[5][6] While growing up, "Rizzo was [once] told by a [high school] guidance counselor that he didn't have the intelligence for college."

He later became a comedian,[7][8] and was roommate to Drew Carey, had Dennis Miller and Rosie O'Donnell open shows for him and shared the stage with Eddie Murphy, Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres before moving on to become a motivational speaker.

[4][6] In The Pittsburgh Press of June 2, 1983, Lenny Litman described Rizzo's comedy style as "whip-cracking satire cushioned with warm and funny stories.

[4] In an article published on December 08, 2006 by Oprah Radio (via Oprah.com), Mehmet Oz wrote that "Steve Rizzo is the author of Becoming a Humor Being, and the creator and executive producer of his own nationally syndicated PBS special.

[4][10] In the introduction of Rizzo's book, Get Your SHIFT Together: How to Think, Laugh, and Enjoy Your Way to Success in Business and in Life, published on the website of McGraw-Hill, Rizzo is described as "The Attitude Adjuster, is a personal development expert whose clients include American Airlines, BP, JPMorgan Chase, Scholastic, and Sprint, among others.

As a standup comic, he has headlined with many titans of comedy, including Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Drew Carey, and Ellen DeGeneres.

"[5] Rizzo was also a speaker at Surf Summit 13, an event organized jointly by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) and the Board Retailers Association (BRA), which was held in Los Cabos, Mexico in 2010; he made a presentation on The Atti-Tools for Success.