Andy J. Pizza | Your Creative Pep Talk
Good Life Project
Jonathan Fields / Acast
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 8 November 2021
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Imagine going through life with the name, Andy J. Pizza. That’s what my guest today goes by, but it wasn’t his given name, but rather his claimed name. More on that when we talk. Andy was the kid who perpetually zagged when everyone else zigged. And, at a young age, he saw this same pattern in his mother, he was so much like her. Which, in part, lit him up, but also terrified him. In his mom, these same impulses were married to mental illness that led to a life of struggle. He feared that’s where he was headed, too, until a realization dropped that would not only lead him down his own path, but also empower him to embrace life differently and trust he could make it work. And, indeed, he has.
Andy has built a stunning career as an illustrator, author of kid’s books, animator, and contributor to The New York Times, Apple, Nickelodeon and countless other mega-brands. Driven to share and inspire others in the creative community, he heads up the fantastic Creative Pep Talk podcast, where, by the way, I was his guest recently. And, Andy is a master of the stage, with a style of public speaking that’s one part TED Talk, one part one-man show — with a sprinkle of stand-up comedy. His friends call his approach Laydown Tragedy ( 😆) - because it’s the opposite of stand-up comedy, in that instead of shooting for laughs, he aim for tears, but in the best of ways!
You can find Andy at: Website | Instagram | Creative Pep Talk Podcast
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We leave finding yourself to like a 30 minute visit to the high school guidance counselor office and be like, |
| 0:05.7 | who are you? Okay, that it's out. You know, you took the little test aptitude things, |
| 0:10.0 | kind of what you're what you're all about. And really, it's like decades long finding that thing. |
| 0:14.7 | And there's no other better way to spend your time on the earth. |
| 0:21.4 | Okay, so imagine going through life with the name Andy J. Pizza. |
| 0:25.5 | Well, that is what my guest today goes by, but it wasn't his given name, but rather his claimed name. |
| 0:33.2 | This is the name he said yes to later in life. And more on that when we talk and why that in fact is the name he goes by. |
| 0:41.4 | So Andy was the kid who was kind of perpetually zagging when everyone else zaked. |
| 0:46.4 | And at a young age, he saw the same pattern in his mom. And he was so much like her, which in part lit him up. |
| 0:53.1 | He loved that, but it also terrified him because in his mom, these same impulses were married to mental illness that led to a life of struggle. |
| 1:03.0 | And he feared that's where he was headed to. He wondered if that was sort of the only way that these things could show up in life. |
| 1:11.0 | Until a realization drop that would not only lead him down his own path, but also empower him to embrace life differently. |
| 1:18.5 | And trust that he could make it work. And indeed he has in the largest ways. |
| 1:24.0 | Andy has since built a beautiful family and incredible life, a stunning career as an illustrator, author of kids, books, |
| 1:31.1 | animator, contributor to everywhere from the New York Times to Apple, Nickelodeon, and countless other mega brands and experiences. |
| 1:38.3 | Really driven to share and inspire others in the creative community. |
| 1:42.9 | He heads up the fantastic Creative Pepp talk podcast, whereby by the way, I was a guest recently. |
| 1:48.4 | And Andy is a master of the stage as well with this public style of speaking. |
| 1:53.6 | That's one part Ted, one part one man show with a sprinkle of standup comedy. |
| 1:58.4 | His friends actually call his approach lay down tragedy because it's the opposite of standup comedy in that instead of shooting for laughs, |
| 2:07.3 | he aims for tears, but kind of in the best, most inspiring, heart opening way. |
| 2:12.7 | So excited to share this conversation with you. |
... |
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