We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mick White. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mick below.
Hi Mick, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The inspiration for my business arose from a profound personal journey and a commitment to living a purposeful life. Following a pivotal moment in my life, I found myself navigating through challenges in relationships, parenting, and my own mental health. The realization that life is fleeting and the desire to create a meaningful legacy became the driving force behind my entrepreneurial journey.
The circumstances were both challenging and transformative. With my mom’s sudden death, a dissolving marriage, becoming a full-time single dad, having my car repossessed, and ultimately being homeless for nearly a year – I walked away from the company I had founded to start this new venture – the 100 Year Manifesto. In the midst of these storms, a conversation with my counselor, Bill, shifted my perspective. It made me reflect on what I could control – being the man, father, and husband that I was created to be.
The logic behind my business venture was rooted in the belief with clarity and intentionality, people can pursue purpose in a way that their life will each into eternity.
I recognized that many people faced similar struggles and sought a framework to navigate life’s complexities. The 100 Year Manifesto was born out of this realization – a framework that goes beyond traditional goal-setting, focusing on creating a legacy based on purpose, commitment, and intentional living.
The unique approach lay in emphasizing the power of commitments, crafting a 100 Year Manifesto as a framework for life, and highlighting the key ingredient of intentionality.
The 100 Year Manifesto isn’t just about achieving goals; it’s about living a life of significance – a life of meaning.
It is not just a business; it’s a mission to help people become purpose driven. To transform their lives with purpose.
Mick, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
We believe purpose elevates people. Helping people become more purpose-driven elevates all aspects of their lives. And, when we help companies help their become become purpose-driven, we elevate companies. Healthier people = Healthier companies. Purpose elevates people. People elevate profit.
After +25 years in the financial services industry – winning the awards – speaking at conferences – checking all the boxes for an incredible career, I walked away from it all. The conversations I really wanted to have with people were about their purpose. After the sudden passing of my mom at age 58 – just 4 weeks after I got engaged – I saw at her visitation and funeral – a life well-lived. Not by worldly “success” standards, but by who showed up at her visitation – 7 hours worth of people – and what they said, “My mom loved them. And, they loved my mom.”
It’s with that framework that we help people live a life of significance & meaning.
What’s your goal for your life? Not the accumulation of awards or “stuff” but the real goal?
With this framework – identifying your purpose, creating your 100 Year Manifesto, and the power of commitments, we help companies help their people become more purpose-driven.
In 2023 alone, I spoke internationally in Thailand, the Philippines (twice – once to a group of 100 Iranian business leaders) in Mexico, and across the United States.
In 2024, we launched the 100 Year Manifesto Academy as a way to impact as many people around the world – with a framework to live life on purpose. To identify their mission, core values, words they live by, causes they are passionate about, life goals, and guiding principles. All on one page. And then, to teach them how to live it – every second of every day.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
On September 30, 2009, I made a commitment. One single commitment.
I committed to calling my Mom every single day. Seems simple enough.
That one commitment changed my life.
Our conversations were silly. They were serious. I learned about her childhood. I asked a lot of questions. She talked a lot. I listened. She answered every single time I called.
She answered the phone when she was in the movie theater. In the shower. If she was sleeping. At church. Everywhere. She answered the phone every single time.
I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t always want to call her. But, I made a commitment to call her, so I called her every single day. And, she picked up every single day. 623 days in a row.
And then, On June 13, 2011, I called my Mom and she didn’t answer.
At that moment, I knew she died. June 13, 2011.
Mom died at age 58. From an accidental overdose of aspirin.
She had a headache, took too many aspirin and that’s it, she died.
She was there one day and not there the next.
I miss her every second of every day.
My mom and dad got married when they were in high school. They had three kids, my two older sisters who are Elementary School teachers. And then there’s me, the baby and you know once you’re the baby you’re always the baby. No matter how old you are, you’re still the baby.
My mom didn’t go to college. My mom was a grocery store clerk and she worked in my dad’s Insurance Agency for 18 years. Until I had to fire her one day. True story. For another day.
My mom was a pretty simple salt of the earth kind of lady. My mom believed that banana Twinkies actually had bananas in them. I had probably a 15-minute conversation with her one day on the phone about it and finally I’m like you’re right mom, they do have real bananas in the banana Twinkies.
Sometimes, you should just let your parents be right. Even if they aren’t.
Mom didn’t expect to die on June 13, 2011. But she did, and three days later we held her visitation and God bless my mom, professionally, she wasn’t an international speaker, she didn’t qualify for MDRT, she didn’t run a big agency, she had no trophies…well, this bowling trophy – it’s fitting, as we are here in a bowling alley of sorts – not a whole lot of awards, no LinkedIn, no Instagram, no Tiktok.
However, the real award my Mom won was this…
Mom won an award for living an amazing life.
At Mom’s visitation, mom’s visitation was her recognition of that award.
Her impact was measured. People showed up. Seven hours worth of people. Seven hours.
CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, members of the Alcoholics Anonymous Community, grade school friends, bowling league team members, and everybody in between.
Mom loved the color orange. Everything in her life was orange. Her car. Her phone. Her clothes. Her dishes. It was a bit much sometimes growing up with a Mom like that.
At her visitation, it was a room full of orange flowers. All the local florists sold out of every single orange flower they had. All the people – wore orange.
And, their stories were all the same. My mom loved them.
A fairly ordinary woman full of extraordinary love.
Mom left a legacy that our industry doesn’t talk much about, we talk about Legacy and who gets what stuff. How much money do you have when you retire? When you die, where does it all go? My mom, her greatest Legacy wasn’t a financial one.
Her greatest Legacy was one of love. If you get life right, your legacy is bigger than what is in your bank account. It’s that simple. Real legacy goes beyond who gets what when you die.
There’s this quote that Mom put on Facebook a couple months before she died “Maybe I’ve been put on this Earth to be an ordinary person not to do anything great but to do something small that involves great love.”
Mother Teresa said it first, my mom posted on Facebook. And, she lived it. Every second of every day.
If mom had a 100 Year Manifesto, that would be one of her guiding principles not to seek to be great but do small things that involve great love. Mom got life right and that’s really the purpose of the 100 Year Manifesto, to answer the question: What does it mean to get life right? How do we make decisions today based on what is really important 100 years from now?
But, in order to do this, there has to be love.
To truly love others you need to really love yourself.
To love yourself is to be intentional with your life.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
During the biggest storm of my life, I got my first tattoo. The congruence symbol. It meant everything to me. Congruence = A statement of agreement. I wanted all aspects of my life to agree. I loved this tattoo. My life was a mess. My wife had left me. I became a full-time single dad. And, the tattoo represented so much I wanted out of life.
And, shortly after this tattoo, a mentor of mine told me I shouldn’t put it on social media – because my clients and prospects might find out. I realized at that time, I had the wrong mentor. He may have won all the industry awards and been in the insurance industry’s Hall of Fame, but he was giving me advice that wasn’t right for me.
At that time, I went all-in on being myself on social media. The joys of parenting. The challenges of being a single dad with no family nearby running a company and trying to put my life back together. It was through this – this vulnerability – this authenticity – this being my “true self” that I really became comfortable in my own skin. For who I am. For what I’m all about.
There are 8 billion people in the world – not all of them are going to like you. That’s okay. But, the person that does need to like you is the one in the mirror. Be true to that person. Be true to yourself.
The more you are yourself – the more you’ll attract the right people and the more you’ll repel the people that aren’t right for your business.
Be true to yourself on social media. Some people will love it. Those are your people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.100yearmanifesto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickwhite75/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/100yearmanifesto/
Image Credits
No image credits necessary. I own the rights to them all.