Creative Pep Talk

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 --- This is a favorite! Special edition of ask Dr. Pizza episode! This time the questions come from the hosts of the Grupo de Autoayuda de Dibujo podcast! THE CRUSHED IT!   SHOW NOTES: Grupo de Autoayuda de Dibujohttps://www.instagram.com/grupodeautoayudadedibujo/https://www.youtube.com/c/GrupodeAutoayudadeDibujo 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

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 --- Who doesn’t want better opportunities? The key is standing out and having a unique creative offering. But that is much easier said than done, when it feels like EVERYTHING has been DONE! How do you find your edge? I have had some client opportunities come may way recently that felt SO perfectly custom tailored for me, and it got me thinking: how did these things fall into my lap? This episode is what I think helped me position my work in a way that attracted those “perfect fit” opportunities and I hope it helps you do the same!   SHOW NOTES: Landmark Schoolhttps://www.landmarkschool.org “Standing out: an atypical salience account of creativity” Paperhttps://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(24)00111-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1364661324001116%3Fshowall%3Dtrue Produc

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 --- If you’re used to doing work for clients, it can be tough to then create your own solo project. On the other hand, if you’re only used to doing your own thing, working for a client can feel impossible! How do you find yourself and your creative voice in the mix of all of this? This is one of the many topics I dive into on today’s episode with Composer Oli Julian. Oli is the composer for Netflix’s new animated Roald Dahl adaptation of “The Twits”, and has a huge wealth of experience doing music for television for the likes of Sex Education and The Complete Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. This was a guest from a very different side of the creative industry, hope you enjoy! SHOW NOTES: Oli Julianhttps://www.olijulian.co.uk The Twitshttps://www.netflix.com/title/81612165 Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Edi

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 --- FRANNERD RETURNS! Illustrator, Comic Artist and YouTuber Fran Meneses is a long time friend of the show and it’s been 6 years since her last episode! We dive deep into: 1 - When mental health “gets in the way” of your creative plans and what has seemed to help both of us. 2 - How to think about creative crossroads and let go of things that don’t serve where you want to go and double down on the path you do want to take. 3 - How the pandemic impacted both of our careers and shaped out creative focus moving forward. This chat was a blast and filled me with so much hope and comfort. Hope it does the same for you!   SHOW NOTES: Fran Meneses AKA Frannerdhttps://www.frannerd.clhttps://www.instagram.com/frannerd/?hl=enhttps://www.youtube.com/c/FranMeneseshttps://www.patreon.com/frannerd Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.c

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 --- Like sleep, creativity is something you can’t force. It’s a brain state that you have to slip into. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create the perfect conditions for this state to be more likely to occur. If you have been blocked or in a rut, this episode will give you 5 ways to cultivate your higher creative states and unlock your next favorite piece of work.   SHOW NOTES: Master and His Emissary by Ian McGilchristhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_His_Emissary The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameronhttps://juliacameronlive.com/book/the-artists-way-a-spiritual-path-to-higher-creativity/ Cultivating Life Force by Phil Stutzhttps://www.thetoolsbook.com/blog/practices-to-build-your-life-force Christoph Niemann - Good Not Great Talkhttps://vimeo.com/130898948 Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound

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 --- We cover a LOT in this episode. If you want some PEP but you’re not sure exactly what it is you need, we probably cover it in this episode! We explore: When the reality of creating isn’t what we thought it would be. How to find your flow when things got stale. Escaping the voices that tell you to hide. Finding that “magic thread” on your creative path again. Creative Habits! How to keep your taste fresh over a lifetime! SHOW NOTES: Jake Martin - Guest Host:https://www.instagram.com/stanky.art/https://stankyart.substack.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

Stay pepped ALL NEXT YEAR with our 2026 Calendar: creativepeptalk.etsy.com --- Visual journaling can unlock your creativity, but it can also enhance your life. If you are struggling to tune into your everyday life and find inspiration there, this is the episode for you! Samantha Dion Baker has written the book on this! Well 3 books on this!! So much goodness in this episode! SHOW NOTES: Samantha Dion Bakerhttps://www.sdionbaker.comhttps://samanthadionbaker.substack.com Draw Your Adventureshttps://www.sdionbaker.com/books 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

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 --- Find your niche. Stand out from the competition. Find your unique selling point. Easier said than done. Right? In this episode we explore where your creative edge might be hiding and how to strategically think about your place within the creative markets you find yourself in. SHOW NOTES: Get the Creative Career Path Handbook by signing up to the newsletter: andyjpizza.substack.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 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 --- Do you feel like the stuff you’re putting out is white noise in an already noisy world? In this episode we explore what you need to cut through and connect with the hearts of your potential fans. SHOW NOTESStudy: “Seeing your life story as a Hero's Journey increases meaning in life”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36972106/ The Awakened Brainhttps://www.lisamillerphd.com Primal Intelligencehttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740110/primal-intelligence-by-angus-fletcher/ Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com 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 --- Does this sound familiar? You find a new thing. You’re certain this is THE thing. It all makes sense! You get started with tons of energy… but then you hit a wall. It all feels wrong. You bail. Find a new thing and the loop starts all over. If you can relate. This episode is for you!!! Stick until the end for a checklist that can help you decide whether to stick to the path or give up the thing you’re currently working on! SHOW NOTES: Eustress the Good Stresshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/be-the-sun-not-the-salt/202408/eustress-the-good-stress Eustress vs Distresshttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/eustress-vs-distress Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyihttps://www.aaspa.org/products/flow-the-psychology-of-optimal-experience Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones h

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 --- This episode contains three small things that made a huge difference in my creative practice! Tune in if you know you need a creative boost, but you’re not EXACTLY sure what it is you need because this is like THREE mini episodes in ONE.   SHOW NOTES: Strengthsfinder Assessment:https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx 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

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 --- If you’re a creative type, you probably don’t quite fit into the systems you were born into. This can be VERY DIFFICULT. There’s a lot of pressure for folks like us to beat ourselves up into a shape that fits society. In this episode, I want to share the number 1 thing that changed my life as a creative person, and resources that can help you adopt this shift too!! SHOW NOTES:Right Side Out Seriesandyjpizza.com/rso No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz, PhDhttps://ifs-institute.com/nobadparts Good Inside by Dr. Beckyhttps://www.goodinside.com/book/Simulacra and Simulationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://whywithaquestionmark.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPA

Sharing a new podcast from Campside Media called Origin Stories, about the creative process and the craft of writing and reporting. Each episode drills down on a single work. What inspired it? How was it created, and why? What kind of challenges and hurdles cropped up along the way? And above all, what can the rest of us learn from the guest’s creative process?  In this episode, Matt talks to Dan Taberski about his podcast “Hysterical,” which centers on a strange illness that afflicted a group of girls in the New York town of LeRoy. Dan discusses his reporting and outlining approach and the importance of treating subjects (and their stories) with care and respect. You can listen to more episodes of Origin Stories at https://link.mgln.ai/creativepeptalk 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 --- Are you so worried about other people’s opinions you don’t make or share anything? Need a tool for finding the thing you’re so passionate about that you’ll finally have the courage to put yourself out there? If so, this episode is for you! We all wish we could quit caring so much about what other’s think, but what if it’s a hopeless cause? In this episode we examine how caring about others might actually unlock the boldness we need to finally put our deepest selves into our work and rise above our imagined critics! SHOW NOTES: Angus Fletcher - 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.com SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to https://www.squares

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 --- This episode is for you if: - The chaos of the world is making creative work feel meaningless- Need to remember why making creative work is your passion- You need a dose of art that makes you remember what life is about SHOW NOTES: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

This episode is for you if you need: - To tap into your intuition and imagination in a deeper way than ever before - A boost of hope for your creative future and the future of human creativity - To hear two creativity nerds getting EXTREMELY excited about art, story and human potential!!! Pretty much everyday you are told that AI is coming for your job, but NOT TODAY, because today we talk with Angus Fletcher PhD. Angus is an expert in story AND neuroscience, and in this episode, we will dive into Fletcher’s research that will show you how to access your “Primal Intelligence” AKA something AI cannot do!! Angus Fletch has a PhD in Literature from Yale studying Shakespeare and a BS in neuroscience from the University of Michigan. This unique blend of story and science makes him one of the most fascinating people I have ever met and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this conversation! I HIGHLY recommend you pick up Angus' new book “Primal Intelligence:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740110/primal-intelligence-b

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 --- The chaotic changes we are currently experiencing are truly unreal. Tech. Platforms. Politics. Economy. It’s an upheaval. It’s very easy to slip into a full on panic when looking into your creative future. In this episode I want to share something that helped me find hope in this new ever changing landscape, and more than just hope, real creative career growth too! SHOW NOTES: Creative Pep Talk on YouTubeYouTube.com/creativepeptalk Creative Pep Talk on Substackandyjpizza.substack.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 Learn more about

Check Out the rest of the Ghost Frame series:Ghost Frame on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ghost-frame/id1814128797 Ghost Frame on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/4dpUSAANUNsukVTMbkuEDC?si=1cbe0dba190045c5 --- This week we are featuring an episode of the “Ghost Frame” podcast by animator / illustrator / director Sarah Beth Morgan. This 5 part narrative non-fiction series is about the rapid flux in the creative industry and navigating transitions as a creative person. I think we can all relate and I got so much from the series I wanted to share it with all of you! Hope you love it! Here’s a little more about the series: “The animation podcast that's… not really about animation. Ghost Frame is a narrative nonfiction podcast exploring the creative industry through storytelling, sound-rich scenes, and personal reflection—all framed by one creator’s career crossroads.” ALSO Patreon and Substack supporters will have access to a BTS conversation between Sarah Beth and I about the s

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 --- WHOA! Loved this conversation SO MUCH! There’s so much to go at here and I could have spoke with Yowei for twice as long. Hope to have her back sometime. Yowei Shaw is an “emotional investigative journalist” and the creator of the really really great “Proxy” podcast. We talk: 1 How owning the success of failure of your creative project can be really energizing 2 How to see the opportunity in the constraints of your obstacle 3 The tricky line between art and therapy 4 SO MUCH MORE! You’re gonna love it! SHOW NOTES: Yowei Shawhttps://www.yoweishaw.com Proxy Podcast https://www.proxypodcast.com Invisibilia Podcasthttps://www.npr.org/podcasts/510307/invisibilia Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendingbeautiful.coSoundtrack / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? http://wh

Feeling lost on the creative journey? Download our 7 step Creative Career Path Handbooklet for FREE by signing up to our newsletter. --- I used to think I didn’t have ideas. I would hear other artists talk about how an idea presented to them and think “oh that never happens to me, I must not have ideas!” But over time, I’ve come to realize that ideas present in different ways to everyone. That’s what makes them unique. In this chat I talk with cartoonist Grant Snider. He has LOADS of great ideas and we get into how to recognize an idea when it comes up. We also talk managing his two roles, one being a cartoonist and the other being a part time orthodontist. This balance actually seems to suit him well and I think there’s a lot to take away from this conversation for all of us juggling lots of things! SHOW NOTES: Grant Sniderhttps://www.grantsnider.comhttps://incidentalcomics.substack.com Co-Writing / Editing: Sophie Miller http://sophiemiller.coAudio Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones http://pendin