As many of you know, I am always on the lookout for men who inspire me. Men that challenge the status quo. Men who stand up for the truth and are advocates for social justice and human dignity.  Men that move beyond blame. Michael Franti is such a man. To me, he is a freedom fighter.

I’m on a mission to interview this guy so we can all learn from his courage.

I first heard of him from my old roomate Rose. She described to me how  after each show Franti leaves the stage and walks around hugging everyone in the audience. I didn’t end up seeing him until four years later. And sure enough, after an amazing inspiring performance at the Fillmore in Denver, and proceeds to hug everyone around him.

I love his music. It does inspire me deeply. But more than that, I love and respect what this man stands for. He is not afraid to speak out and put himself in harms way to deliver a message and ask intelligent questions.

“When I first started out, I think that my politics could be boiled down to `Fuck The System’ or `Fuck the Man,’” Franti says. “When you’re coming of age, you’re desperate to change the world, but you have no idea how to actually do it. It takes time to discover that just complaining about the world is not enough. You have to do some affirmative.”

I can really relate to Franti because as a young man I too wanted to rebel against it all and at a certain point, my complaints went unheard and unanswered. I had to grow up but found out I can rebel with respect and intelligence. Hence the Revolutionary Man Project. Inspiring men to take action and rise above our differences.

Here are a few excerpt from his website about him.

“… What’s most impressive about Michael Franti as a recording artist and live performer is his ability to inspire. Ultimately, the heartfelt music that Franti makes and his dedication to greater understanding on a global level, are not two aspects of his life, but very much one and the same.

“Increasingly over my life, I have less interest in being part of the fighting between parties. I’m interested in bringing people together on the left and the right, to face the issues of the day. The problems from global warming to the economy that we face today are so clearly universal that we need to address them together.”

Indeed, Franti, the African-American son adopted and raised by Finnish American couple, has continued on many fronts to reach across all groups in a variety of ways, whether its with his annual Power To The Peaceful Festival or his award-winning documentary “I Know I’m Not Alone”, which featured Franti in Iraq, within the Palestinian territories and in Israel.

One war zone experience informs Franti’s sense of musical mission. As he remembers, “I was playing on the streets of Bagdad, and I introduced a song called `Bomb The World’ that says ’You can bomb the world into pieces/but you can’t bomb it into peace.’ I would translate that. And people there told me, `Oh well that’s an interesting song, but we’re living here where our world is being blown up, so sing us something that can make us dance and laugh and clap. That’s what they want to do.”

“The truth is that we need everybody. We need the ideas of the grass roots. We need the resources of the corporate world. We need the cooperation of the government. And we need the intelligence of everyday people with their street wisdom.”

“As a musician and a man, I more than anything else want to be a unifier,” Franti explains. “I want to bring people together through music and its unique power. And I hope that somehow that sense of unity extends beyond the music.”

Check out his provocative, educational movie here. And watch a music video below. Thank you Michael Franti for being a Revolutionary Man!! If you read this, grant me an interview?

2009 is the year to Man Up to your vision and goals. But how? Let’s say you have a big dream and big plans for this year. But you often lack follow through or fail to achieve your goals. By now, a few days in to 09, you should be able to gauge if you’re being realistic with your goals.

Here are 5 key strategies to not backing down from your new year’s goals.

Step 1. Get honest. Be very, very honest with yourself. Just by acknowledging that you are NOT 100% behind your goal can help you achieve it. Is the goal you set coming from a “should” place?

For example, I’ve never been a “goal guy.” As soon as I set a goal, especially if I think I “should” do it, some part of me wants to break it. I have an inner rebel. It is likely that you do too. When this is happening, I have to admit I’m not totally on board. So, I change the goal, rather than stick with something I can’t get behind.

Most guys sabatoge themselves becuase they are not %100 bought in. Let’s say your going to hit the gym 5 days/week. You start out strong and within a few weeks, you loose steam and fall off the horse. So, while it is true that you want to achieve your new goal, it is equally true that some other  part of you wants to do the opposite–wants nothing to do with the gym, working out, and could care less about getting in shape.

Most of us are blind to the sabatour inside of us. If you keep coming up short, try a new strategy. It is likely that you have a big, unexamined blind spot in you.

Being honest with yourself, also means setting realistic, doable goals. Tony Robbins says change your “shoulds” into “musts.” This requires strategy number two>

Step 2. Have a clear vision and be relentless about it. Most guys don’t have a clear vision. They think they “should” get in shape as opposed to having a vision about why and what it would look like to be in stellar shape.

Sometimes, you may set a goal because you will get the praise of others. Let’s face it, other people have a lot of opinions about what is best for you. But ultimately, you are the boss of you, so set goals that work for your deepest inspiration as opposed to “shoulds” or other’s opinions.

Shoulds need to be examined thoroughly. Maybe behind the should is some wisdom that you need to listen to. Or maybe you just are not crystal clear in what you want.

Step 3. Micro-goals. Once you have a clear vision, set micro goals to help you achieve your bigger goal. If your overall goal is to run a marathon, obviously you need to work up to 26.2 miles, right? Set weekly and monthly goals, check them off and check in with your Man Up buddy.

Step 4. Accountability. Ask a friend to hold you accountable to what you say you are going to do. This is your Man Up buddy.

We let ourselves off the hook much too often and we often have great reasons why we don’t need to hit the gym today. A good trustworthy friend won’t let you off the hook and your commitment to him or her can be the factor that gets you off the couch and will have you keeping your commitments. This in turn leads to others trusting you and respecting you. You are walking your talk.

Go even further by committing in a group, make it known that you are Manning Up.

Step 5. Reward yourself. Each month or every so often, acknowledge your wins. Celebrate by having fun, taking a day off, partying or whatever is “celebration” to you.

What are your goals in 09? Who is holding you accountable?

My challenge to you as always is to stop holding back and make 09 a year of stepping up!