141: Kid President's Brad Montague - On Creativity With a Purpose

Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney. Together with some fabulous guests, we will have a casual conversation about the art of public speaking, because a good talk can move the world and it'll be fun. Yeah, I would think making alien cows meaningful. That's not a small task. I love your giggle. Wow. Oh my gosh, so wait for everybody to figure out the alphabet. Hey, Bloopers, it's Sally, and I say this every time I do, but whoo, I am pumped about today's episode. I have on the show with me The whimsical and wise and witty Brad Montague. Now that name, I don't know if you're familiar with Brad Montague, but you will for sure be familiar with Kid President. He is the creator of Kid President. He is the person behind the idea. He produces it, he puts it together, he helps write, he edits it, working with Robby, who is Kid President. I had the privilege of meeting Brad at the Story conference this past fall, and you've met a few people now who have been on Story and been up on that stage. It was such an inspiring experience, and Brad was one of those reasons. I reached out to Brad when I saw that he was speaking. I just reached out to him on Twitter and said, hey, I'm super excited to see you speak. I hope it goes well. And he responded to me and said, "Oh my gosh, you're gonna be there?" And I was like, "What? Brad Montague, you're the big deal here, dude." So it was really sweet, and turns out that he's listened to the show. So how cool was that? That really meant a lot to me. And so I was really excited to watch him do his thing in a totally different way. Video is his love and his passion, but as you'll hear and as we talk about on the show, what does that mean to sort of bring yourself into this new space, a new arena as a speaker, which is, as he put it, which I loved, I thought this was really thoughtful, He says, "People keep giving me these shoes to step into and they're a little bit big, but I'm still wearing them." That is such a great metaphor for so much of our work as we're just stepping into this new place. But the thing I appreciated so much about seeing Brad on stage was that it felt very Brad. It felt very whimsical and it had this this humble and wise feel to it, which if you have followed any of Brad's stuff online in the Montague Workshop, then you know this is who he is. And, and so he's such a great example in my mind of what I talk about being an unspeaker, a speaker who finds themself on stage but isn't like, yeah, this is my world, this is my home, this is where I want to be. Um, and yet he has found a way to for it to feel really authentic and to find the joy of it. And that is my wish for everybody, to be able to fully bring themselves into this moment and find the joy of that moment, because I do think magical things can happen when you are in the room together co-creating with an audience. And so I'm so thrilled to really bring some of Brad's insight about how we can create and the, the purpose of our creation as what Brad calls this joyful rebellion. And, and that creativity and what we bring to the world is making a difference, and it's important. So I was so thrilled to have Brad on the show. Here he is, Brad Montague. Oh, nice. St. Paul, Minnesota. It's a lovely place. I do really love it here.

Isn't Charles Schulz from there?

Yes.

Was he from there?

He is. Many creative, wonderful people. F. Scott Fitzgerald is a St. Paul man. Of course, Garrison Keillor.

Garrison Keillor, for sure.

And you? And me? I mean, I'm the third person people usually think of.

They go down that line.

Yeah. Charles Schulz, Seth MacFarlane, Fitzgerald, and Sally Koering Zimney.

Right, because you're working now. You're a working artist now. So it's the chronological.

Yeah. I mean—

So how did you end up at Story?

Well, I— doing this podcast, I had a woman on the show who, uh, was talking about this, uh, well, at the end of the show we'll do a This Moved Me moment, and her This Moved Me moment was some writing that was advertising a story, and it was, it was just beautiful. And I was like, wow, oh my gosh, I'm intrigued. And she— that was not this past year, but the year before. And so she said, "Let's go! Come on, Sally, let's go!" And I just, I couldn't afford to get down there. It was like plane tickets and then staying there. And I was like, I don't know if I can make it happen. But then I just put it as a goal for myself. The next year, I got some of my beautifully amazing creative friends. I said, "Let's do this together," because that makes it more fun and, and more doable. So, um, we just kind of set our sights on it and went down there. And, and when I knew— I mean, there was a handful of people there who I had had on the show, like Hank Fortner had been on my show, and, um, and I knew a handful of people who were going to be there. So I was like, let's go, let's Do it. And then when I saw you were going to be there, I was like, aww.

Woo!

That's how I felt about it. It was such an amazing experience.

It really was. I do a lot of events and yet that one continues to be part of my daily life. I think about it. There are so many relationships that have come from that. I mean, the audience itself was full of people that could create something that would make a dent for good for the whole world. I mean, it was some of the most talented people all in one room and intentional about what they're making. Not just like, oh, that's a brilliant designer, but they're like really thoughtful about what they're doing. So yeah, I was— It's really, really special.

I totally agree. I found the few days there to be so inspiring and just have found some wonderful connections out of it and discovered people doing really beautiful, amazing, impactful work, which is what it's all about, you know? So yeah.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

So I want to— I just like dive right in.

Sure.

And, and what I want to do is really hear from you about— obviously you are the creator of Kid President, and you yourself are doing all kinds of beautiful writing and creating now with Montague Workshop. And everything you post, I'm like, oh my gosh, just like right in the feels, in the feels. But I want to start, kind of give us a grounding by talking about how you have shifted into this world as a speaker, because you're a video guy at heart, I know. Am I right there?

Yeah, I mean, I, in all ways, I feel like I'm growing into shoes that are a little too big. Like, in everything, it's like, I've been given a pair of shoes, they're a few sizes too big, but just wear them and see what happens. And, you know, I've always loved to tell stories and to make things. And I originally was working in marketing and straight out of college, I got this job selling advertising. And it was miserable. I was terrible at it. I loved, like, talking to people, but not about the advertising. And I loved making things, but nothing anybody wanted to sell. And, and, and one of the things that, that ended up coming from that is my, my solution to every problem has always been make a video. Like, just, I have, I was, I got a camera when I was I think in 8th grade is I got this giant camera and I just, it was like, can I do this for a school project? Can I make this instead of writing a report? Can I make a video? And so I was selling ads and it was miserable. And I was at a coffee shop and it was a great coffee shop and the guy didn't have a lot of business. And I said, hey, could, could I like do a TV show in your coffee shop? And so it became a local, no-budget cable access show that was filmed in a coffee shop. Wow. And that was the beginning. That was my grad school, just about, because I had to learn how to We did over 30 episodes and I had to learn how to write, edit, sell ads for the program, get guests for the program, write a monologue, write jokes, interview guests, and turn around something every single week and also get people in the door because that was all he cared about. He just wanted people to come to the place. So it was me learning every single thing about communication and only getting in front of camera because nobody else would. And so it was out of necessity. And, and, and that, that. So when I started making things for YouTube and they said, hey, look, we need you to do a 2-minute video every week. I was like, oh, come on, I can do this. I was— Yeah, like, this is easy. And it's interesting how I think everything we do in some way informs the next thing we do. And so I was very rusty in being in front of an audience. And then when Kid President, this web project we had that had grown into something so big, I began being asked to speak. And had to find a way to do it that didn't feel like me giving a speech, but felt like me actually sharing what I normally would in a video with a room full of people.

Right. Well, and that's what I loved about it. Just speaking from an audience perspective and what I experienced watching you and why you stood out to me so much. Is because it felt like you just kind of took us on a little creative journey and it wasn't structured like a lot of talks are structured, and it just had its own feel to it that felt very Brad. You know, you, you use the word whimsy a lot, and, and it just had all of these elements to it that I knew were so true to you and just the internet interaction, you know, just knowing your work. And that is what people responded to and loved about it. And I, I just think that's so essential and important because like many— you, I think, are like many people who, who just find themselves up in front of people who, who end up being the one who is on stage or who has to, you know, be in front of the camera. That's not their life goal, and yet that's where they find themselves and feel out of sorts. Like, how does— how do I make sure that this feels like me? And there's always a way. We just have to really stay true to that for ourselves. And so just like finding for you, finding you in that. What was the process like for you to really maintain that sense of authenticity? And so your voice was so clear in that.

Well, um, thank you, you're so nice. Uh, I think, I think of— okay, so I, I am a dad, I have two kids, and, um, and I also live across the street from my in-laws, and so I have my little brother who is Robbie, who plays Kid President, lives down the road from us, and his sister Lexi. So I have this family that I love being with. And so if I'm going to go speak somewhere, the initial question was, well, couldn't I just send them a video? And then you think, well, okay, if I can't do that, could I just send them like a PDF or like the information? Yeah. And so I began to think about the idea that maybe there really is value in being in the room with people. And if I'm going to go there, then I need to actually be there. And if I'm not going to be with my family, then I want there to be a reason why I didn't just send a PDF or some sort of ambassador to read it on my behalf. Which would actually be super funny.

That would be hilarious. I'll be your ambassador.

Send me. Just read it. And so, and I think about some of the, the, the presentations I love to hear and the people I love to hear from. They— it's not just emptying out knowledge. It's creating an environment and a room in which you feel like you're on an adventure with them. Like you're going through this with them and yeah, the talk could end up online. Yeah, like maybe they'll video it or there's audio of it somewhere, but it was different if you were actually there.

Oh, totally.

And so there's something about that that I really love.

I'm so glad to hear you say that because like I'm the opposite where I'm trying to embrace the idea of video when my true home is in the room up on stage because I am— I get really addicted to the back and forth, the give and take that happens between audience and speaker. And because it's this amazing co-creation that doesn't exist in other formats and elements that I find so fascinating and exciting.

And yeah, that's why improvisation is fun to watch. That's why improv is, is so fun. I mean, they've tried to do television shows that capture improv and it just isn't the same. Uh, there's, there's something about that, that co-creation that's, that's thrilling. And, and the idea that maybe this won't work, right? And the audience is forgiving of that because they they feel like you were brave.

Totally. I think that we have to remind ourselves of that all the time, don't we? Like, you know what? We're giving it a go. We're the ones putting ourselves on the line. And I think audiences, especially if you come in with that spirit of, hey, I'm just throwing this out there. What do you think? There's generosity in that. And I think that's a big part of what you do, not just on stage, but with Kid President and now all of the pieces that you're creating. You have this really wonderful humility in what you do. And I'm curious how that— I don't know if you would agree with me on that, but that's something I get from you is this sense of humility and an offering, a really just an open offering to your audience. So is that— yeah, I don't know. Tell me about that. What do you think about what I'm talking about?

Yeah, I think it is a— there's something about a person who says, I know this is a room full of people, but you're all going to stop and listen to me. That is so strange that we allow this to happen, that everybody's like, wait, wait, wait, this person has the microphone.

Right. I will just sit here.

Yeah. Yeah. And even online to say, okay, hey, look, I know there's a lot of things going on right now, but everybody listen to me right now. And I think there's some some personalities that really embrace that, and it's a love me, love me, love me, like I need you to give me attention and love me. And, um, I'm finding that to flip that and then to say, here, instead of love me, I made this out of love for you, is, is, is presenting a gift to people. And so that has helped. There's a lovely book called The Gift, and it's about creativity, and it's about— and I actually got to do this project with Sesame Street. And I mean, that was a huge deal for me. So we were working with some people who had actually worked with Jim Henson. And one of the ladies was there and I just, I probably nagged her to death. I kept bothering her. I was like, "So what was he like? What did he smell like?" The weirdest questions. And I asked her about, you know, what was it like? What was he like as a boss? And she talked about that he said, Jim Henson said often, that we all are making little presents for people. And so he would give presents to his staff. And one of the things he would give them is books often and say, we're all going to read this as— I'd love you to read this. So we're all thinking similar things. And so one of those books, I was like, well, tell me what books. And she said it was this book called The Gift. And I thought it was in here. The Gift by Lewis Hyde. And so I read that and it actually affirmed a lot of things I had been feeling about the creative works that I respond most to, the people online that I follow regularly, the things that that mean a lot to me come from people that are presenting it as a gift. Like they've actually been on some journey, they've gone through something and they're not sharing this because they want you to applaud. They're sharing it because it's going to nourish you. It's going to like— this is going to help you in your quest. And I think that's just the coolest way to approach your creative work.

Absolutely. And I feel that in your work. I just want you to know that. And I think it's part of— I think it's part of why your work impacts people and why it has touched people so much. And so thank you for what you do. I really, really so appreciate everything that you're doing and have for years. It's funny, my 6-year-old for Christmas, like each one of my kiddos, I tried to get them something for Christmas that was sort of artistic but had a message to it. So my 10-year-old son is super into Hamilton. So I got him—

Oh yeah.

Yeah, I got him like a young, scrappy, and hungry t-shirt because that is exactly who he is. Yes. And for my 6-year-old, I got her a whole bunch of Kid President stuff. I got her like a—

Oh, come on.

I got her this cute, like a frame that says, "Why walk when you can dance?" Which is a Kid President thing. That is her. You know, she is just this really spirited little person out in the world who just like lives life so fully. And I wanted to put something in front of her as like an artistic inspiration, but also that there's so much message underneath and there's such a need for what you're doing, and not just with Kid President, but also what you're doing with the Montague Workshop now. And I'd love to just hear a little bit of you on why you think, and I'm making some assumptions here, but why you think art and videos and all of the art that you create, why do you think it is such a powerful conduit for people to be impacted? Like, what is it about our art and your art and the art that moves you? Like, what— why is art— I think it plays such an important role, and I just want to dig into that a little bit.

Well, so big question. Yeah, no, it's such a great question. It's, it's, it's We started Kid President because it was fun. Like that, that, that is just, it really was, it was fun. And, and Robby and I love just being together. And one of the things we had always done was like make silly songs together and record them. And even like going to see a movie together was a creative act because afterwards He would review them or we would make art from that. It was just— and it was always rooted in just trying to make the other person laugh. And so when the videos came out, the first few, they were really just silly.

Yeah.

But then I began to see how people were using them and they actually were sending them to people and saying, I hope your day gets better. It was almost like they were treating them like little cards, little Hallmark cards that they were saying, hey, this says more than I know how to say. And that's when I really, as the audience grew, as that audience grew, I began to really feel that maybe there was an opportunity to say something and lead people in a direction towards things that matter, and I have been so encouraged by finding out that that's true, that people are hungry for purpose, are hungry for reminding that life is short, and that it matters, and Because early on, we sort of were seeing the aftermath of YouTube's initial launch and you're seeing a lot of those videos that had gone viral. So it was a lot of prank videos or somebody getting hurt or sort of mocking someone in the vein of some of those shows on TV that would just play web videos and mock people. And then here was this video that was just a gust of encouragement, and this pep talk has close to 40 million views now, and I'm still scratching my head, but at the same time I'm full of hope that this means that people are hungry for something more and want to be reminded that they matter and that life matters. And I think there's real magic when you take imagination and marry it with intention. Like when imagination and intention hold hands and are friends and do stuff together, then it unlocks something in us and around us. Because if you just strictly have something that is imaginative, like here's a silly hat or here's like, um, uh, whatever. That's fun. But if you have an intent behind it, um, it really comes to life. And then the same if you just have intention, if it's just, I wanna change the world.

Right.

Um, okay, well let's, let's, let's explore that.

Right. And just building on what you're saying, because I think art plays a specific role and can sort of like sink into people and in between people and like the walls that we have built up and the divisions that we have in this world. I think art might be the only thing that can sort of seep through. So I feel like now in our world more than ever, I just am— I'm hungry for art that is speaking across divides and speaking to, like, our better natures and calling for that and asking more for us and from us. And, and I just— talking about it, I don't think will do it. But creating about it is healing, I think, for the creator. But also, I just think it's our only hope.

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Sounds dark, but—

No, no. I mean, that's really like one of the things I'm actively doing right now is setting up rooms where I go to cities, and I'm just in a room full of creative people who need wind in their sails. And we talk about how necessary it is that they actually wake up and show up and make things. And I think this is a really vital time. It's always been a vital time for make-believers, but right now it's especially important that They realize their place in our society of pointing us to our shared humanity, pointing us to the things that don't fit in news bites that we're consuming. I was on like an airplane last week, and I was so disturbed by how many people— well, first you're in the terminal and there's these televisions and it's just news, news, news, news, news, and commentary on news, news, news, news, and there's newspapers everywhere. And then I got on the plane and I thought, oh, this will be like calm, and they had TVs in front of us that were automatically playing the news, the news, the news. And then when those went off, there was the guy beside me had his iPad and he had gone through and actually was still having live news piped in on the plane. And I'm like, I'm trying so hard to find something else and it's everywhere. And I don't think that art ignores the news. I think it truly is what's happening around us. It is. It is more than here's what's going on at the White House, here's what this person said, here's this. It's like the best stuff is timely and timeless. And I think the more we realize that, the more we realize there's so much hope There's so much reason for us to not be full of despair and terror of just watching news, but actually actively living our life and creating a better world together.

Brad, I've written down like 8 million of your quotes so far. They're so good. They're so good. Art is what's happening around us. The best stuff is timely and timeless. The solution to every problem is always make a video. Everything we do informs the next thing we do. So just, you're killing it, dude. You're killing it. So good. So, okay, Brad, it is time for a This Movie Moment. Oh my gosh.

That got weird. Was that an intentional effect?

No.

Like a DJ?

Oh my gosh, that was so—

This moved me moment.

That was so strange and awesome. We're going to take it and run. That's never happened before. So yes, a this moved me moment. That's not nearly as cool to just say it regular, but something that has moved you. Because as we were just talking about, as, as creatives, as speakers, as changemakers, Like we have to be fed and feed ourselves and be moved ourselves so that we can fill ourselves up and then move other people. So I'm gonna start and then I'll turn it over to you.

Okay.

So my This Moved Me moment actually was from last night. My husband and I had a date night, which is always great. I loved you and your wife's date box. A year of dates.

We're trying to be more intentional about dating.

I know, it's so hard.

With small children, it's tough, but it's worth it.

It is. It's tough. I have a really fantastic mother-in-law who every 3 or 4 weeks, she's just like, here, I'm here, you go. So nice. We went to see King Lear at the Guthrie. Which is kind of our big theater here in the Twin Cities. And I was— we, we did rush tickets for it. And so we got these amazing seats. We're in like a third row. And it was really special to see because both Andy and I were in that show in college.

Oh, wow.

And, and I haven't seen it since then. I haven't seen it on stage since then. So it was really kind of trippy to watch it to kind of unfold and to know the lines. I was like, I still, I know all those lines. It's kind of crazy. But there is this moment at the end of King Lear, and this is not a surprise because most people know the show to some extent, and it's a Shakespearean tragedy, right? So everybody dies. But at the end of the show, there is this unbelievably beautiful moment between King Lear and Cordelia, his youngest daughter, who has been killed. And he basically like dies of a broken heart right there. And it, it, it, I was just, tears were just streaming down my face because it was acted magnificently. It was so beautifully done. And we were so close that I could see, I could see see the movement in his face and like what his eyebrows were doing and, and how he was holding her. And it was— I just felt like I was right there. And it was a reminder again of just like live theater, these live moments, because I know as somebody who's been on stage, like every time is a little bit different. And I just felt so privileged to be there in that moment. With them, and I was so moved by it. And I like, when, when the actor came out, he was so amazing. I stood up and gave him a standing ovation, and I don't really do that, but I did that last night. I was like, thank you, thank you for just like putting his everything out there on the line. And that is the best of of acting and best of theater and the best of the experience as an audience to feel like you just laid it out there for me. Thank you, actor. So it was cool.

That's—

yeah, fed me up. I was like, thank you. So that's my This Moved Me moment this week, from an actor to an actor. Wow.

Yeah, it's powerful that the room— I think we've conditioned ourselves to forget how magical theater is.

Yeah. Well, I was looking around. It was kind of sad because, I mean, I hardly get out to see theater anymore because, like you, I have kids and they sort of take over. So most of the audience was probably 65 and older. And then there was like a handful of some student groups who were there, obviously with a school group. But I just thought, oh my gosh, we are missing out. There's so many of us who are missing out because it's hard to get there. And frankly, it's expensive. I mean, we rushed tickets, which was fantastic, and we got a good deal. But it's too high a bar for so many people. And it— we— I don't know, we have to work on that, I think. So how about you? What's your this moved me moment this week?

Ah, or in life? Just so many. I, I will say this week, um, I have been particularly moved by an old book by Margaret Wise Brown. She did, you know, Goodnight Moon, but I've been diving into a lot of her other work, and I found this beautiful book called The First Story that I love. But this week I just finished a new video, and it's about a balloon that And it's about a balloon wrestling with his existence and his imminent death. And it's just something I've been thinking a lot about and worrying about. And so did this little story about it. And along the way, I found that there was this book that she had written years ago. And so I have it and it's actually, it's called The Dead Bird. And it, uh, there's a newer release they did where this lovely illustrator kind of updated it. Um, but you talk about timely and timeless. Um, the book is here in my office and it's sort of, uh, electric. I can't even pick it up at the moment because it's still, um, it's still so powerful. And having just done a story that is about trying to speak about life and living in the moment and death, then having this little book that is about a bunch of kids who find a dead bird and it's just very matter-of-fact and it's lovely and there's still joy in it, like the kids march around and smile and go about life. And, uh, I, I, um, I, I'm stunned that this book exists.

Oh, I can't wait to check it out. One of my favorite things about what you do, Brad, that I think, as somebody who spent a long time working with kids, is your just, um, how you encompass and, and bring to life the childlike, playful spirit of who we are and who we were as kids and the wisdom that's in that. And I just think that's— I don't know, after— and as someone who's worked with kids, I know you know this, it's like they hold so many truths And if we could just like turn ourselves to them more and really try and learn from them and how they see life, we'd probably learn a lot.

Well, it's interesting. We spend so much time in preschool age, elementary age. You look at the content that's made for them, the kinds of experiences that we create for them, or we We try to make sure in the simplest terms possible, the most important things we want them to know is this is what it is to be a person. This is what you need to know. This is how we treat each other. And then we just sort of stop. It's like you look at like a lot of the content that's been made for preteens and high schoolers and on beyond, and that stuff kind of goes away. And it's like, no, no, no, that was for when you're younger. Now, like, you can just be obnoxious to each other and just like try to get attention by being a pop star or do whatever. Like, that's what all those shows are, right? And, um, uh, I, I think you don't grow out of that need to, to know what it is to be a person and be reminded what really matters. And, and all of those things are poignant, but you can do it in a playful way, and that's actually the most effective way. It's It's how it's supposed to be. And so I don't have it figured out. I am figuring it out. But I do know that I want to tell stories that are— and do events and create things that are fun and light, but that deal with the heaviest things, right?

In, in a light way. Like, we can do that, and, and sometimes that's the only way we can take it in.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

To talk about death like a balloon.

What? Exactly, exactly.

And yes, like, oh, the poor balloon, you, you could pop at any moment.

And you know, that video is, uh, that story which is an example too of— I wish that I could do better illustrations. I wish that I could do—

I love your illustrations.

I wish that I could do animation, but instead I have to be in the video reading it. And it's like, okay, well, whatever it takes to get the story out there. Yeah, yeah.

I love that big thick red book.

I know.

It's so great. Did you find the book and then write the story or?

No, I had the story in my head and was like, okay, well, I'm going to find it. I want to put it in something tangible. Yeah. And I found this bright red sketchbook and it's probably a sickness, but I have all of these journals. I am obsessed. Like, I can go in a bookstore and there can be the greatest literary literature ever, but a blank book is thrilling to me.

Oh my gosh, well, that says a lot about you.

Well, I also—

creator, not the consumer.

I remember, uh, finding certain sadness one day when I went in, uh, this was back when there were like cassette stores, and I remember there being a, uh, a display of John Denver cassettes, and they were Like $0.69 or something. There was these blank cassettes that were $2 apiece. I remember thinking, "What? John Denver should get into selling blank tapes." Totally.

That's so sad.

He poured his heart out. Right.

$0.69 on sale. John Denver. I love John Denver.

Right? Right?

I'm going to tell you this story really quickly because it's I don't know, it's visceral for me. I remember my senior year of college, I had this dream one day that I was auditioning to become Oprah. And I know that kind of says a lot about me, I think. And in the dream, in my audition, I was singing Country Road. Like, that was my audition. Country Road, take me home to the play. And I woke up and I was like, no. That's not how it should— I shouldn't do that. That's no, no. Oprah won't— would she like that? I don't know.

Oprah would never want that.

Does Oprah like John Denver? Was that a good choice? Oh my gosh. My roommates, I had to— woke up and was like, you guys, listen to this dream. And they just nodded knowingly. Yep, that sounds about right, Sally.

Yeah. There you go again, Sally.

There I go again. It's true. Well, Brad, this has been really fun, and I'm so grateful for your time and that the universe finally put us together.

For sure. We've been trying and trying, but this was the time. This is— here we are. This was the time.

Oh, it was perfect. It was so great.

I love what you're doing and how you're doing it. That you're opening up real dialogue about how we communicate. And, and, um, uh, I've, I've enjoyed listening to your podcast, so it's cool to, to, to be on. So thank you.

It's a, it's a real thrill for me to have you on the show, Brad, and I just so love and respect what you're doing and cheering you on as you do this really good, important work and bring more more joy and light into this world. Thank you, Sally Koering Zimney. Hi, Movers! I'm in the car right now. Don't worry, hands-free, hands-free device. I've just got my voice memo going, which is honestly one of my favorite apps. I use it all the time to when I'm like come up with an idea for a talk or content that I want to explore more. I just turn on my voice memo app and start talking, and that's what I'm doing right now. Woohoo! I'm on my way home, and the sun is shining. It is an absolutely beautiful day, and we Minnesotans like to talk about the weather, so that's what I'm doing right now. I'm talking about the weather. Anyway, Hope you enjoyed that conversation with Brad Montague. I think, um, he is brilliant, creative, so thoughtful and kind and funny and just so humble. Uh, such a humble person, uh, who is doing so much good in the world. So I'm really glad to see that he is creating a ton and bringing that out into the world and really following the advice that he giving all of us, which is to create good stuff and share it because we need more of that in the world. So that's what we're doing. And I'm turning— don't worry, I'm being very safe. I'm being very, very safe. So Movers, if you are not yet a subscriber, a This Moved Me subscriber, I send out a weekly newsletter and it's full. I try and jam-pack it full of all the good stuff that I'm reading and thinking about that week and highlights from the show and images that you can share that really are inspiring and keeping you really engaged and inspired. And, and bonus, I also include some of my favorite links to really thoughtful things happening in the industry around public speaking and moving our audiences. So check it out. Go over to my website, thismovedme.com, and you will see it there. Okay, thanks. That's it for me. See you next week. Signing off. This moved me. What's moving you? And I'm home now. Woohoo! Duh!

Duh!

Du-duh-duh-duh-duh!