warns that most often, the enemy within us is a greater threat to our advancement than the external foe.
On the need to seek knowledge/revelation, he clarifies that knowledge is the acquisition of relevant information while revelation is divine insight or illumination.
He harps on the need to build capacity and set smart goals. Posits that ‘any goal that is not tied to time may be lost to procrastination and that anything left to chance does not stand a chance. Readers are encouraged to explore the power of sacrifices, noting that you waste while you wait. Stop waiting. Start doing something even if nobody pays for it. There’s always something to gain in return. We are further urged to take steps in faith, be diligent, be prayerful, dream big, take stock, be desperate, be strategic, and leverage relationships. Always show gratitude, be selfless, be humble, be persistent, espouse godly virtues and values. Be creative. Be disciplined. Locate a mentor. Avoid misrepresentation. Quit making excuses. Learn to hunt for and recognise opportunities, crave grace, be proactive, be frugal, and start small. Be contented. Be liberal, be hopeful. Learn to self-motivate. Speak your way to your peak. Be patient.
Enough of the stagnation! It’s time to get your life back to gear and set sail. Put the necessary machinery in motion to advance every department of your life. You have overstayed your welcome in that current position or level. It is about time you left your comfort zone. New heights, levels, opportunities, and conquests beckon. You must come to terms with the fact that no matter the prestige, privileges or benefits of your current position, or status, it is not your ultimate. There’s a place called forward, and you are not there yet.
Language use: Bienose adopts a lucid, expressive, prosaic, elegant yet accessible language style that leaves no room for ambiguities or needless linguistic ornamentation or obscurantism.
On hearing, be fruitful! The first impression created is that of pregnant women showing up how virile their husbands have been, and the number of children so far brought to the earth through them. The author states that every man is, by nature, a reservoir of God’s creative and versatile nature. To fail to create or worse still lack the capacity to juggle several endeavours and callings is to undermine god’s huge investment in man. He sheds insightful light on the fivefold mandate: be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue the world, and have dominion. Insists that they are not to be trifled with or trivialised.
The author insists that it is ungodly to be restricted in our minds. He sees impotence not from the standpoint of inability to fertilise a woman, but from a proven inability to crystallise and nurture creative and productive ideas that can impact your world and transform your generation. Page 34 of Be Fruitful puts it so succinctly: “Irrespective of your race, education, religion or social status, God expects you to add value to the world around you by procreating, innovating, manufacturing, inventing or evangelising. By all means, make the world a better place than you met it. These are not just inspired works; they are potent instruments of liberation to deliver our society from the stranglehold of stagnancy and despondency. It is the author’s earnest desire that anyone who comes in contact with the books and puts the principles therein to practice will live a life of continuous and progressive impact.
