Book Summary, Creativity, Personal Growth

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon – Book Summary & HIghlights

Steal Like an Artist

About This Book

How do you be more creative and do your best work? Read “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon. This book will teach you how to find your influences, remix ideas, and share your work with the world. It’s a manifesto for being open, curious, and courageous. It’s for anyone who wants to express their unique perspective and succeed in the digital age.

Steal Like an Artist

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

  • Author :  Austin Kleon

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Workman Publishing Company; 1st edition (February 28, 2012)

  • Language ‏ : ‎ English

  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages

Buy Steal Like an Artist

3 Sentenses

  1. It is a book that shows you how to be more creative by stealing influence from other people.
  2. It teaches you how to find your influences, remix ideas, and share your work with the world.
  3. It is a book that helps you unlock your potential and do your best work.

5 Quotes

  1. "There’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that’s not worth stealing."
  2. "You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences."
  3. "It’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are."
  4. "Take time to be bored. Take time to mess around. Get lost. Wander. You never know where it’s going to lead you."
  5. "Follow the best people online—the people who are way smarter and better than you, the people who are doing the really interesting work. Pay attention to what they’re talking about, what they’re doing, what they’re linking to."

Who Is It For

Read this book if:

  • You want to learn how to steal from other people and turn it into your own work.
  • You want to be more open, more curious, and more courageous.
  • You need practical advice to apply to your own work and situation.
  • You are looking for your voice, your audience, and your peers who share your interests and passions.
  • You want to have fun, enjoy the process, and make a difference with your work.

Actionable Takeaways

💡 10 Ideas

  1. Learn by copying
    • Collect good ideas from everywhere, and keep a swipe file
    • Nothing is original, so remix and reimagine to discover your own path
    • Study your heroes and their influences, and see yourself as part of a creative lineage
  2. Don't wait, just start
    • Just start your work and do it every day
    • Fake it till you make it, and don't worry about finding your voice yet
  3. Write what you like:
    • Write what you want to read yourself
    • Don't write what you know or what you think people want to read
  4. Get physical with your work: your brain begins to think as you move
  5. Keep all your passions
    • Have side projects that make you happy and relaxed
    • Indulge in your hobbies, and let them feed each other and inform your work
  6. Do good work and share it
    • Wonder at something and invite others to wonder with you
    • Be generous with your secrets
  7. Find a place that stimulates
    • Build your own world around you and find your online scenius
    • Leave home, travel, see new places, meet new people
    • Expose yourself to different cultures and perspectives
  8. Be Nice (The World Is a Small Town)
    • Make friends, ignore enemies, say nice things about people, and don't pick fights
    • Don't seek approval or attention from others, don't let criticism get to your head
    • Keep a praise file in case you need a boost
  9. Be Boring (It's the Only Way to Get Work Done)
    • Take care of yourself, eat well, exercise, sleep enough, and stay healthy
    • Keep your day job, stick to your routine
    • Stay out of debt, learn about money, and live within your means
  10. Choose wisely
    • Cut out the unnecessary and focus on the essential
    • Place some constraints on yourself
    • Work with what you have, and don't make excuses for not working

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