Michael Franti Quotes

When I first started out, I thought it was enough to make an angry song that pointed out the problems of the world.

Don't fear the nighttime, cause the monsters know that you're divine. Don't fear the sunshine, cause everything's better in the summertime

It's a really personal thing for me to write a song.

In the '80s, Ronald Reagan inspired me to become politicized, because I grew up in that era when everything I cared about was under attack.

People underestimate the hip-hop audience and the capacity to understand politics when it's part of music.

I don't know if music can change the world overnight but I know that music can help someone make it through a difficult night.

Today we are in a war against war - music is our power.

It ain't about who ya love, it's all about do ya love.

I think that the transformative nature of love is why we are so drawn to it.

The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.

It's that transformative nature of love and music and yoga that really inspires me.

I hope I inspire people to dream bigger than what they are living, but a dream within their reach.

When many little people in many little places do many little things, then the whole world changes.

I think the main thing I would say is, don't settle. Don't settle for something that's not great.

I don't know if it's so grand that I can change the entire world, but I know that I can help one person. So that's the goal.

Be who you are, nothing more ... nothing less.

I believe that through positive thoughts, speech, action and attitudes, we change things for the better.

God is too big for just one religion.

Can't keep Love like money in the bank

I was adopted when I was a baby. My mother carried me for nine months and she held me for one hour, and didn't see me again.

We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace.

The U.S. has historically been the world's largest contributor to climate change.

We have a saying in my house, my kids and my girlfriend. We say, 'Be your best for the greater good, and rock out wherever you are.'

The personal revolution is far more difficult, and is the first step in any revolution.

Everyone deserves music.

I feel alive when I feel ease of heart.

When you're in Jamaica, unless you're in a tourist spot, you don't hear Bob Marley; you mostly hear dance hall music.

I have moments all the time when I play.

History shows that Americans believe in doing the right thing.

I want to promote positivity.

Every single soul is a poem, written on the back of God's hand

It shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic issue whether we take care of the environment. That should be a human issue.

It's never too late to start the day over.

The world can't have a global solution to climate change with U.S. action alone; and the world can't have a global solution without U.S. action.

You learn a lot when you're barefoot. The first thing is every step you take is different.

The music industry has been hijacked by corporate interests, but the way music affects people and resonates with them hasn't changed.

I drive a hybrid. It's a Ford Escape. That's my only car.

It really is a strange time we're living in, when saying 'Don't kill people' is considered a radical point of view.

The more places I go to, the more I realize I understand so little about the world.

Music has the power to bring people together like no other art form.

You get everything you could have ever wished for if you're willing to give that eternal bliss away to somebody else, to give it back.

My goal has not ever been to change minds, my goal is to open minds.

I think my soul is intact, but my methods of reaching people are completely different.

San Francisco has always been a haven for misfits and weirdos. I'm both of those, which is why I came here.

Investing now in safe-guarding people by helping them to adapt to climate change, will help save money and lives while building resilience.

I'm a news junkie who's constantly reading newspapers and magazines. I look around and see what's happening in the world.

With all the people hating and hurting each other, I don't understand how people could get upset about people of the same sex caring for each other.

Every single soul is a poem.

My music is part of the quest I have to find new ways of telling stories, and also, I want to inspire people.

When we all see justice, then we'll all see peace!

People ask me a lot, 'what can one person do,' and I say 'I'm not really sure what one person can due except come together with other people.

Television, the drug of the nation, breeding ignorance and feeding radiation ...

Music is also one of the great heart openers. Sometimes, you hear the lyrics of a song and you dance, laugh, smile, or perhaps even cry.

Music gets us in touch with our emotions in a way that's more intimate than any other art form.

Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood.

I've always found that the poorer the places that I go, the more smiles I see, and the more happiness I see.

Those who start wars never fight them, and those who fight wars never like them.

In Jamaica, the music is recorded for the sound system, not the iPod. It's about experiencing music together, with other people.

To sit back and say, 'Oh, we're going to let the government do whatever they want, right or wrong,' is giving up.

Love is the action of soul satisfaction.

When I first started, my songs were the politics of anger. As I got older and hopefully wiser, I wanted to be part of the politics of answers.

Whenever people go out of their way to help other people - there's power and beauty in our diversity.

I'm always trying to find optimistic ways to express myself.

You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace. Power to the peaceful.

The more I see, the less I know.

My house was filled with music. We had a piano, and my brothers and sisters played instruments. Even though I was around it, I played basketball.

Be as radiant as the sun, as healing as the rain, as generous as a tree.

If you love the planet or the neighborhood - you're finding ways to satisfy the soul of the planet or satisfy the soul of the neighborhood.

All the freaky people make the beauty of the world.

Having personal things in balance is more important than the other.

Music and yoga have a great synergy.

No life's worth more than any other, no sister worth less than any brother.