Steal Like An Artist - Austin Kleon - Book Notes

📷 Snapshot Review

The first half of this book is full of pearls of wisdom that came to me at just the right time; insisting ‘it’s okay to copy’ until it’s ingrained in your mind like a monk’s mantra. The second half discusses how to be persistent and consistent, and how to ‘keep going’ (that sounds familiar, Austin) despite life and work inevitably getting in the way.

For me, the first few chapters were eye-opening, and gave me the kick I needed to take sharing content online more seriously. If you’re a little further along in your journey, the last few chapters may be just what you need to continue to “do good work and share it with people’.

✍️ Summary of Themes

The core theme of this book is simple – there are no original ideas, and it’s okay to assimilate other peoples’ ideas and publish them as your own. Chances are, the people you stole your ideas from, stole their ideas too. It’s right there in the Bible: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Now that we agree that it’s okay to steal other peoples’ ideas, it’s time to collate your sources, so you can curate them and create your own content. You are the sum of your influences, and your work will only be as good as the ideas you surround yourself with. What do your friends talk about? What do your colleagues talk about? Who do you follow on Twitter? Who do you subscribe to on YouTube? Which email newsletters do you subscribe to? (Pretty please sign up to my weekly newsletter ‘Three On Thursday’? 😇*)* Carefully sculpt your ‘content diet’ and you’ll always have an easily accessible stream of ideas which you can mix and match to create your own content.
Embrace your inner copycat. When we’re children we learn through imitation, we copy our parents, our friends, our heroes. As we get older we think we need to be unique and original. We say to ourselves, “I’m an adult now, I’ve chosen a career, I’ve chosen some hobbies, I know my personality and my values – I shouldn’t need to copy anyone, I should just be myself.” The whole premise of the book contradicts this common belief. It’s okay to copy. Renowned Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto puts it perfectly, “start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self.”

🙋🏼‍♂️ Who Should Read It?

Anyone who feels they’re not good enough to share content online. If you think you can’t share your work because you’re ‘not an expert’ or you have ‘no original ideas’; think again, and read this book.

💡 How Can I Apply This In My Life?

A checklist from information in the book:
[x] Figure out how to make a website.
[ ] Figure out blogging.
[ ] Figure out Twitter and social media and all that other stuff.
[ ] Find people on the Internet who love the same things as you and connect with them. Share things with them.
I didn’t realise until I came to write this book summary, but I completely ripped off a snippet from this book when coming up with the concept for my weekly email newsletter ‘Three On Thursday’. “Think about what you have to share that could be of some value to people. Share a handy tip you’ve discovered while working. Or a link to an interesting article. Mention a good book you’re reading.” If that sounds interesting, or you just want to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, please consider subscribing to my newsletter. I’ll thank Austin Kleon later.

💬 My Top 3 Quotes

The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.
If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.
I once heard the cartoonist Gary Panter say, “If you have one person you’re influenced by, everyone will say you’re the next whoever. But if you rip off a hundred people, everyone will say you’re so original!”

📒 Highlights & Notes

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.” —David Bowie

The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.

All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.

“There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

As the French writer André Gide put it, “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.” —William Ralph Inge

Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas.

You are the sum of your influences.

You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.

Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.

You have to be curious about the world in which you live. Look things up. Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else—that’s how you’ll get ahead.

Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. Get used to pulling it out and jotting down your thoughts and observations. Copy your favorite passages out of books. Record overheard conversations. Doodle when you’re on the phone.

NOTE: This is probably better done digitally. Check out my evergreen note on personal knowledge management.

In my experience, it’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.

“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self.” —Yohji Yamamoto

In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.

First, you have to figure out who to copy. Second, you have to figure out what to copy.

Who to copy is easy. You copy your heroes—the people you love, the people you’re inspired by, the people you want to be.

I once heard the cartoonist Gary Panter say, “If you have one person you’re influenced by, everyone will say you’re the next whoever. But if you rip off a hundred people, everyone will say you’re so original!”

The reason to copy your heroes and their style is so that you might somehow get a glimpse into their minds. That’s what you really want—to internalize their way of looking at the world. If you just mimic the surface of somebody’s work without understanding where they are coming from, your work will never be anything more than a knockoff.

In O’Brien’s words, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.” Thank goodness.

NOTE: Conan O’Brien

Copy your heroes. Examine where you fall short. What’s in there that makes you different? That’s what you should amplify and transform into your own work.

When we love a piece of work, we’re desperate for more. We crave sequels. Why not channel that desire into something productive?

The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.

“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” —Jessica Hische

Don’t throw any of yourself away. Don’t worry about a grand scheme or unified vision for your work. Don’t worry about unity—what unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you’ll look back and it will all make sense.

Do good work and share it with people.

The more open you are about sharing your passions, the closer people will feel to your work. Artists aren’t magicians. There’s no penalty for revealing your secrets.

Figure out how to make a website. Figure out blogging. Figure out Twitter and social media and all that other stuff. Find people on the Internet who love the same things as you and connect with them. Share things with them.

Think about what you have to share that could be of some value to people. Share a handy tip you’ve discovered while working. Or a link to an interesting article. Mention a good book you’re reading.

Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you. Travel makes the world look new, and when the

The best way to make friends on the Internet? Say nice things about them.

“Find the most talented person in the room, and if it’s not you, go stand next to him. Hang out with him. Try to be helpful.”

NOTE: Harold Ramis

If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.

The truth is that even if you’re lucky enough to make a living off doing what you truly love, it will probably take you a while to get to that point. Until then, you’ll need a day job.

Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.

Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.

Nobody’s saying it’s going to be fun.

The trick is to find a day job that pays decently, doesn’t make you want to vomit, and leaves you with enough energy to make things in your spare time.

building a career is a lot about the slow accumulation of little bits of effort over time.

Writing a page each day doesn’t seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel.

“If you ask yourself ‘What’s the best thing that happened today?’ it actually forces a certain kind of cheerful retrospection that pulls up from the recent past things to write about that you wouldn’t otherwise think about.

NOTE: Possibly introduce this into Notion journal template

Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying.

The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.

Don’t make excuses for not working—make things with the time, space, and materials you have, right now.

The right constraints can lead to your very best work.

Tyler Roberts