Chapter 55: Brad Montague on fighting fear by forging fantastical futures

3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 15-year-long quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation, Two-Minute Mornings, etc. Each chapter of 3 Books uncovers and discusses the three most formative books from one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Judy Blume, David Sedaris, Chris Anderson of TED, the founder of the world's largest feminist magazine, the world's greatest Uber driver, Pete Holmes, Angie Thomas, and Malcolm Gladwell. Each of the 333 chapters is dropped on the exact minute of every single new moon and full moon until September 1, 2031. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and 100% ad-free, commercial-free, sponsor-free, and interruption-free. For more info check out: https://www.3books.co/ Chapter Description: I kind of believe that way down deep in our stomachs there's this tranquil little pond of peacefulness that is where we want to live. It's that part of us that knows for sure that these days are short, life is precious, everything is fleeting, and like these little relationships we have - with a podcast, with our mothers, with our sisters, with our lovers - these relationships are life. Sure, they're harder to measure and harder to count and harder to remember during the daily overwhelm ... but if you can tap into that pond… if you can tap into that deeper, knowing, wiser self… then it's a better way to live. I know for me for the past few years Brad Montague has been a bit of a guide back down to that pond inside myself. Do you know Brad? He is a wonderful human being. He created the viral Kid President videos which have been seen over 700 million times. He started a charity to get socks to homeless people, he founded the Montague Workshop, he goes on listening tours to classrooms around America asking kids want they want from grown-ups in their life, and his epic social presence is a daily source of inspiration for hundreds of thousands of people. (Check out his beautiful Instagram offering here.) Most recently, he put his incredible wisdom down on paper into a bestselling book called Becoming Better Grown-ups: Rediscovering What Matters and Remembering How to Fly. We're catching up to him today from his home in Henderson, Tennessee, and discussing some pretty heavy (but important!) topics surrounding death, the pandemic, and how faith and art can co-exist. Although these are not your typical feel-good topics, Brad's perspective will no doubt leave you feeling refreshed and positive. As always, when I talk to Brad, or read his books, or see his art, I am awed by how he can create chaos from the cosmos. Getting the chance to chat with him about his three formative books was a true gift. Let's go! What You'll Learn: How do we talk to our kids about death? How do we navigate the pandemic with children? How do faith and art mix? How do artists live a spiritual life? What does the phrase 'there is nothing so secular that cannot be sacred' mean? How do we create timeless art? And, of course, what are Brad Montague's 3 most formative books? You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/55 Leave us a voicemail. Your message may be included in a future episode: 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Sign up to receive podcast updates here: https://www.3books.co/email-list