Anthony White | Turning Trials into Triumph: A Journey from Adversity to Inspiration
13 Nov 2025 · 23 min
Anthony White grew up in East Cleveland facing adoption and childhood trauma before becoming homeless. He moved to Boston, found his voice through podcasting, and now speaks internationally about habits and identity, with a book called One Second Seven Days.
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Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Myc Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential now. Here's Mick.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting.
Episode of Mick Unplugged. And today, we have a powerhouse of inspiration and motivation. We're talking to a man who has dedicated his life to empowering others to reach their full potential. He's a true leader in the world of personal development. Get ready to dive into the mind and the mission of the incredible Mr. Anthony White. Anthony, welcome to Make Unplugged. My brother.
Thank you, man. I'm happy to be here.
Love it, love it, love it. So let's just go deep into it, man. Like, let's tell the world a little bit about you, your background, your story. Because, you know, I've been following you for a while on Instagram and you're one of the people that every time you have a new reel or a post drop, I immediately go to you first. So I want you to know.
Thank you. Thank you. That honestly means a lot. That really right there honestly touches my soul because, you know, a lot of people go down, they scroll past things on Instagram. So I'm glad my story and what I want to push is actually like getting out there. I'm glad it's actually sticking people. So.
Yes, sir. So tell us a little bit About Anthony White, let's talk about your humble beginnings and what got you to the motivational person that you are today.
So I'm originally from East Cleveland, Ohio. My mother had nine kids, raised nine. I'm the youngest of the nine kids born as a premature crack baby and, you know, grew up. I've seen a lot of killing, I've seen a lot of violence. You know, people break inside a car, houses, stabbings, a lot of different things. And growing up seeing that, I was really stuck inside a survival mindset and I didn't really know how to exactly how to live or really reach up to like my full potential. I'm also adopted. I got adopted at 7 days old. I did not know I was adopted at all until I was seven years old. So right there, from the age of seven, it didn't really get told out of my parents fate, out of my parents mouth. So kind of messed me up internally. I got told by one of my brothers. So me and my brother, we got adopted by the same family, but we're six years apart. So I'm just very, very grateful that we got adopted by the same exact family because I wouldn't be nowhere, honestly right now if it wasn't for him. He's one of the reasons why, honestly, why I am the speaker. But growing up just with all of that, having to figure out who I am from the age of seven years old, it put a lot on me, you know what I mean? I'm trying to figure out, all right, where do I come from? Who are these people? I've been running to my mom, but it's not my mom. And now I feel lied to, I feel abandoned. It's a lot of these different emotions running through my body, but yet I have to figure out and seek who I am as a person at the age of seven. That's what a lot of people usually don't do until later on inside of their life. So I always think I was always searching from a very young age. And I got a chance to move to Boston, Massachusetts. I loved it, loved it with the passion. I moved down here. I want to say I had to be 13, 13, 14 years old. And when I moved down here, everybody was so nice. Everybody was living, everybody had connections, everybody wanted to see you grow, everybody wanted to help. And it was just a total different environment. It switched my entire mindse and it was like, wow. It was like, all right, this is not like home. So therefore I get to, you know, kind of ease up a little bit. I don't have to always be inside of protective mode. And once I honestly broke out of my shell, I got to really honestly reach my full potential, even just from being 14, 15, 16 years old. It was just, wow. Like, I don't really have to be a certain type of person on a daily basis. I get to actually just be free. I love to smile, I love to laugh, I love to crack jokes. And I really couldn't do that back home. It was always had to have, like, a tough mindset. If you show any type of weakness, you know, it kind of shows, you know, you're weak. So when I moved out here, I was homeless after I graduated high school for like two years or so. And I did not know what to do on myself. I had no answers, I had no money, didn't know what to do. So I'm back home in Ohio at this time. I got to be like 20, 21 years old. And when I moved back, I moved back inside of my sister's basement. And I didn't really have a good relationship with my sister because, you know, again, I wasn't really. I didn't really grow with my siblings. So kind of my first time really getting to know her, like, on that level basis, like a sibling. So once I did that, I sat down and I reflected inside of her basement. I was like, bro, like, I just got done be homeless. Like, what do I do next? Like, I didn't just move to Boston for no reason. So I evaluated my talents. I was like, anthony, what are you good at? And I was like, well, the only thing I knew how to do is pick up a basketball, go out there, go ride, go play.
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And I was like, no, Anthony, what are you good at? I was like, man, in school, I didn't really like high school, but when my teachers always said I was a good writer, and I was like, huh, all right, well, let's try that. Let's try writing. And I went through all these different things, but writing really stuck out to me. And once I did, I got a chance to honestly sit down and put my story down on paper. Like, I wrote it while I was homeless, but I just patted in my notes on my phone and I actually transferred over the paper and actually just started to write. I started to cry. I started to let out all these different emotions. I started to reflect. So go back on my past, like, remember things I didn't even know I remembered. I put it all down in my book, and I was like, I'm not the only person with a story like this. It's a lot of people around the world who fill with the same exact emotions that I do. Yeah, there's a lot of people around the world who don't have answers. And I know exactly how it feels to not have answers. But now, as I grow older, I have the answers, and I want to be the person to help those people. It all started when I did one podcast appearance one day. And when I did the podcast appearance, the podcast appearance wasn't big at all. So I was trying to figure out how to network. I just published a book. I did not know what to do. I looked up on Google. I was like, all right, how do I publish a book? How do I self publish? Went on Lulu.com, published, made the book, ordered copies, and after that, trying to figure out how to network, how to market. And this lady hit me up. She's like, I think you'd be a great fit for this show. Went on the show. At the end of the show, guy was like, hey, is there anything else how you want to touch people other than writing? I always watch speeches, and I never really thought of becoming a motivational speaker, but I was like, speaking, do it. I want to do that. He's like, all right, I'm going to connect you with somebody. Connect me with somebody. That guy gave up on me after a month. He said, anthony, go do your own thing. I'm too Busy. Leave me alone. Little does he know that was the greatest thing anybody could have ever did to me. Because all right, that right there drove me. Like I'm saying, I was inside of survival mode my entire life. So once I get told nowhere I'm done, it pushes me to a whole nother level. I'm going to go get it done. That's exactly what happened. So right after that, a month later, I was in over 40 magazines. Throughout that entire year, I covered over 50 million people while speaking virtually. And I was on celebrity appearances, radios, podcasts all over the United States and even some all over the world. So that right there was the best thing that man could have ever did for me.
That's amazing. I want to unpack and unplug a couple of things that you talked about. So, you know, being adopted, not finding out till you were seven and then years later that bringing some questions. And I'm not going to say resentment because you didn't necessarily say that, but I feel like resentment was a little there for you.
Yeah, 100% at some point. Resentment was there only because when I'm looking at them, it's like, all right, you didn't tell me, you know, my brother told me. So when were you going to tell me? You know what I mean? Like, when did you think I was of age to honestly know that information? So I did. I felt like too. I felt abandoned. I had some type of resentment even through all of my teens because I never sat down and reflected. It was like, you know, like, it's not even you guys fault. Like it's nobody's fault. First off, everything happens for a reason. So I really couldn't be mad at it. And I noticed, like, things don't happen to you, they happen for you. So I was like, bro, I really cannot be mad at you.
There you go. And you mentioned earlier, right, like your relationship with your brother is who inspired you to really become a motivational speaker. Tell me a little bit more about that relationship.
So my brother always say, my brother is like my dad. I always say that. I always start cheesing, like, I love my brother with the passion because he puts every single piece of information into my life, like mentally. He taught me how to rewire my complete mindset. But first he taught me spiritually. So before he taught me anything mentally of what I needed to do, like with knowing about the analytical mind and knowing about all these different compartments of the mindset, he taught me everything spiritually first so I can follow the correct things. So make sure, like the inner work was done first before I actually want to do anything else. So that's why like I. He's literally the reason on why like I speak and I go help people. Because I was like, I was like seventh grade, I would just sit down, talk to my brother, but for hours my brother would force me to like retain this information. Like, you're going to listen. I have had really bad adhd, so I would never stop moving. And he was just like, stop, sit down, listen. Four hours have passed and I didn't even know. So yeah, he's really the reason why all the information is really here.
Wow, that's awesome. That's awesome. So every motivational speaker I know has either core pillars or core philosophies. And again, following you, I'm going to let you tell this, but I know what a couple of yours are. What are Anthony White's core pillars or core philosophies?
Honestly, I've been following this one lately. I don't know, like this right here. Like my favorite quote. So on one hand we all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that makes us happy, but we don't do those things. Why? It's because we're too busy. Too busy doing what? It's because we're too busy trying to be happy. So that right there sticks with me every single day. And hearing that, knowing that every single thing that I do on a daily basis, like timelessly, to bring me peace, to make me happy. It doesn't matter if I'm reading, walking, having a conversation with somebody in the street, as long as I'm working on my personal development to make me, to not make me, but to help me become the person that I see myself as being. That right there is the. That right there is the pillar. Because now I'm sitting down and I'm noticing the day to day, the day to day habits, the day to day movements and all right, well, these are certain things that are holding me back and the reasons why I'm not happy. So we know exactly what makes us happy, but we don't change those things. Even though it's a very small things, it all has to do with your habits. It happens turn into your behaviors, your behaviors turn into your personality and your personality turns into your identity. So all four of those people never notice, but it all adds up. So that right there is my pillar, my philosophy.
I love it. You've had an amazing impact on the world and you do a lot on social. So how has social media in Particular Instagram, like, played a role in spreading your message and connecting with your audience.
It's played a great role, honestly. Instagram has played a great role, but I'd have to give the biggest one to Clubhouse. Honestly, I want to say, like, Kobe was the best thing that ever happened. Like, back in 2020, everybody's forced inside, got to sit down and network. Everything was amazing. Everything was great. And once I did that, it was like, all right, let me try to go to Instagram. Second, I moved to Instagram. Everything was amazing. The love was there, the consistency was there. But trying to find the correct algorithm, that's where it kind of got me. But once I figured out the algorithm on how quick it changed, oh, it was amazing. Therefore, I was able to touch my audience on all different levels from all around the world. Got to watch my analytics, and now I'm known in all these different countries and I actually have the following of them and they just stay consistently inside of my DMs. Like, hey, like, when's the next thing dropping? When's your next appearance? Where's the quotes? So it's like, I'm happy that I get to honestly retain information from Instagram.
These people, that's amazing.
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So you hit earlier on your book. So talk to us about your book a little bit. And then when we end a little bit later, I'm going to make sure that everyone knows how to get success.
So I wrote the book about my life. My book is called One Second Seven Days. And I wrote the book about all my. Any, not all of them, but I put a lot of my inner emotions into the book on how I felt and maybe how other people might feel as well. But I really put my heart and soul inside of this book. Different scenarios I've been through, the way I was feeling, the how I felt abandoned, learning how to cope. Like, I put all those different things inside of the book. But I didn't make the book too big because I want everybody on every single curriculum standpoint to be able to understand the book. I can't hand somebody a book. I can, but I hand somebody the book, walk around in a poverty neighborhood, 400 pages, 300 pages, say, hey, man, read this book. Let me know what you think. You're gonna look at it, toss away, or put a coffee on it. You know what I mean? So it's like I put the book as, you know, the first book was 12 to 15 pages. And then second book, I combined it and mix the first and the second part together, like 25 pages. So if I can hand somebody a book of 25 pages and they'd be like, oh, like the COVID I like the back. Let me read the first page. I'm gonna read this book by the night, you know what I mean? So I did it exactly like that. So they're probably, yo, read this. Yo, this is a must read. Read this.
And it is an amazing read for everybody who. Who hasn't read it. I definitely want you to read it. One second, seven days, right? It's an amazing read.
It's one of those.
That's an easy read too. And that's what I love about it, is you give it a nice flow and it's one of those that when you start, you're not going to want to put down. I promise you.
Right. I don't know. People say they feel my emotions. Like on paper, they can feel exactly what I was going through or how I felt right there inside of that moment. And then it kind of made them reflect on their life. And they'd be like, wow, like, you went through that. But I've been through this and you're still doing this, but I might as well do better with it myself as well. You know what I mean? So that right there is the whole. My book is for you guys to be able to reflect so you guys know that you're not alone, you're not by yourself. So a lot of people out here in the world that feel the same exact ways that you do, but as long as you keep pushing on a daily basis, you have the consistency and the determination. I promise you, you will get it done. Just keep focusing on you. Stay inside of tunnel vision. Don't worry about the distractions.
I mean, you can drop the mic right there. The keys to the recipe for success, man, that's awesome. You're a very busy human being. Right? What does a typical day look like for you? But more importantly, how do you structure your day to day to stay productive and inspiring products?
So I help people one on one. So I Do like little virtual sessions. If people want to book a one on one session. My routine of what I do on a daily basis, get up before in the morning, start my day at 4am first things first, I read this book called the Miracle Morning. Changed my life completely. How do I transform your life before 8am? So I learned that the first hour of your day, that determines how the rest of your day is going to turn out. So second, you wake up in the morning, I do like a 30, 45 minute routine. At first I go stretch, go drink my water, go, go eat some fruit, work out a tiny bit, do my affirmations, I pray and I read. So once I do those inside of my 45 minutes to an hour standpoint, then I go start my day. And then I'm like, all right, well now I'm able to go, you know, set up appearances, I'm able to go network in different time zones because again it's 5am people are sleeping at that standpoint, it's already been an hour. So now I'm able to sit down and work while other people are sleeping at night. And then before I even have to go to work, before I have to go do what I have to do, the majority of my stuff is done. So therefore that right there is being productive where it already comes in the first hour of your day. You're going to realize after you've done any like everything to like, you know, like fulfill you within the morning, whatever makes you happy, you're gonna realize like, wow, it's only 5:00am you're like, wow, I feel like I've done so many things. You already feel productive, so you're already inside of that rewiring moment mentally. Like, you know, today's gonna be a great day. Today's gon be amazing and get this done, this done. You're going to think you're going to feel tired, but you're not going to feel tired. Everything's going to be perfectly fine, perfectly okay. And your mindset is going to be completely better.
I couldn't agree with that more. What are some of your goals for the next couple of years?
Next couple of years I plan on to be on the biggest stages for speaking honestly throughout the next couple years. I'm 25 right now. I want to say between like the age of 28, 29. I plan on, even before that plan on being on the biggest stages for speaking, traveling all around the world, just pushing my, I can't even say my dream. Pushing my, just pushing wisdom, honestly, pushing knowledge, pushing wisdom to the world and just helping them. I know. Like I said, I never want to tell people what to do. I just want to inform you and it works. You run with it. Glad it did. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant for you. You know what I mean? So I'm just really want to help people.
I love it. So for the listener or the viewer that is looking for motivation and inspiration. So, you know, maybe they're in a career that's not fulfilling to them or you know, maybe they're having personal challenges at home and they don't feel like they have an escape or they don't feel like they have an ear. What's some advice of wisdom from from the Great Anthony White?
1. Take It Day by day. Don't look too far inside the future and don't look too far in the past. If you do look on the past, look on it to reflect. 2. I need you to know there's no time limit on healing. There's no time limit on progress. So do not put any type of limitations on yourself to say that you can't do it or you feel like that you're less of something because you're watching somebody else's life or that somebody told you something else to make you fall off track with your way. If they get always stay true to yourself. 3. Have faith. Always believe. Pray. I remember like when I'm telling you, pray, pray every single day. Like that right there should have been, number one, have a relationship with God. Have a relationship with God. Because if you do not have relationship with God, you probably don't have a relationship with yourself, honestly. So you need to have that relationship with him. Because when you feel like you have nobody, God's gonna be there for you. You need prayers. You need help. But don't just pray when you're going through something terrible. Pray when you're going through something good. Pray when you're going through something bad. And just be happy for both of them. 4. I need you to know that everything that you attack on a daily basis, whether it's good, whether it's bad, it's a lesson. It's meant for you to learn and you have to take something from it so therefore you can become the person that you want to be. Everything is meant for you. It doesn't matter if it's bad, it doesn't matter if it's good. It's meant for you. The second you said that you wanted to be somebody inside of the world, if you wanted to go be a fireman if you wanted to go be an NBA player, life or God is going to test you. So therefore that's the moment you just signed the contract with them. All these different things are going to come running your way. So can you handle it? Keep your head up, handle it. Because at the end of the day you ask for it. Nothing is going to come your way. That's not meant for you. I promise you. 5. I honestly have to say take time to yourself when I say take time yourself. Like be vulnerable. Learn how to be vulnerable with yourself. Learn how to nurture yourself instead of being hard on yourself. Too many people mess up being hard on themselves thinking that's what's going to make them overcome anything inside of life. I don't know why, I don't know where it came from. Sitting down and telling themselves, oh, I'm stupid, I need to get myself together, blah blah blah. That right there is a no. Because your mental mindset automatically takes that in. Your subconscious mind believes it. And right now that right there keeps you a very unbalanced within you, within yourself as a person. So watch what comes out of your mouth.
Yeah, honestly, those five, that's awesome right there. So I want to get you out of here on this. Where can people follow you? And then obviously the book is a top seller bestseller on Amazon so everyone go to Amazon for the book. But Anthony, where you want people to follow you and what are some of the things you're working on next?
You guys can follow me on Instagram at leading as L E A D I N G underscore guru G U R U. You can also have my booking email ant white motivate yahoo.com and then you can also look at my website right there on Google. You can find that right there inside of my Instagram bio that Anthony White Speaker.com so you can find that as well. You can go booking and if you guys want the one on one sessions, please don't be afraid to reach out. I'm ready to help on a daily basis.
I love it. I told you ladies and gentlemen you were going to be inspired. Anthony White is a great one and I'm. I'm humbled and honored to call him a friend more than anything anything else. So Anthony, thank you for taking some time to spend time with us on make Unplug today.
Yeah, of course man. Thank you for having me. It's a blessing being here, honestly.
Absolutely. And for the listeners and viewers, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.
Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged we hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at MC Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay Unplugged.
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