michael franti
sometimes the universe is almost too beautiful.
I’ve been trying to interview michael franti for two years. I love this man. as a musician, he sings to all the hard but makes it beautiful. as a filmmaker and activist, he takes the worst of humanity and shows us how it can lead to the best. and as a human, well, he makes me happy to be one.
michael is a globally recognized musician with several billboard no. 1 singles and three billboard top 5 rock albums. he self-directed the documentary, stay human, which won multiple awards at film festivals around the world. michael and his wife, sara, run a wish-granting non-profit, do it for the love bringing over 3,300 people with life-threatening illnesses, veterans, and children with severe challenges to concerts all over the planet. he and his wife also own soulshine bali, a yoga retreat hotel in ubud, bali.
interviewing michael was, hands down, one of the highlights of my interviewing career. it changed something in me and showed me just how magical this crazy universe can be.
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on becoming a musician having never learned to play
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the practice of optimism
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the power of voting
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on being scared and finding courage and
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letting your heart soar free
“I have as much fear as anybody else of standing up and speaking my truth and being ridiculed or disagreed with or cursed at. especially these days of social media. just like anybody else, this protective wall goes up, ‘maybe I’m not going to write anything at all next time rather than let my heart soar free.’ it is a thing of just constant courage. courage is the ability to stand up in the face of fear and move forward.”
“in my songs, I try to tap into whatever is hurting me the most. but within the course of the song, I try to heal it. I try to get to that place of happiness. that’s what I find makes the happiest songs—not songs that are about happiness but songs that are about getting through the sadness and finding the light.”
