Meet Michael James

We were lucky to catch up with Michael James recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic came from growing up in a household where we had to work for everything we wanted. From a young age my parents instilled that into my siblings and I. Work hard for what you want and have fun doing it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Growing up near the beach on the south shore of Long Island, my love for country music was sparked when I attended a Kenny Chesney concert with my dad at the age of 13. From that moment on, I knew that music was my true calling. Soon after, my athletic background playing football and basketball came to an end due to multiple concussions. However, it was country music that helped me find himself again. Determined to pursue my passion for music, I saved up money from part-time jobs and bought a guitar at the age of 19, teaching myself how to play through YouTube tutorials. Since then, I’ve gotten the opportunity to open up for country acts like LOCASH and Restless Road.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Taking a look back, it was definitely a lot of hours trying to perfect the craft, a lot of grace for myself, and a knowing that this is for something bigger than me that has impacted this journey the most. For folks wanting to start a new journey I would tell them to become obsessed with it but don’t fall out of love with it. Keep the fun involved in every part of the journey.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The Bible has been the most impactful book I’ve ever read. It’s got wisdom that’ll grow you as a human and teach you how and how not to do life. It has helped me navigate through every situation in my life so far.

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Image Credits

Holdyn Barder, Kyle Reppa, Daniel Shippey

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