Austin KleonRecensioner

I love reading books for creative people because I believe (quite firmly!) that all entrepreneurs are artists. They may not be able to paint worth a damn, but entrepreneurs create beautiful things, even if it has no aesthetic value.

And some of us entrepreneurs are creatives too--artists, writers, musicians, knitters--the list goes on and on.

And just like a sculptor should show her work, so too should an entrepreneur.

Austin Kleon outlines 10 ways an artist can show her work, and I would argue that every one of these tips works for entrepreneurs too:

1) You don't have to be a genius
2) Think process, not product
3) Share something small every day
4) Open up your cabinet of curiosities
5) Tell good stories
6) Teach what you know
7) Don't turn into human spam
8) Learn to take a punch
9) Sell out
10) Stick around

I especially love this quote about being part of a "scenius"--where a group of creative individuals birth great ideas, and how online communities can foster a scenius.

"Online, everyone--the artist and the creator, the master and the apprentice, the expert and the amateur--has the ability to contribute something." p. 12

A short, powerful book! Highly recommend to artists and entrepreneurs, and everyone in between.

This is really fabulous.

He is funny, wise as hell, and every small page glows with powerful inspiration. Not cheesy, but right to the heart. I hate turning it back in to the library, so might have to break down and get a copy to dip into, in those times of weirdness and doubt that all creators slog through.

This book has a great overall message and provides a general set of guidelines that's worth applying to your creative process. As someone struggling with writer's block pretty much every day, I found some of the reminders well-timed and refreshing. But that's why I also think the title is inaccurate, if not pretentious - the "10 things nobody told you" are most likely things you've heard of or told yourself before, things you might have forgotten for a moment while desperately searching for new ideas.

On another note, writing-wise, the book feels like it lacks some critical essence. There's a lot of sayings from famous people sprinkled throughout, and even paraphrased in every other (very short) paragraph, and I found myself paying more attention to the quotes themselves than what the author himself had to say. And there wasn't much of the latter. Sure, perhaps it's in the spirit of the book that he's deriving his message from those of the greats, because no one comes up with anything from scratch, but after a point I just felt like I was reading an unceasing sequence of quotes with a little filler holding them together, like scrolling through a bunch of inspirational pins on Pinterest. It's almost as though the author himself didn't make it through step 1 of his list - he still seems to be "stealing" from the words of others as a crutch, and has not yet discovered his own voice.

I'm not sure if there's a recommended age for this book - admittedly, I've had it for a few years myself and just never got around to it - but having finally read it, I'd personally recommend it to kids or young teens just beginning their creative pursuits. The text is short and easy to understand, and provides a bit of encouragement to beginning artists, etc.; it therefore serves as a good starting point if you're feeling lost, but doesn't do much else beyond that. Granted, a general direction is about all a self-help book can provide. I just wasn't a fan of the way this one was written - I'd rather read an entire memoir on the author's creative journey than a jumbled collection of advice from famous people. Perhaps he too could take a page from his own book, and evolve his creative process so that it no longer hinges strictly on the words and deeds of others.

There's something to be said for picking up the right book at the right time. KEEP GOING is precisely what I needed at this phase in my life. As I write this, we're in the third wave of what seems to be a never-ending pandemic. A year in, my creative output has suffered like never before. I picked up this book expecting more of what's already so abundant in our media-laden world. Pithy quotes, vague "advice" couched in condescending language, and the same old ideas rehashed to death.

Instead, I found practical and infinitely approachable tips, tactics, and suggestions for actually leading a creative life in good times and in bad (just like the subtitle promises). I thought Kleon's previous books were fun but ultimately forgettable. This one, however, knocked me over the head with unexpected wisdom for a life philosophy that seems both urgent and incredibly relevant. I'm so grateful I grabbed this when I did. It's found a permanent spot on my home library shelf.

This book landed in my lap at just the right time. I recently had a conversation with a friend about sharing techniques and the behind-the-scenes progress of our work. Maybe we're both old school, but we marvel at people who can share their "professional secrets" openly, without fear of their competition getting ahead based on that hard-earned knowledge.

Kleon's take on showing your work is rooted in the spirit of generosity and openness. He encourages artists to show every part of their process, because hey, maybe someone else could learn something too. This is so different from the way I've been taught to operate, and it's definitely going to require a mindset shift.

While I didn't find this book as thought provoking as STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST, I came away with a few great tidbits I can apply immediately, which is always a plus. I found it a quick, motivating, inspiring read, and I will definitely read more of Kleon's work in the future.

What a fabulous little book! It might be short on content, but it's long on wisdom - and that's exactly what I was hoping for when I picked it up. This is the kind of book I'll be reading over and over again. I got through it in under an hour, and that includes all the times I stopped to take notes, but I found myself nodding and smiling along every time I turned the page. Austin Kleon offers the kind of advice all artists would benefit from. It's straight-forward, no-nonsense advice, but with a touch of whimsy and humor. Basically, Austin gets us because he IS one of us. The book is both practical and inspirational, and it's found a permanent place on my keeper shelf.

Short but a beautiful book. I love Austin Kleon’s prolific newsletter and his style of works. This is a good read for anyone who wants to build and ship thing. Not only artists, this book is for software developers or marketers or people running business. This is a well produced book that you can pick up anytime to equalise a dull-boring-stuck-in-the-rut situation into a refreshing moment.

I loved Austin Kleon's previous book, "Steal Like An Artist", and this book is even better. These chapters in particular had me hooked - Identify your fellow knuckle ballers
- The Vampire Test
- Talk about yourself at parties

Common sense is not so common. This book is about uncommon commonsense.
Very effective. Very engaging.

In large white reversed type spread across two undersized black pages, each chapter begins with a simple and often counter-intuitive thought.

The square-shaped book isn’t quite pocket-sized, though it’s close.

The first chapter begins with a minimalist and powerful diagram that asks “Is it worth stealing?”

We borrow ideas. We aren’t the first to create with paper, canvas, clay, or even a computer. Even when those ideas seemed new, artists built work based on ideas that came before them.

The idea here isn’t to plagiarise, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s about giving up on worry.

Stop worrying that it’s not good enough. We are our own worst critics.

Austin explains beautifully how we are all a unique remix of our parents. Our art is a unique mashup of our influences. Become a selective collector of influences. Concentrate on keeping what you love and throw out the rest.

Studies show that a focus on love helps us generate new ideas.

Look for who your favorite artists loved and who loved them and take from them what you like best.

I only wish I'd written it myself.
I shared [b:Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative|13099738|Steal Like an Artist 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative|Austin Kleon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388177651s/13099738.jpg|18272194] with a friend. She bought her own copy and this title as well and shared it with me.

Kleon continues serving up simple yet profound ideas in ways both wise and design-clever. The book format and content structure work so well I'm hoping to emulate them in a book of my own.

"If, after hanging out with someone you feel worn out and depleted, that person is a vampire. If, after hanging out with someone you still feel full of energy, that person is not a vampire. ... Vampires cannot be cured. Should you find yourself in the presence of a vampire...banish it from your life forever."

Elegant in simplicity and self-effacing in tone, Kleon's collected wisdom on the creative life left me wishing I'd written something just like it! Thankfully, I did the next best thing: read it. After digesting it myself, I shared it with Ken. Like me, he found the book satisfying and wants to add a copy to our personal library.

What word -- unlike encouraging or inspiring -- is fresh? If you think of it let me know because I want to add it to my review.

Favorite support quote (of many laced into Kleon's spare text):

"Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everthing must be said again." ~ Andre Gide

True. So in case you weren't listening -- or, like me, took a mouthful of crunchy granola just as sage life lessons were intoned -- take heart. Austin Kleon was not eating or napping and wrote them all down in a nifty book that's available at most bookstores (and public libraries).

The book has a very good message and its presented in a cute way. It's a fairly short book.

I've always had the feeling of "why would I share my work and interests?! The internet is full of everything. It's better to come up with something spectacular to share."

This book goes against this and it started to change my mind.

The most useful things (for me) from the book can be found in this blog post.

Yeah, I liked it. Because art is all about taking what you find in life and using it to make your own stuff. There is no such thing as cultural appropriation in art, IMHO. It's all grist for the mill.

Got to know about this book(Steal Like an Artist) a few months ago from a video by Ali Abdaal who is a doctor by profession. He creates videos on productivity, how to use your time productively throughout the day. He talked about this book in one of his videos. This book is written by Austin Kleon. Writer Austin told 10 things about being creative in the book. He wrote that no art is original rather art is created taking concepts from many. “It is plagiarism if you copy from one, and it is research if you copy from many” – He said. He wrote many practical tips about how to be creative. And the main tip is to copy from many until you find and develop your skill. Here are the 10 things Nobody told us about being creative.

1. Steal Like an Artist.

2. Don’t Wait Until You Know Who You Are to Get Started.

3. Write the Book You Want to Read.

4. Use Your Hands.

5. Side Projects and Hobbies Are Important.

6. The Secret: Do Good Work and Share It with People.

7. Geography Is No Longer Our Master.

8. Be Nice. (The World Is a Small Town.)

9. Be Boring. (It’s the Only Way to Get Work Done.)

10. Creativity Is Subtraction.

Breezy and inspirational read with great advice on putting your work out there. Show your work, dammit!

Bought the 10th anniversary edition, after having read this book when it first came out. Enjoyed the re-read much more than the first time. Good, straightforward advice about starting a creative practice, good for anyone who wants to create anything. Added it to my permanent shelf, as I'm sure I'll enjoy another re-read at some point.

Update: read it again for a third time to make sure it was right as a gift, and enjoyed it even more.

Full of self assured advice, but still informative and inspiring if you take it with the usual grains of salt.

Basically, the second part (and a slightly minor one) of Steal like an artist.

A greatly simple and straightforward book on cultivating a positive creative habit, no matter what's your job or what are your expectation, this is about getting interested in the world, working hard, keep on learning. As Walker Evans famously said: "Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long".

Ha! Worked in one more book in 2013!

This little book is a very fast read, but I think it has some good thoughts in it. One might say "it's just motivational blah-blah-blah", but sometimes that is just fine. Sometimes it is what you need. I am interested in creativity and the creative process, and Kleon has some good things to say on those topics. I dug it.

This is the book that frees you up to be the artist you want to be, even--or especially--if that means you are imitating (what Kleon calls "stealing") your heroes. Don't let criticism, finances, or fear get in the way. Just create that thing, stealing from the greats along the way, and make your mark on the world.

I've read a lot of books on writing, from Stephen King's "On Writing" (indispensable) to "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield (I love this book), Jeff Vandermeer's "Wonderbook" (weird and inspirational) to a "Reading Like a Writer" by Francis Prose, and a whole host of practical books on mechanics (think "The Scribner Handbook for Writers," for example). There are a plethora of books on writing out there. So why do we need one more?

Trust me, we need one more. Or at least, it doesn't hurt. Kleon's is so light and accessible, you could almost forget that writing is actually hard, that it requires effort, and that the ideas don't just flow out of your fingers. But you might feel that way after you read it. You might remember the idea you had while reading an article last week, or the inspiration that came while sitting in traffic, or the feelings that a certain novel created as you read past your bedtime.

Yeah, it's got that effect. It might make you want to go out and create something.

Maybe even something you've stolen from one of the greats.

Wenn kreative Menschen mitteilen, wie kreativ sie sind und jeder es sein könnte, dann ist dies ein dickes Lob wert. Hier wird einem Zitat von Voltaire entsprochen, dass hinter jedem Original meist nur eine Kopie lauert - und dies völlig normal ist. Recyceln und neu aufbereiten, klauen, den eigenen Weg finden - es dürfte eher der Realität entsprechen als all jene, die glauben echte Originale zu sein und die Weisheit zum ersten Mal auszusprechen. Bestes Zitat: Do not let your longings unattened. Lassen Sie Ihre Sehnsüchte nicht unbeaufsichtigt. Schnell gelesen, dieses Geschenk, es ermutigt und öffnet neue Ideen.

This was a re-read. I first read it when it was originally published and enjoyed it. I am in a different line of work now and upon reading it again, found much inspiration and motivation within.