Andy J. Pizza on How to Build a Creative Career as a Neurodivergent Artist

In this powerful two-part conversation, Stacie Bloomfield sits down with the ever-insightful and hilarious Andy J. Pizza, illustrator, speaker, and host of the beloved Creative Pep Talk podcast, for a candid discussion about what it really means to build a creative life that works for you. Part one of their conversation dives into identity, mental health, neurodivergence, and the often nonlinear path to creative success.

Creativity, Mental Health, and Making It Work For You

The heart of the conversation lies in both artists' honest exploration of how mental health and neurodivergence have shaped their creative paths. Andy, who lives with ADHD and other mental health conditions, sees his creative process as part career strategy, part self-preservation.

“I have all these different mental health things that I’ve tried to account for in my creative career path strategy,” he shares. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, Andy advocates for designing a life and work routine that aligns with who you really are.

Stacie opens up about her own journey with OCD, and how her brain’s need to obsessively dive into details once seemed like a flaw, but now fuels her art. “We can't replicate Andy’s life. We can't replicate mine. It has to be what serves you,” she says.

Self-Acceptance as a Creative Foundation

Andy reflects on his early days of making art while simultaneously trying to reject parts of himself, especially the aspects he associated with his estranged mother, who also likely had undiagnosed ADHD. “You can’t run away from yourself and self-express at the same time,” he says. It wasn’t until he began accepting and understanding his neurodivergence that he started creating work that truly felt authentic.

He shares a profound truth from one of his podcast series, Right Side Out: “You can’t make art you love if you hate yourself because art is self-expression. You’re never gonna love that expression if you hate the thing it’s an expression of, which is you.”

Therapy, Transformation, and Redefining Productivity

Both Andy and Stacie discuss the transformative role therapy has played in their lives. Stacie talks about breaking free from the punishing internal voice that had driven much of her career. “I was afraid to be happy as a creative,” she admits. “But when it can come from a place of joy and celebration, it’s way more fun. And fun is not bad.”

Andy agrees, explaining how he’s learned to work with his ADHD by embracing what works, like listening to a new playlist every time he runs, or switching up his creative routine regularly. “Same thing, different way, that’s how I make habits stick,” he says. He also jokes that being neurodivergent is like having an “evil elf” in your brain who sabotages you if you try to be too direct.

Letting Go of the “One Right Way”

Perhaps the most resonant theme from this episode is the rejection of rigid paths to success. “Everyone wants the formula,” Stacie says, recalling the years she tried to model her life after someone with a completely different rhythm and energy. But what works for someone else might not work for you—and that doesn’t mean you’re broken.

Andy offers an empowering alternative: pulsing between seasons of creativity, reflection, execution, and rest. “It’s not ‘this is the answer,’ it’s ‘this, then that.’ That’s how you build something sustainable.”

Final Thoughts: You Don’t Have to Earn the Right to Be Yourself

Stacie and Andy’s conversation is an invitation to trust your wiring, redefine success, and build a life that honors who you are. Whether you’re just starting out or 16 years into your creative business, this episode reminds us that the work is better, and life is richer, when you stop trying to be someone else and start leaning into the person you already are.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where Andy and Stacie explore the dance between intuition and structure, the myth of creative perfection, and why embracing messy starts, crockpot ideas, and whole-brain thinking might just be the secret to a fulfilling creative career.