Home > Work > The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy
1 " When you first get started, there's usually a big gap between what you are and what you want to be. If I'd waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started being creative, well I'd still be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it's in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are. "
― Austin Kleon , The Steal Like an Artist Audio Trilogy
2 " So: 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. "
3 " In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out so they can concentrate on what's really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying. "
4 " You do not need to have an extraordinary life to make extraordinary work. "
5 " Teach what you know. "
6 " Share something small every day. "
7 " It's often what an artist chooses to leave out that makes the art interesting. "
8 " You find time the same place you find spare change: in the nooks and crannies. You find it in the cracks between the big stuff—your commute, your lunch break, the few hours after your kids go to bed. "
9 " Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas. A good example of this is genetics. You have a mother and you have a father. You possess features from both of them, but the sum of you is bigger than their parts. You're a remix of your mom and dad and all of your ancestors. "
10 " Carry a notebook and 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. Go to whatever lengths necessary to make sure you always have paper on you. "
11 " If you try to devour the history of your discipline all at once, you'll choke. Instead, chew on one thinker, writer, artist, activist, role model you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker, then find three people that thinker loved and find out everything about them. Repeat this as many times as you can. Climb up the tree as far as you can go. Once you climb your own tree, it's time to grow your own branch. "
