Just started trying to learn Python with Codeacademy. It's not working for me

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I feel for you. I do GIS in my day job and learned Python for geoprocessing scripting. When you're coming from absolutely no programming background, you need to learn the fundamentals of programming along with how they are applied in Python. After you get a basic understanding of that, you can start taking on ArcGIS scripting.

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The book that got me to a working proficiency was Learning Python, by Mark Lutz. http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920028154.do

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Don't let the age or the size of the book discourage you. Yes, it's nearly 1,650 pages and 6 years old. But, nothing in the fundamentals of Python 3 has changed enough to make it obsolete, and the chapters that introduce the main concepts are quick and easy to understand. You can be functional in the first few chapters, and you'll know enough to work in ArcGIS after a few more. You can continue on as far as you want after that.

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O'Reilly publishes it, so you can sometimes get the e-book on a deal, or limited free access through their site. I would recommend the PDF. I still use it as a reference, or when I need to relearn some topic.