Jake Pearson: 00:00

Are you trying to figure out the secret to happiness? We're here at What Makes You Happy with Jake Pearson. We want to make that happiness more accessible for you in your life. So stick around as we interview everyday people, inspirational leaders and your favorite celebrities on what makes them happy.

Welcome back to the podcast where we ask the question, what makes you happy?

My name is Jake Pearson and today we have with us a game show host. We've got Mike Montague from Kansas City, United States of America. Mike, how are you?

Mike Montague: 00:38

I am doing great, ready to start a Friday.

Jake Pearson: 00:41

And I'm ending a Friday.

Mike Montague: 00:45

[crosstalk] even a better spot to be.

Jake Pearson: 00:49

Right. But thank you for coming on the podcast to share all the things that make you happy. Would you mind starting with what makes you happy, Mike?

Mike Montague: 00:53

I would say lots of things. If you're watching the video, there's lots of things behind me that make me happy. You know, there's some video games and Lego and Steve Martin and the Barenaked Ladies and all kinds of good stuff. But I have found in my life really I haven't turned down a chance to be on a microphone. So that's why I'm here on the podcast today. But hosting game shows, doing public speaking- I have two podcasts, How to Succeed Podcasts and Playful Humans. One's been going for seven years. And I used to be on the radio, I really love that it forces you to be in the present moment, especially doing stuff live and not pre-recorded is I love being on a stage and interacting with people and having fun, telling cheesy jokes and making people laugh. I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey, but then I turned myself around. So I'm much happier now.

Do you want to play a game?

Jake Pearson: 01:50

Yes, definitely. Let's play a game.

Mike Montague: 01:53

All right. So one of the easiest ones to do is the Family Feud. Usually we call it survey battles, or survey says. So typical, we interviewed 100 people, we're looking for the top answers. And we asked people to name a place where you try to squeeze in one more person. What do you think they said?

Jake Pearson: 02:12

Train.

Mike Montague: 02:13

Train is on there. There you go. That was the number two answer. We also have car, bus and restaurant in the top four. Okay, let's try one more for people planning on too [phonetic 02:24] play along during a power failure named something you can still turn on?

Jake Pearson: 02:30

Generator.

Mike Montague: 02:32

Generator is a good answer, but not on there. We're looking for a flashlight radio, the water or your spouse.

So, stuff like that. I get to play games, I get to have fun with people. I asked a guy for a consonant last night when we were playing Wheel of Fortune and he said, North America and that gave us all good laugh. I love that kind of stuff.

Jake Pearson: 02:59

So I can already tell this is going to be one of my most memorable moments on this podcast, that [phonetic 03:04] answer. Yes, thank you. Beautiful. So for our listeners then, what would you say to them, for those who are struggling to find a little bit of happiness in their life?

Mike Montague: 03:16

I would say go out and play. And that's the mission of my Playful Humans Podcast is; I interview people that play for a living, I think we lose that as an adult for several reasons. We start taking ourselves too seriously. We want to impress people, we want to start making money. And we start taking things too seriously. And that's the big one is when you do that bad things happen. We're human beings, we forget that we're animals on this planet that are made to survive. So when you take something seriously, your brain shuts down and releases chemicals and cortisol and stress hormones that says like, focus on one right answer that will help you survive. And I think that's what we're seeing, even in our culture and politics is people lock in and they don't see other options, because they're all locked in and stressed and they get really rigid.

When you think about being playful. It's the opposite of that, you have divergent creativity, you start thinking about multiple options. And you can really have a lot more fun even if you just lower the stakes in your life and be like, Hey, man, let's get out of here alive. We might as well enjoy the ride. There's no way to win life. There's no finish line until the one we don't see coming. And so we just need to dance while the music's playing, enjoy this as much as possible. And good things happen when you do that. Study show like you smile more, which makes you more attractive. When you play more you get more physically fit and lose weight. You become smarter you stave off Alzheimer's, you have more sex, like all of the benefits. Go with just being more playful and happy. And when you try to press and work and strive and grind. Even if you are more successful than you were previously. You're not more happy and that's what really sucks.

Jake Pearson: 04:59

I couldn't add anything else to that. I agree with everything you've said 110%. You know, what did you say? Dance or the music, what else there [phonetic 05:09] is the best way to sum it up.

Mike Montague: 05:11

I think everybody knows what it is. And I love your show. It's just go out and do what makes you happy. It doesn't even matter what it is. It can be doing puzzles, it could be playing games, it could be going out in nature, it could be producing fun for other people like I do. Just go out there and do it.

Jake Pearson: 05:26

Absolutely.

Mike, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you share all things that make you happy and the advice that you've given, it's been really fun for me. I'd love this episode.

Thanks for listening to the podcast. We hope it gives you something to think about on your quest to discover what makes you happy. Make sure to check out whatmakesyouhappypodcast.com to connect with today's guest and follow us on all our social media platforms, and to stay up to date on what's happening next and what makes you happy. Don't forget to share this episode with a friend and we'll see you next time!