Name: Michael Mills
Age: 32 years old
Title/Company or main life pursuit:
I am a co-founder of Notice Me Marketing and Media. What I seek most in life is to live fully while helping others find something greater along the way.
What is your word and why did you choose it?
I chose Ubuntu. A mentor and a great friend introduced me to this philosophy. Ubuntu means “I am because we are.” My happiness and my overall success is dependent on the collective happiness and success of us all. I’ve learned I can find all that I am seeking in life and in business by bringing an ubuntu mentality with me wherever I go. There is little that brings me greater fulfillment than helping someone or a business succeed alongside me.
What aspirations do you have for yourself in the next 40 years?
Over the next 40 years I hope to have set a great example for my children and honored God and my wife in everything I’ve done. Ultimately, I want to have extended the arm of Notice Me Marketing and Media across the country giving veterans the opportunity to build something special for themselves. The studies I’ll have completed through a DBA or doctorate program will have lent a great deal assistance to that mission.
Outside of marketing strategy and business development, I have lofty goals for the growth of renewal primary care and the direct primary care movement. Helping people achieve optimal health and wellness is something I’ve always drawn great satisfaction from. Direct primary care is the future of family medicine!
Favorite way to give back to the community?
I served my country as a nuclear machinist mate for seven years in the United States Navy. My favorite way to give back is to volunteer my time and experience to organizations like VetNet that offers transitioning veterans the resources they need to readapt and succeed in civilian business.
What do you love and/or hate about the Ocala area?
Having been born and raised here I did not appreciate Ocala growing up! After spending years in different areas around the country, I’ve learned that Ocala breeds loyalty and passion within its community. I love that I can be part of the movement driving Ocala into the future.
A few albums and movies you’d bring to a deserted island?
Music – Matchbox Twenty’s albums (any and all of them), Gary Allan’s Set You Free, and Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s Facing Future. Maybe the “Moana” soundtrack too.
Movies – “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “The Office” TV series episodes all combined into one long movie.
I’d have to bring a book: something by Mitch Albom or Max Brooks!
You never leave home without:
My notebook! I have a thoughts and dream book that I take absolutely everywhere. It is with me even when my phone is not. I fell in love with tracking my thoughts and taking notes about everything when I was in the Navy. I spent countless hours on watch touring the nuclear reactor plant and the solitude provided a wealth of self-reflection time. My notes and the ideas I write down keep me driven and motivated. There’s a couple billion dollars worth of inventions in those pages!
If you could tell your 16-year old self one thing:
Do it! Whatever it is you’re dreaming of, whatever idea or plan you’re building inside your head, do it! Right now! Don’t wait for “a better time” or whatever excuse you’re telling yourself.
Do not let the pursuit of perfection keep you from being Great!
Anything else you’re super passionate about that you’d like to tout:
I have built a faith-based gaming community we call Sav†ng Gaming. Our objective is to provide some accountability and face-to-face camaraderie in the gaming world where everything has been pushed to virtual or online platforms.
All that I am doing is for the future. I want to provide a world of opportunities for future generations including my daughter (our miracle baby) Ellie June and our son (due in September) Hawklan Michael.
