in⋅spire [in-spahy^uhr] verb, -spired, -spir⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.

2.to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.): to inspire confidence in others.

3.to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.: to inspire a person with distrust.

4.to influence or impel: Competition inspired her to greater efforts.

5.to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does: They were inspired by a belief in a better future.

I know it’s been a very long time and my blog posts have been few and far between, and i apologize for that. i am twenty years old. i’m at the point in life where i’ve been walking down this path, and i’ve gotten to where the road splits into 10 different directions. i am confused. sometimes i feel rather lost. i never seem to know what i want or where i need to be. i took some “me” time and kind of relaxed. shared some laughs with friends, shook the hands of some amazing people, slept on the beach and counted the stars, went for 4 hour long walks for no reason, and wrote songs. one night while in L.A. i got to sit down and talk to John Mayer for a little bit. He taught me a lot. He taught me how to be strong and to be myself. He taught me that the unknown things in life are sometimes the most powerful and meaningful. He talked to me about fighting for your dreams…about working hard, and about growing up. To say the least, he inspired me. 

The word “inspire” has grown increasingly meaningful to me. Other than love, is there any more powerful word than inspire? How amazing is it to inspire someone? To provoke feeling. To make someone feel love…hope…sometimes pain…happiness. That’s what life is all about. One day we’ll all be gone, but while were here, why not pour someone a glass of inspiration. Why not pick someone up when they’re down? Can you measure a life by the amount of days you live? Is that life? Because if ticking noises were really used to measure this there would sadly be a lot of disappointments and letdowns. I say we measure life by the amount of smiles we put on the faces of those around us, both strangers and not. 

I have been inspired by many different things. Seeing children battle back from Leukemia to live long healthy lives. Talking to an elderly couple who have been married for 54 years. We all need to dig in our pockets and find the will to inspire a little bit more. A short conversation with somebody truly can change their life. In the next few days i hope to get “inspire” tattooed on my body…reminding me to always attempt to bring as many smiles to others as i possibly can, because if we don’t have love, hope, or inspiration, we don’t have anything at all. 

-Alexander Michael

P.S. Tour starts soon and it’s going to be amazing. I can’t tell you how excited I am!!!