Creative Pep Talk

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co --- Listen if: 1 - All the habit advice doesn’t work you as an emotional creative type 2 - You are tired of fighting yourself to make the changes you want to make 3 - You need an exercise for discovering your deepest held values If these hit home, this deep dive with author and podcaster Eric Zimmer was made for you! SHOW NOTES: Eric Zimmerhttps://www.oneyoufeed.net/about-eric-zimmer/ How a Little Becomes a Lot by Eric Zimmerhttps://www.harpercollins.com/products/how-a-little-becomes-a-lot-eric-zimmer?variant=43996638838818 The One You Feed Podcasthttps://www.oneyoufeed.net Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co --- This episode is for you if: 1 - You have so many ideas but struggle to realize many of them! 2 - Most productivity advice doesn’t work for you. 3 - You need to feel excited and hopeful again about your creative practice. SHOW NOTES: Creative Pep Talk Ep 548 with Jarod K. Andersonhttps://www.creativepeptalk.com/draft-episode-for-mar-04-2026545-make-your-life-creative-work-more-rich-with-meaning-with-jarod/ Jim Collins - Jim the Bughttps://www.jimcollins.com/media_topics/TheCurseOfCompetence.html Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word: invisiblethings.co --- This episode is for you if: 1 - You have had a hard time tapping into your unique creative voice. 2 - You feel disempowered as a creative and feel like you need agents, managers, or talent scouts to succeed. 3 - You need help clearing out the noise in your brain and hearing your creative voice again. This is a chat with phenomenal author-illustrator Claire Keane! We chat about her new gorgeous picture book “Who Are You” and her visual development art for movies like “Tangled” and “Frozen”. This was a magical chat and I can’t wait for you to listen! SHOW NOTES: Claire Keanehttps://www.claireonacloud.comClaire Keane’s Substackhttps://claireonacloud.substack.com”Who Are You” Picture Bookhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779600/who-are-you-by-claire-keane/Know Yourself Substack Posthttps://claireonacloud.substack.com/p/know-yourselfupdatedHamnethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamnet_(film)Glen Keanehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_KeaneBil Keanehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bil_Keane Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is for you if: 1 - You want to figure out how to put your deep personal experiences into your work, but you have never seemed to figure out how to. 2 - You are currently overwhelmed and can’t find the energy or ideas for your creative practice. 3 - You are ruminating on painful things from your life or from the state of the world, and it’s stopping you from taking action. 4 - You feel your best ideas are in the past or escaping you, and you can’t seem to “bottle that lightning” again. SHOW NOTES: Bittersweet by Susan Cainhttps://susancain.net/book/bittersweet/ Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word! --- This episode is for you if: 1 - You need a reminder to feel how vital making personal creative work is to your life. 2 - You are a creative type or neurodivergent person needing an example of how to do lots of things well. 3 - Your soul could use some warmth and grounding! This chat is with wonderful Poet and Author Jarod K. Anderson AKA The CryptoNaturalist! SHOW NOTES: Jarod K. Andersonhttps://www.jarodkanderson.com Strange Animals by Jarod K. Andersonhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798888/strange-animals-by-jarod-k-anderson/ Cyptonaturalist Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/cryptonaturalist/ “Something in the Woods Loves You” by Jarod K. Andersonhttps://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jarod-k-anderson/something-in-the-woods-loves-you/9781643262291/?lens=timber-press Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can join the Creative Pro Talk meetups by supporting the podcast on Substack here: andyjpizza.substack.com or on Patreon here: Patreon.com/creativepeptalk --- I got it wrong for so long. When I started my creative practice I thought I needed two things: 1 Get Discovered and 2 Make the Sale. I was missing the secret 3rd ingredient. In this episode we explore this secret hidden sauce and how to make it the centerpiece of your creative strategy! SHOW NOTES: Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word http://invisiblethings.co --- It is VERY easy to get off balance as a creative person because creativity is a delicate balance of many things. In this episode, we will explore 3 areas that require creative tension and how to diagnose where you may be off and need a pivot. SHOW NOTES: Del the Funky Homosapien https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_the_Funky_Homosapien Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling lost on the creative journey? Download our 7 step Creative Career Path Handbooklet for FREE by signing up to our newsletter: http://andyjpizza.substack.com --- My editor Conner loved this episode, which is always a good sign! Two reasons to listen to this: 1 - If your work feels stale or a long term project feels stuck, and you have been wondering if you need to switch it up, reboot, or pivot, this episode is for you. We talk a lot about how to navigate this with Zak Rosen, who just did a big rebrand of his podcast. 2 - You are sick and tired of fighting yourself on everything. This is the time of year when New Year’s Resolutions have gone up in flames. If that’s your situation, Zak asks me what thing is “weirdly helpful” to me, and it addresses this frustration head-on! Hope you love the episode! SHOW NOTES: Zak Rosenhttps://zakrosen.com/about Weirdly Helpfulhttps://weirdlyhelpful.show Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word! --- This episode is for you if: 1 - The idea of making something often feels scary. 2 - You don’t like your work anymore. 3 - You forgot why this used to be fun. 4 - You want to stand out in your field but don’t know how. 5 - You want an exercise that unlocks the flowy fun feeling part of your creative brain. SHOW NOTES: Stranger Thingshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_Things Angus Fletcher - Wonderworks / Primal Intelligencehttps://www.angusfletcher.co Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.comSpotify Playlist of WHY? Songs Used on This Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZIE7PHG5I1Ddg1BuVGRzj?si=4x_BzDZjQgqSpoaLXdVACg&pi=h4HsIKG0SP6Kg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book Mysterious Things Here --- It’s so easy to forget what this is all about. If you need a reminder to embrace imperfection as part of your flavor, and rekindle your drive to just go out and make stuff you love about things you’re interested in, this is your episode!! Guest Nishant Jain drops a billion good gems here. We talk about his sneaky public drawing practice, his inspiring philosophy around creativity and his new book “Make Sneaky Art”. I could have talked to Nishant for another hour or more! This will fuel your creative tank! SHOW NOTES: Nishant Jain https://www.sneakyartist.com Book: Make Sneaky Art https://www.sneakyartist.com/the-book Kendyll Hillegas http://www.kendyllhillegas.com Roald Dahl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl Quentin Blake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Blake Sneaky Art Podcast - Hosted by Nishant Jain https://www.sneakyartist.com/podcast Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order My New Book “Mysterious Things” and Help Us Spread the Word! --- Do you have a toxic relationship with goal setting and New Year’s resolutions? Have you already given up this year?! If so, this episode is for you. In this episode, we will explore the easy and impactful starting place that can help you make this season count for your creative practice. At the end, I share the “Select Your Seed” Venn diagram exercise for figuring out where to focus your energy and how to kick things off in an easy, deep, holistic way. SHOW NOTES: Fresh Start Psychologyhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/4000-mondays/202412/fresh-starts-the-psychology-behind-new-year-motivation/amp Study on Result Goals vs Process Goalshttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2116723#abstract The One Thing https://the1thing.com Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK AEROPRESSCheck out Aeropress and use my code PEPTALK for a great deal: https://aeropress.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever heard someone say that making creative work is about having a “point of view”? It sounds right, but what does it mean and how do you find yours? I can’t think of any creatives that have a more compelling sense of their “point of view” than my guests today. Author Mac Barnett and author-illustrator Jon Klassen have such a strong voice, and I have been longing to have them both on the show for such a long time!! This is an instant all-timer episode for me. These two legends from the picture book world just knocked it out of the park, and we have an incredible chat exploring how to find your point of view, the artist/audience relationship, storytelling, and so much more. Buckle up. This mega episode starts off with a bang and just gets better and better all the way til the end! This episode will make for a great companion for a long creative session or long drive! Hope you love it as much as I did! SHOW NOTES: Substack: "Looking at Picture Books"https://lookingatpicturebooks.substack.com "Mac B. Spy Kid"https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22Mac+B.+Spy+Kid%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 "The Skull" by Jon Klassenhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725351/the-skull-by-jon-klassen-illustrated-by-jon-klassen/ "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole" by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassenhttps://www.macbarnett.com/sam-dave-dig-a-hole "Extra Yarn"https://www.macbarnett.com/extra-yarn "Where the Wild Things Are"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Wild_Things_Are "Goodnight Moon"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Moon "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishigurohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remains_of_the_Day "Swim in a Pond in the Rain" by George Saundershttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609280/a-swim-in-a-pond-in-the-rain-by-george-saunders/ "Outside Over There" by Maurice Sendakhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outside_Over_There "Sam and the Firefly" by P.D. Eastmanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_and_the_Firefly "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Souls "Let the Right One In"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_the_Right_One_In_(film) "Ponyo"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponyo "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Sunshine_of_the_Spotless_Mind "Mysterious Things" by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Millerhttp://invisiblethings.co "Making Comics" by Scott McCloudhttps://www.scottmccloud.com/makingcomics/ Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK AEROPRESSCheck out Aeropress and use my code PEPTALK for a great deal: https://aeropress.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order “Mysterious Things” --- How do you get excited for the New Year when things feel so unstable? How do you get jazzed about planning and goals, when you don’t know what future you’re planning for? In times like these, I find it more effective to tap into the creative drives you already have, than working towards a future that may or may not come to pass. Tune in to check out the 3 creative drives and figure out which you can employ today to get excited about making creative work again! SHOW NOTES: Mysterious Things by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Millerhttp://invisiblethings.co Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkemanhttps://www.oliverburkeman.com/fourthousandweeks Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK AEROPRESSCheck out Aeropress and use my code PEPTALK for a great deal: https://aeropress.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special HOLIDAY episode featuring the chat I had on Katherine May’s Podcast “The Clearing” where guests explore their ideal real or fantasy retreat. Here’s what Katherine said about the episode: The ADHD and autistic tendency to rest in motion is fully realised in American author and illustrator Andy J. Pizza’s vision of the ideal retreat. Choosing an extraordinary fictional setting which incorporates an ingenious method of traveling the world, this episode showcases the wonder of a brilliantly creative, neurodivergent brain. Along the way, and with many fascinating tangents, Andy and Katherine discuss the power of Miyazaki films, their shared love of Fraggle Rock and longing for direction from the universe. A meticulously thought out and fully realised world that accommodates his own personal experience of ADHD, Andy unveils the most beautifully zany and imaginative dreamscape. An absolute treat. SHOW NOTES: Fraggle Rock Last of the Summer Wine Wiki The Master and his Emissary book about left and right brain The Little Prince Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squarespace.com/PEPTALK to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK AEROPRESSCheck out Aeropress and use my code PEPTALK for a great deal: https://aeropress.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices