← Creative Pep Talk
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- [00:03]
Andy J. Pizza
On the creative journey, it's easy to.
- [00:06]
Sophie Miller
Get lost, but don't worry, you'll lift off. Sometimes you just need a Creative Pep talk. Hey, you're listening to Creative Pep Talk, a weekly podcast companion for your creative journey. I'm your host, Andy J. Pizza. I'm a New York Times Best selling author and illustrator and this show is just everything I'm learning about building and maintaining a thriving creative practice. Let's get into it I'm a believer in the idea of dressing for the job you want, not the job you have. And I have applied this to my creative practice too, which means if you want professional results, you need to present online like a pro. And that means going beyond social media and having a professional website that reflects your style and looks legit. I rebuilt my site this year with Squarespace's Fluid Engine and was so happy with how easily I could build my vision without coding that when they approached me to support the show, I jumped at the chance because I love and use this product. So go check it out squarespace.com pep talk to test it out for yourself. And when you're ready to launch your site, use promo code PEP talk all one word, all caps for 10% off your first purchase. Thanks goes out to Squarespace for supporting the show and supporting creators all over the world. I know I'm not the only creative who feels like things are rapidly changing, but one thing that brought me some surprising levels of insight and clarity in this moment was this conversation I heard on the attach your resume podcast with Amanda McLaughlin. She interviews Jack Conte, the CEO of Patreon, and honestly, Jack's unique vantage point as the CEO of what is maybe the top platform at the intersection of creativity and career, AKA Patreon really just opened my eyes. And in fact, I have referenced this conversation multiple times since I heard it. If you want to listen in, just search Attach your resume Wherever you listen to podcasts, I highly recommend it. I can get so busy that I lose sense of the reason why I'm doing anything. I can lose track of why I wanted to make creative work, what it's about, the feeling of it, getting into the spirit of why do I care about this? It's easy to get so bogged down with the to do list and the tasks and the deadlines that I lose sense of what matters to me about making creative work or why I chose to go in this direction in the first place. So are you resting right now? Are you in a moment where you're taking some time off or even just stepping back from your practice for a moment, a day, an hour. If you're in that space, this episode is for you, no matter when you're listening to it. If you're stepping back for any amount of time to find some perspective about your current creative season, try to tap into what is the reason for this season. What am I currently in the middle of creatively and how do I need to lean into it to get the most out of it, to make it the most enjoyable it can be to get the best results so that I don't, you know, just fast forward through this thing and miss out on the opportunity? I think it's really important to step away sometimes. It's not a groundbreaking thought. You probably absolutely agree with that. But when I step away, I like to take some time to reflect and set intentions before I go back. If I do that process well, I start back in a much better place than where I left off. As we wrap up this year, I've been in a place just running wild from one thing to the next. Like mad wrapping presents, wrapping up projects, shopping, hustling, et cetera. All of that stuff and everything in between. I usually, at some point in that mad dash to get through the last part of the year, lose track of what the heck I'm doing, let alone why I'm doing any of this stuff. Like what is the reason for this creative season that I'm in? This episode is set to drop on Christmas Day, so we thought let's not do a Christmas episode per se. We want something more evergreen than that and something that applies whether you celebrate Christmas or not. But let's do a stepping back and getting perspective episode for when you're taking a moment or a break or a weekend or a week or even a sabbatical, maybe even, and give you some questions, some prompts to tap into the moment that you're in so that you can remember and refresh and not just think about the reason, but feel it fresh all over again. So Sophie and I are doing a Charles Dickens inspired Creative Carol episode where the Ghost of Creat present and future each come with a journal prompt question to inspire reflection and insight into your creative practice. Today, Soph and I are going to share our answers in hopes that it might trigger ideas for you. And we will end with a creative call to adventure that you can work on over the next few days where you will find something to take with you from this exercise. So put on your holiday PJs and prepare for a visit from three timeless creative ghouls okay. This is dropping on Christmas Day. This is an episode that is holiday inspired. And we're gonna riff on the Christmas carol, and we're gonna transmutate it into the creative carol.
- [07:25]
Andy J. Pizza
Yes. But we like to keep Christmas in December.
- [07:30]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [07:30]
Andy J. Pizza
And I just hope if you're listening and it's not December, this isn't like.
- [07:35]
Sophie Miller
It can apply at any time you want to do this exercise.
- [07:38]
Andy J. Pizza
It isn't that festive. Like, we look quite festive. But, you know, you don't know that.
- [07:43]
Sophie Miller
Like, this is. You don't need to know what we look like right now. We're decked out holiday, what we're wearing.
- [07:53]
Andy J. Pizza
Why did I go there? Why do I have to make it really weird already?
- [07:57]
Sophie Miller
I don't know, but we are. We got. I got a Christmas sweater on. Yeah.
- [08:01]
Andy J. Pizza
I already threw off my Santa hat because it's too tight. Yeah.
- [08:06]
Sophie Miller
This is about getting in touch with the reason for the season that you're in, whatever season it is, getting in touch with that creative self. And so we're going to get visited by three creative ghosts. Ghost of Creative Past, Creative Present, and Creative Future. And they're all going to bring a question that we're going to answer ourselves and hopes that it might inspire your answer and you thinking about these same questions so that you can get back into the spirit of creativity whenever, wherever you are right now. I will say I created this little kind of journal prompt, and I worked through it with some bullet points. And then today I was. I woke up and I was feeling very scrooge. Like, yeah, I really was. And you're like, why don't you just go through and kind of thoroughly answer these things and just see if it gets you into the spirit of it? And it freaking did.
- [09:09]
Andy J. Pizza
It did.
- [09:10]
Sophie Miller
Yes, it did. I really started feeling it. And so, I mean, if. If I'm any good case study for it, this might actually work for you. So let's get into it. We're visited by the first ghost of creative past.
- [09:25]
Andy J. Pizza
Ooh.
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Sophie Miller
What's the first question?
- [09:30]
Andy J. Pizza
What problem are you facing in your current creative season? That once was a dream goal from the past.
- [09:36]
Sophie Miller
Yes. Now, you've probably heard a version of this somewhere at some time, but for me, it's really good to apply this idea to creativity because it's so easy to get bogged down in the challenges and forget that the things you're working on right now that are driving you nuts were probably things you dreamt of possibly doing one day as really big or really small. Everything in Between. And so for me, what this brought up was something kind of dumb and simple, which was ads for this podcast. When I started this podcast, I didn't think it was possible that we'd ever reach a size where we could get sponsors whatsoever. Now that we have them, everything. It's added all these layers of complexity because I want to serve the audience first and foremost. And so I've taken it really seriously. Like, who do we have sponsor the show? How does that work? We want to just make it a great experience, but it's also this huge gift that means that the overhead and the time commitment and energy that gets poured in the show isn't just a sunk cost. Five, six years into having a show that's sponsored, I've forgotten that this once was a dream. And I'm very. I can get really grumpy and overwhelmed about managing all of the different aspects. And there's new layers of complexity with podcast sponsorship and the ways that it's evolved and in the day to day, I can get so ungrateful with the situation we have. And so this was a good prompt for me to remember. Like, this is. This is a real gift.
- [11:22]
Andy J. Pizza
Yeah. And I guess thank you for tolerating ads as listeners, because, you know, we're listeners to podcasts, too, and we know no one loves ads, like, but it does mean that that person is making a living and it means that they can keep doing it. So this sounds like an ad for an ad, though.
- [11:38]
Sophie Miller
Like, ads for ads. But I. But I'm glad you brought that up because it makes me think of some of the comedy podcasts I listen to will have a lot of ads. And I'll think. I honestly feel, when I hear that, I'm like, I'm glad that this person is being supported in their creativity.
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah. And you can press skip, and you can skip it.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
You can Skip and skip 30 seconds.
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Sophie Miller
And so when we run into little complexities, like, about a month ago, something in the back end got messed up, and it meant that it let in more of the ads than we planned on.
- [12:11]
Andy J. Pizza
Double ads.
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Sophie Miller
Double ads. Yeah. And that's a huge headache because we're so. We try to be so intentional with it. For something like that to mess up is just like, no.
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Andy J. Pizza
Oh, man.
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Sophie Miller
It was only hap. It only happened for like, two days or something.
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah.
- [12:24]
Sophie Miller
But it's easy to forget that these challenges were things that you wanted.
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah.
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Sophie Miller
Which I think touches on the one that you wrote about.
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Andy J. Pizza
Spoiler.
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Sophie Miller
Sorry.
- [12:38]
Andy J. Pizza
You only know that. You only know that because it's a segue. This is take two. Yeah, it's a segue because I messed up saying it the first time.
- [12:49]
Sophie Miller
Roll with it. That's podcasting.
- [12:51]
Andy J. Pizza
Okay. Yeah, I, I think like one thing as we've been starting to be reflective of a year, which is crazy that it's been a year, is we've had a different year to each other.
- [13:02]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [13:02]
Andy J. Pizza
Which is really odd as a couple. And I guess it happens a lot. And we do have share some shared joys and we've had some shared hard things this year. We've also had very different years, very different themes, personally. And for me, it's been a year of I. I think something that feels like a problem I'm in the middle of now, that's actually a dream I forgot is a dream is challenge. Like, you know, in a lot of ways, like, part of the challenge of challenge being my challenge is that there's been that many different kinds of challenges. Like, I literally started in January as a more hands on member of creative pep talk. So for the whole year I've been doing like this, this technical side of things, which I won't buy you with the details, they're very boring to me. But I'm a person who, you know, a year ago, like could barely send an email. Right. Like, you know, I'm one of those idiots that hits reply all or doesn't I? I think the last week I was emailing this was last week. I clearly haven't got there yet. I was replying to in a book thread with our editor and our agent and I accidentally deleted myself from the message thread and then replied as Andy. My email from Andy's email address, but signed it me.
- [14:24]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [14:25]
Andy J. Pizza
So then it was like multiple layers of weird mistakes. So I'm that person. So being the person that's now like in this really complicated podcast system, like uploading episodes and adding ads and titling and, you know, writing, there are creative parts, but there are technical parts that have challenged me. And the creative side of it is, has been connected to writing, which has been good. Like, I've had a year of kind of leaning into words. Like I kind of hid from words. Like I've touched from this, touched on this topic in the past, like, but being challenged to own words. And then more recently, my challenge was taking that one step further from writing words to reading words. Which. Who knew writing and reading were like hand in hand. Right. Oh, and, and writing and reading.
- [15:19]
Sophie Miller
What a surprising connection.
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Andy J. Pizza
But writing and reading and speaking, like, oh, who knew if you write Words you might be asking people might be like, read them.
- [15:27]
Sophie Miller
Say some of those. Yeah.
- [15:29]
Andy J. Pizza
And so, yeah, I've had to kind of take quite a few steps up at the same time and get to a point where I felt like I could read our books out loud and use my words and describe what I do. And then even to the point where I just a few weeks ago did a creative mornings talk, which like, it's a really long story that maybe I'll go into another time. But severe anxiety of public speaking meant I never saw that coming as a possible thing to overcome.
- [16:05]
Sophie Miller
And knowing that story firsthand, watching just having been married to you and know your history with that, watching you do the talk, I was just on the verge of tears the entire time because I just knew what it meant.
- [16:19]
Andy J. Pizza
I don't know when. I don't think the video will be out when this comes out, but it will be close. It'll be out in the next few weeks. But there's also a photo which I don't know if they shared or not of you looking at me. And it's really cute.
- [16:31]
Sophie Miller
But anyway, I didn't know that there's.
- [16:33]
Andy J. Pizza
A crushed it of you looking at.
- [16:35]
Sophie Miller
Me speaking and I look like I'm crying.
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Andy J. Pizza
You just look like you love me.
- [16:40]
Sophie Miller
I do.
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Andy J. Pizza
Oh. Anyway, anyway. But yeah, all of that is like a big leap for one year for me.
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Sophie Miller
And why was challenge a dream? Because that doesn't immediately make sense, I.
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Andy J. Pizza
Guess because it's such a contrast from where I was at. Like so for a long time I was in supportive roles of what you were doing. But it was much more, I was much more in it with the kids.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
Like it was before they went to school. Right. Three kids, you know, before they're in full time school. It takes up most of your time and, and you know, without family support and stuff, it was, it was a lot of that kind of stuff was on me. Yeah. And I think, you know, I was thinking like, I think it was 20, 21 maybe was when I think all of our kids were in school for the first time.
- [17:35]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And that was when it was, it had been a dream, I guess to just have a little space. Space to dream and to have an opportunity to like explore my potential outside of like household and, and kids and, and kind of creativity on. Within those boundaries, those literal boundaries. And so I think it, it was a dream to use my brain.
- [18:03]
Sophie Miller
Yeah. Let's go on to the, the next ghost of creative present.
- [18:10]
Andy J. Pizza
Let's just say the reason why we're on Take two is partly because every single time you go to say creative, you'd almost say Christmas. It's like you've been literally overtaken by this Christmas.
- [18:22]
Sophie Miller
It's true. The spirit Christmas.
- [18:24]
Andy J. Pizza
The ghost of Chris. Oh, my gosh. You did it. It's not our fault. Right? Our kid, our youngest kid is nine and they're in a local production of Scrooge and they are Tiny Tim. And so we've literally been practicing these.
- [18:40]
Sophie Miller
Living and breath breathing.
- [18:41]
Andy J. Pizza
We've been living and breathing the Christmas Carol. And so when you say ghost of. You say Christmas.
- [18:49]
Sophie Miller
It's not as easy as it looks, is it? No. Exactly.
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Andy J. Pizza
I ate my words.
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Sophie Miller
Yes, you did.
- [18:55]
Andy J. Pizza
Okay. You. You say it.
- [18:57]
Sophie Miller
The ghost of creative present.
- [19:01]
Andy J. Pizza
Okay, go ahead, go ahead. The question is, what's something happening in this creative season that you really don't want to miss?
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Sophie Miller
Yeah. Do you want to go first this time?
- [19:13]
Andy J. Pizza
No.
- [19:14]
Sophie Miller
Okay, I'll go first. So we're working on a new book. I'm going to be going into what's. It's super top secret, so I'm not going to go into every detail, but I'm going to be going into the sketching in the art phase. And the thing I want to do is I want to lose my left brain logic, you know, responsibility, money, all of that stuff. I want to put it on hold for two months and I, you know, I can afford to do that only because I. That thing just can take over my brain for so, so much time as a, you know, working dad. And I want to spend the next few months in the intuitive, creative space making visual art in the way that doesn't make sense. And I want to do that because I can often get way into this part of the process and realize, oh, I haven't even let myself be there at all yet. I've been trying to get it done. And so I'm going to do some of the sketches in coffee shops because that really feels good.
- [20:25]
Andy J. Pizza
I'm so happy for you.
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Sophie Miller
This is cry. I'm not going to.
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Andy J. Pizza
You can. Really.
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Sophie Miller
I'm not. I. Well, I did, but I'm not going to now. And so, yeah, that's. I really want to just be the art side of myself.
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah.
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Sophie Miller
Over the next.
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Andy J. Pizza
So you want to be present in the process.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And not just chugging along in the.
- [20:51]
Sophie Miller
Visual art side, which is the symbolic side. It's the, you know, dreamy side. It's the non rational side I want to do. I want to get back in touch with that. And I don't Want to miss it?
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah. Kind of like a creative retreat, but within your own life still. But yes. Just making. Making those boundaries.
- [21:10]
Sophie Miller
Yep. So that's mine.
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Andy J. Pizza
Love it.
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Sophie Miller
What's yours?
- [21:14]
Andy J. Pizza
I guess after all, I talked about dropping my kids off at school and then like loving the space to be me. Yeah. You know, it's been quite a few years now of the kids been in school, all in school all day.
- [21:30]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And now I think we're in a season where I have found roles to contribute. I found roles to be creative. And I'm at a point where I don't want to miss the season our family is in.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
Not to get too personal and kind of like random, but like right now we have a kid in elementary, a kid in middle, and a kid in high school.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And it just feels like it's really cool season where we've kind of got one of each.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
You know, and this is my favorite.
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Sophie Miller
Time being a parent. So fun so far.
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Andy J. Pizza
Honestly, it's. It's so. It's not easy, like.
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Sophie Miller
No.
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Andy J. Pizza
It's probably the most busy we've ever been.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
But it's really fun.
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Sophie Miller
Like, you're just so freaking cool.
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Andy J. Pizza
I know.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And we're in a season where if I remember to like be open and to not kind of like be stuck in my head or stuck in what I'm doing, if I remember to really let them in, I. I just realized that I am so inspired by them. And I was thinking about each of them. So our oldest is in high school and even just last night she's doing all this theater. She's got this friend group. She was lead singer in a band last night. And I'm just like, who are you? Like, it's just this like a 16 year old. It's just like the, the you feel they're so like on the verge between childhood and adulthood. And it's very, very inspiring as an adult to see this person form what they want to be as an adult and what they think makes a good adult. And yeah, it honestly, she blows my mind like all the time. And she's overcome things it took me literally almost 40 years to overcome. And she's 16, you know, so. And then our middle schooler like, like really inspires us with their just quiet gentleness and, and sort of their heart and their way of being able to take things in their stride. Like, oh, I just wish I was like that. And the, you know, this kid's poetry and drawing, like just that pure artistry that like we witness daily with this kid is very inspiring. And then, last but not least, this kid, that firecracker. The firecracker, that's Tiny Tim. And it's a funny Tiny Tim. It's like part comedy, parting prov kind of show. And it's a Tiny Tim that's constantly trying to be the star of the show. Yeah. Which is so funny. But, you know, this kid is the kid that's like a little bit like, not taking life as it comes. Like, they're like the kid that's like, why. Why does it have to be like this? Like, this is. This is like absolute nonsense. Like, who made this rule and why do I follow it? And it's so inspiring to. To be child. Oh, God, I hear my words. Inspiring to be challenged by that logic.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And it is. And, you know, like, literally inspired our next book. And it's this kid who, you know, there's lots of kids books and there's lots of kind of kid conversations about what you're going to be when you grow up. Right. And, you know, it. It's become something I think a lot about is like, why do kids think about growing up? Like, why are they. Why are they not being present? Why are we not letting kids be present in being kids?
- [25:10]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And I realized it's kind of a burden on them, too, because our youngest said to us one night, I don't know if she said it just to me or if you were there, I can't remember, but she said something about just like, this really jaded idea about growing up of, like, well, what is there even left to do?
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
Like.
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Sophie Miller
Like, everything's been done.
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Andy J. Pizza
Everything's been done.
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Sophie Miller
It's been discovered.
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Andy J. Pizza
We've just got. We've. We've discovered everything. And we were like, you know, to hear that was, like, so sad. And you could see that that's the energy she was taking through life was like, I'm just doing what I gotta do to get through. But there's no. There's like. There's no. What's the word? Like, not no hope, but there's. They didn't feel. And they didn't feel like they had purpose.
- [26:00]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
They didn't see their purpose in the world. And I just thought, no, I don't want to live in a world. And it inspired me, this kid listening to this kid in the present moment say, I don't know what I'm. What there is for me to do when I grow up.
- [26:14]
Sophie Miller
And so much of our work and my drive as a creative has been connected to feeling that same way when I was a kid, feeling like the world was given to me, like a solved equation at school, and then learning with how wild our universe, how untrue that is. And so that just fired us up.
- [26:34]
Andy J. Pizza
Yes.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And so I do think, you know, being present with that kid this year helped fuel our fire for. And I won't speak for you exactly, but it fueled my fire for why do I want to be this adult that's writing kids for books? Writing kids for books. Writing books for kids.
- [26:57]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
What I. That was one of those really weird moments where you're like, what happened?
- [27:05]
Sophie Miller
What does that mean?
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Andy J. Pizza
You know, why do I want to be this adult that writes books for kids?
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
And what am I saying to them? And, you know, no spoilers, because we were not ready to share it yet, but we are working on the next kids book, and it's very much inspired by this problem.
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Sophie Miller
Yeah.
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Andy J. Pizza
What is there left? What is there in the world?
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Sophie Miller
Like, what's the one spoiler, though, is. There's a lot.
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Andy J. Pizza
There's a lot.
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Sophie Miller
There's a lot.
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Andy J. Pizza
Yeah.
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Sophie Miller
Are you ready for the number three? Because I can segue into it.
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Andy J. Pizza
Can you? The.
- [27:55]
Sophie Miller
I don't know. I think so. I was feeling confident till you questioned it.
- [27:58]
Andy J. Pizza
See if you can say it right.
- [28:00]
Sophie Miller
Okay. This idea of why we make books for kids gets into my last answer a little bit. So the ghost of creative future, why.
- [28:17]
Andy J. Pizza
Is it so hot?
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Sophie Miller
It's really hard. Every time I say ghost of, even though I'm going into it, I just instantly want to say it wrong. Ghost of creative future, what's the question?
- [28:27]
Andy J. Pizza
Okay. If we're being present in our lives and in our creativity, this next ghost is about future, which is ideal for the new year.
- [28:37]
Sophie Miller
Yep.
- [28:38]
Andy J. Pizza
And the question is, if you really lean into this creative season, what could it make possible?
- [28:44]
Sophie Miller
Yeah. This question gets at the thing that's the through line is embracing the season you're in. Hopefully you're taking a little bit of a break, even if it's really short, even if it's a couple days off to step back from the thick of what you're doing and get a little bit of perspective so that you can really embrace the season and the reason that you're in it. And so for me, I wanted to reflect on with this question. I wanted to reflect on what if I really. What's the incentive to really taking this seriously and seeing the meaning of it? What could that make possible? So I was thinking about, kind of related to my answer about the present If I do really get present in this art practice that I'm trying to slip into and embody, what could come from that. Now in the new year, we're going to talk about intrinsic motivation. We're going to talk about getting into the next episodes are going to be about remembering why we make creative work on a self level, not an audience level, but. Or a career level but like, why do you care about this? And, and so I, I was trying to come into this question through that angle, not thinking, oh, well, if we really crushed this book, what kind of sales could we get? What kind of, you know, what, all these external markers. I was trying not to go there and instead think, you know, if I really put my taste and heart and passion into the page, what will happen? And I'll get on. I'll come out the other side with a book that I've been trying to make my whole life. In a way, it's a. It is themes and things that I've wanted to explore and the kind of kids book that I've wanted to make, wanted to have the permission to make because tonally and thematically, it's right in the center of my taste and not really in the center of culture most of the time. Like it feels absent and so. And it feels weird. It's like. And so if I allow myself to go all the way in, then what's possible is I might make one of my favorite things I've ever made. And I also might make, related to what you were saying, something for, you know, for, for all kids to enjoy, but especially the weird kids that maybe don't feel like stuff's made for them. And so that really touches on that, like, why to make books for kids. So that's my answer.
- [31:35]
Andy J. Pizza
Yeah, I think.
- [31:37]
Sophie Miller
Does that make sense?
- [31:38]
Andy J. Pizza
Yeah.
- [31:38]
Sophie Miller
Okay.
- [31:39]
Andy J. Pizza
I think also thinking like riffing from the present, I think for me this year with all of the challenges and like trying to kind of like not. I mean, in the past I would want to shy away from them a little bit or just like quit things and take the easy route. Trying to hit things head on and go for things. It's taught me this kind of growth mindset of, okay, when I'm challenged, all I need to do is be present. And these are the ways that I can be present that spark creativity for me, if I lean into that creativity, what it feel, what feels possible is pretty much limited.
- [32:27]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [32:27]
Andy J. Pizza
Unlimited.
- [32:28]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [32:30]
Andy J. Pizza
What feel possible? I can't say that sentence. What feels possible when I'm feeling that creative feeling. So for Me, it's, you know, if I am in my garden or if I'm painting and like kind of getting in a trans state or if I'm going on a long walk and like letting my eyes dart around things, that's really being present. And when I am that kind of present, I have this insane growth, mindset shift that I feel. I feel like limitless.
- [33:09]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [33:09]
Andy J. Pizza
And I feel infinite. And I feel like there are. There are so many ideas that come to me that I feel like I don't need to worry about how or what. Like it's all right there.
- [33:23]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [33:24]
Andy J. Pizza
And so, yeah, I think I'm in this really early stage of being and doing lots of things that as long as I remember, like how to ground myself in how I am inspired, it feels like all kinds of things are possible. Possible. Yeah. And I've also sort of fallen in love with collaboration and working with others, which is not something I've crazily ever really done or not for a long time. And there's even ways that like this year, there are these different versions of me. You know, there's me as the fiber artist, there's me as the mom, me as the writer, me as the speaker person who's somehow doing that. Like me who works on the podcast. And there's even these layers of kind of the possibilities of how all these different me's could collaborate with each other, how all these different me's could come together. Feels pretty limitless. And it's. And it's a really good feeling. Like.
- [34:34]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [34:35]
Andy J. Pizza
To feel like there are, there are lots of possibilities. I think I'm just in that really early phase of, of things where it feels kind of exciting still and, and open, trying to stay open, you know.
- [34:50]
Sophie Miller
But I love that because, you know, this question. I was, I liked the question, but I was nervous that it might take us to achievement oriented things. And it's. There's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of power in having specific measurable goals. And we've talked about that a lot on the show and we have for years, but I've just felt a push to ground myself in these more intrinsic places. And we both took it to, to that of like, what's possible is that we do something we're proud of. What's possible for you is a feeling. It's just an experience of if you lean into this season, you will experience this now.
- [35:38]
Andy J. Pizza
Yes. And it's almost like a idea. You can speak to yourself and say, you know, you can say like, I'm Infinite. Like, I'm limited. Like, and it's Connie to say this out loud.
- [35:49]
Sophie Miller
Unlimited.
- [35:51]
Andy J. Pizza
Did I say limited? I'm limited in some ways, but yeah, I'm not. I'm not walking.
- [35:58]
Sophie Miller
You're limited.
- [35:59]
Andy J. Pizza
Not walking around with mantra.
- [36:02]
Sophie Miller
Remember, you have limitations.
- [36:03]
Andy J. Pizza
I know you feel limited. No, you're unlimited and infinite. And there are possibilities and there are. And that's even empowering when things are going wrong.
- [36:14]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [36:15]
Andy J. Pizza
When things are going wrong, there are, you know, believing there are other options, believing there are all kinds of possible futures. That's how future oriented I kind of want to be at this point because, you know. Yeah, it just. It feels more empowering than an actual literal goal.
- [36:36]
Sophie Miller
Yeah, I love it. Let's bring it home. I didn't know what you were going to think of this last part. I really don't.
- [36:43]
Andy J. Pizza
I have. Did you like it? Yeah, I have something that I thought of.
- [36:47]
Sophie Miller
Okay. So the last thing I wanted to do, this is kind of the CTA is to take this reflection and then to see if you can. I find it really powerful to move beyond the linguistic side of your brain with all the big pile of words that we got here and put it into an image or a picture or a more of a symbol so that you can take it with you and it can speak to the deeper part of yourself that is that pre lingual, intuitive self. And so for me, the thing that I thought of, what I wanted to do was say, okay, take all this, all of this feeling and try to boil it down to what's something you want to take with you as you move into the. Into the new year so you don't forget this moment that you had in reflection. If you can't. If you came across something that was really powerful or something that you really want to take seriously. What is a symbol that you can bring with you into the new year so that you don't lose touch with it, because you will inevitably, like, I will go into the new year and start working on this book and get into the hustle of it and just try to meet the deadlines and all that stuff. And I started thinking about what could help me remember what my intention was. And I came up with this idea of that. In the movie Spirited Away, the lead character enters this spirit world and when she comes back, she has with her after she exits it, after she exits, you're like, was that a dream? Was that just an imaginary thing like it? You know, she goes right back to her regular world, but she brings this hair tie that's like a sparkly hair tie that one of the other characters gave her in the spirit world. And you can see it, and it sparkles in the sun in the last scene. And so you're like, oh, it was real. Like. And so for me, I thought, like, I'm going to get myself a bracelet that reminds me of that. So that every time I see it, I remember, like, I was serious about getting into that deeper intuitive space. And when I was doing that questionnaire, I felt it. It was real, and I want to tap into that. So for me, it's. The hair tie from Spirited Away is going to be my symbol that I'm going to take into the new year.
- [39:16]
Andy J. Pizza
I just changed mine.
- [39:20]
Sophie Miller
What's another example of that, by the way? There's. There's other examples of, like, where the character comes back from a dream world. Like, I don't know. I don't think it happens in wizard of Oz, but, like, that kind of thing where if she came back with the ruby red slippers or, I don't know if anyone comes to you.
- [39:36]
Andy J. Pizza
I don't know.
- [39:36]
Sophie Miller
But that's the one I thought of.
- [39:38]
Andy J. Pizza
So I had a different idea of what this question meant.
- [39:40]
Sophie Miller
Okay.
- [39:41]
Andy J. Pizza
But I just found a different one based on what you said.
- [39:44]
Sophie Miller
Do whatever you want.
- [39:45]
Andy J. Pizza
I might do both.
- [39:46]
Sophie Miller
Do both.
- [39:48]
Andy J. Pizza
So the first one is when I think about, like, the. The. What am I. What am I bringing.
- [39:54]
Sophie Miller
Yeah. Into the outside of this exercise.
- [39:58]
Andy J. Pizza
I think back in that season where I was tipping over from being home to being on my own kind of creative journey. I was. That was when I kind of, like, started to really love hiking and walks. And it was a symbol for me of kind of having freedom to be able to do walks. But also it had become this symbol of inspiration. And I think it was right around that time where you bought me a walking stick for Christmas.
- [40:36]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [40:36]
Andy J. Pizza
And growing up, my grandparents had these walking sticks that were covered in medallions from all the different hikes that they'd done. And I. I just. When you said your token, I immediately saw the walking stick that you bought me, and I just thought, oh, I need to put that out in the main floor of our house or in our bedroom corner or something. And the, you know, the sad thing is, I've had this walking stick for years. We have had adventures, but I haven't put anything. It has no marks on it yet. It has no medallions. But I just love this idea of this walking stick. Reminder of all of the space on this stick is all of the future adventures that are there to be had so good. And eventually, like, as time goes on, it'll be connected to past and more. Maybe more past than future. But right now, it's future because it's empty.
- [41:32]
Sophie Miller
Yeah. That's a great symbol for possibility.
- [41:36]
Andy J. Pizza
Right?
- [41:37]
Sophie Miller
Limitlessness.
- [41:38]
Andy J. Pizza
Yes.
- [41:38]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [41:39]
Andy J. Pizza
Adventure. Future adventure. Before you. Before you said yours, I had not thought about it as being something outside of words.
- [41:49]
Sophie Miller
Right.
- [41:50]
Andy J. Pizza
So I hadn't. I. I did see it as, you know, I like. I do like all of the new year prompts of kind of mood boards and vision boards. And one thing that I think we talked about last year, maybe. I'm not sure, but for a few years, I've really liked the prompt of the word of the year. Like, corny as it is, like, and I like it. I just really like it. Like, there's something about this real. Taking just one single word and just holding onto it all year. And so when you said that, it reminded me. I was sat at home when I. When I was reading these prompts, and I thought about, one of the ornaments on the tree is one I made last year. And it was a day that I'd gone to my friend's studio, their art studio, and typical me fashion, I took all of my sewing supplies, all my fabrics, all my threads, didn't have a single needle. So I was so annoyed, and I could not. There was nothing I could figure out doing without a needle.
- [42:53]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [42:54]
Andy J. Pizza
And so this tiny thing, I'd forgotten. And so after I, you know, hours later, after I got over the fact that I couldn't do it, my friend was like, why don't you just, like, dig into my supplies and make something? And so I was like, oh, that sounds painful. But I did it. And I made this Christmas ornament, and it's now on the tree. And so this time last year, I made an ornament. And it is very much where I was at last year. And I can, like. It feels like a marker of time of, like, who I was right then. And, you know, our book had just come out. I was trying to own that as, like, my, you know, you know, my job or whatever. And so I made this ornament, and it is collaged with pages from old books and, like, lots of kind of, like, green pieces and trees and, like, very me kind of imagery.
- [43:47]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [43:48]
Andy J. Pizza
But then it felt like you needed one more thing. So I, like, went over and dug in her box of papers again. And she had these, you know, like, the rolls of raffle tickets that are, like, they. They almost don't look like they're a real thing. They look like they're something. Yeah.
- [44:04]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [44:04]
Andy J. Pizza
She had those, but each of them had one word on them. I don't know where she got them, but they were cool. And one of them just like stood out to me right away. And it just said the word starry.
- [44:14]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [44:14]
Andy J. Pizza
And I was like, I'm going to put this on this arm and as a marker of like, maybe my word of the year. Like maybe just this thing I'm going to hold on to.
- [44:26]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [44:26]
Andy J. Pizza
And it was really cool when we put the tree up this year to have my word of the year have to be hung on the tree like a few weeks before the end of the year was like. It was like a really visual, tactile example.
- [44:44]
Sophie Miller
I think this is the cta.
- [44:45]
Andy J. Pizza
It was just this tactile example of I had to physically take it out of a box. But I'd set it to intention and then I got to review it and I saw it with fresh eyes.
- [44:55]
Sophie Miller
The idea of an ornament. If you. If you have ornaments, if you have a tree.
- [44:59]
Andy J. Pizza
Right.
- [44:59]
Sophie Miller
Something like. But you could also just do it as a holiday decoration.
- [45:02]
Andy J. Pizza
And you could even just like.
- [45:04]
Sophie Miller
So cool. Because you get them out right at the end of the year.
- [45:07]
Andy J. Pizza
Right. When you're thinking about a time capsule.
- [45:09]
Sophie Miller
Make that. And then you put it away in January and then you're going to get it back out and it's going to be a perfect time.
- [45:14]
Andy J. Pizza
It was a one year time capsule.
- [45:16]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [45:17]
Andy J. Pizza
And when I saw it, I felt all those words that I've already talked about in this episode. I felt the challenge of owning stories and writing stories and I felt all the stories I'd had. And then I also could just feel how much I'd grown since I made the ornament.
- [45:36]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [45:37]
Andy J. Pizza
When I was so afraid to even own the word starry as a word that was mine to hold in any way. And now I didn't feel like that.
- [45:45]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [45:45]
Andy J. Pizza
And so this memento that I'd been able to give space to, it helped me reflect it, like triggered memories. And it. And it just like a song can. And just like it kind of a holiday recipe can bring you back to other times when that. That has been there. Like this ornament took me back to that just one year ago when I made it. And I was able to really clarify what I'd gone through since and what I had grown.
- [46:15]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [46:16]
Andy J. Pizza
From sins. And it really inspired me to consider what the next intention might be and feeling confident that it can be A bold one. It can be one that you're not sure. It's a stretch goal of a word and maybe you'll still feel good about it at the end of the year. You'll feel like you did it somehow.
- [46:38]
Sophie Miller
Yeah, that's really good. I'm going to. Now I'm going to be thinking about that. I don't have it off the top of my head, but I'm going to be thinking about what mine would be.
- [46:45]
Andy J. Pizza
So. Yeah, so we've got. So we've got like the token item, but then we've also got like a word. And obviously you can't do what I did in retros. Actively give yourself a word a year ago and then reflect on it.
- [47:00]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [47:00]
Andy J. Pizza
But you can give yourself a word now for next year and maybe you. Maybe you put a reminder in your phone. This time next year, the word is this.
- [47:11]
Sophie Miller
Or if you have holiday decorations.
- [47:13]
Andy J. Pizza
Right. Put it in your holiday box. Yeah. Yeah.
- [47:16]
Sophie Miller
Cool.
- [47:16]
Andy J. Pizza
Something that, like, you know, you, you will. It will be brought to the front of your attention visually or even just a reminder to reassess.
- [47:25]
Sophie Miller
Yeah.
- [47:26]
Andy J. Pizza
Because it is surprising how different you can feel in a year.
- [47:29]
Sophie Miller
Yeah. Amazing. All right. All right. That was a ton of fun. Good luck finding your symbol and or word for reconnecting to your reason for this next creative season. And thank you so much for listening and supporting the show. Quick heads up. We have a creative pep rally. Zoom Meetup with the creative community that listens to this show and supports this show. January 26, 2025 at 9:00am ET. And we're going to be talking about the new series, which is all about getting back into the creative spirit, reconnecting to your creative spirit. Reconnecting to that intrinsic motivation that makes you want to make work. Whether anybody else sees it, whether anybody else cares, whether it affects your career or not. That's what we're going to be all about in the new year. So if you sign up and become a supporter on Patreon or Substack, you can join us. The link to register will be in one of the latest posts and you'll get a few notifications about that. Would love to see you there. These have been a great space to discuss the ideas that we're going through on the podcast and apply them directly to your creative practice. These. I really have enjoyed meeting up with you and getting to know you and it's just been really great. So I hope to see you there. I'm your host, Andy J. Pizza. I'm a New York Times best selling author and illustrator. This show is all about everything I'm learning about building and maintaining a thriving creative practice. Thanks to Sophie Miller for joining me today for being an editor and producer of the show. Thanks to Connor Jones for sound design and audio editing. Huge thanks to Yoni Wolf of the band Y for our theme music and soundtrack. And of course, thanks to all of you for listening. We love you. We appreciate you. We hope you get some rest and reconnect to that creative spirit before going into the New Year. And until we speak again, stay pepped up.
- [50:07]
Andy J. Pizza
I did consider Barney a friend and he's still a friend to this day. The idea of Barney is something that I want to live up to. You know I love you, you love me. I call it the Purple Mantra.
- [50:21]
Sophie Miller
Barney taught me how to be a man. Generation Barney a podcast about the media we loved as kids and how it shapes us. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
- [50:38]
Zibby Owens
From Academy Award winning actor Matthew McConaughey's soulful and humorous picture book to New York Times best selling author Kristin Hannah's the Women Moms don't have Time to Read Books is an author interview podcast unlike any other. In 30 minutes or less, each episode of this chart topping and Webby Award winning show dives deep beneath the COVID fostering friendship and camaraderie, support and curiosity, connection and compassion. Hosted by me, Zibby Owens, author, bookstore owner and head of what the LA Times called the Zibbyverse, Moms don't have Time to Read Books has something for everyone, whether you're a mom like me or simply a busy reader. So don't miss out. Follow Moms don't have Time to Read Books on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening now, new episodes are released every weekday, bringing books to life.