Jason Mraz on what the heart wants

You worked on the BP oil spill, volunteered to fight child slavery and championed sustainability. What's it like to live with your soul inside out?

It's scary! But that's the best part about it. When you put your life in those environments where disasters have occurred or human lives are on the line, it becomes much more dangerous in the physical sense. In the emotional sense, it's like "Wow I'm right here working alongside real-life Indiana Joneses and Al Gores". Their strengths become mine to use.

Were you always set on creating a foundation to fight inequality, protect the environment and promote the arts?

It never occurred to me. Just because I never thought I'd have the success I've had. To me, success was being able to make awesome music. I always thought it offered a sense of comfort and relatedness, maybe to help to heal a broken heart or allow someone to understand their place in the world.

Thanks to the enormous success my manager and audiences around the world have helped me acquire, I quickly got to a place where I felt I had way too much. So the Foundation is what I can do now beyond music to comfort others.

So your record-breaking hit I'm Yours freed you?

Yes. It's been a tremendous blessing. Everything in my life is paid for. I'm good. Even my grandchildren are probably good. I still can't get my head around it. Having learned over the last decade what a powerful fundraising tool my voice or time is to a cause, my team and I decided to take it further and start the Foundation. Even when I'm not working, this bank account is essentially growing to be used only to help others. This is a concept which I think is totally far out. It seems like a magic trip.

Professional growth steered personal growth and vice versa?

Absolutely. I've always surrounded myself with very generous souls. I only got where I am because others were philanthropists to me. They continually offer their support and give me a rich quality of life. Thankfully my rise was very slow, and I have great mentors who taught me in turn how to live responsibly.

What's been your motivation to live sustainably?

Buying a home. My backyard has five acres of avocado trees. They're about 30 years old now. And the trigger to live sustainably was that this is my piece of earth to care for, my responsibility. No one else is going to come here and water these trees. No one's going to come here and turn off the lights.

I'm responsible for everything I buy and bring into my home. I'm responsible for all the waste that's going to the curb every Monday morning for garbage collection. Almost overnight, I became a bit obsessive. I wanted to make sure my plastic, glass, cardboard, paper was divided up for recycling; that compost was separated from garbage. I noticed almost instantly how very little waste is generated when I lived this way.

At the same time, I also started surfing. When you get out into the ocean you have new eyes. You feel purified emerging from the water. So when you have to be careful walking on the beach to avoid cigarette butts and broken glass, it can break your heart. If I had kids, I'd be afraid to let them go to some of the beaches where I've surfed because of what's in the sand or how polluted the water is.

So green choices are really important to me. Thanks for this awesome hotel experience [at Marina Bay Sands]. It's extraordinary. I love it. I live in hotels. Every one I walk into has every single light on. And here nothing was on, unless I wanted it to be. That gives me choice.

Even when we're a guest somewhere, that's our home for the night. I've often encouraged people to consider their car, office, home as a place to care for. When I see the city skyline at night and entire buildings are lit up, I think about how many computers, escalators and microwaves are plugged in. All that goes back to why we need oil and suffer environmental disasters.

It was a real breath of fresh air to come here and know recycling is offered, and that elevators are both energy-efficient and energy-generating at the same time.

I only got where I am because others were philanthropists to me.

What's the message behind your single I Won't Give Up?

After the success I had with my last album, I spent two or three months resting on my laurels. I thought "Alright, I've done a lot, maybe as much as I'll ever be able to". So I kind of gave up. I started looking for new career options. I was starting the Foundation and traveling around the world, and enjoying those great opportunities.

I considered directing my money or attention elsewhere. I thought about quitting my career to go raise a family. But to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to do. And frankly, none of those scenarios really satisfied me. So eventually I decided it was time return to music.

I Won't Give Up was one of the first songs I wrote after the We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. album. I didn't sit down and consciously name that as the title of the song which would bail me out and bring me around. But thankfully music is my practice, yoga, meditation and religion. So I sat down and prayed through my guitar, and the words I cried out were "I Won't Give Up".

This song is really about the bridge. I don't want to be someone who walks away. I'm here to stay and make the difference I can make. It was then I decided I'm going to continue to fight for what I believe in, and make use of my talent. Music has given me the power to be who I am. The Foundation doesn't exist if my music doesn't exist. I don't exist if my music doesn't exist.

I Won't Give Up is a life-changing piece for me. Singing it live to an audience, I get reborn nightly.

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