Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon [Book Summary & PDF]

STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST: 10 Things nobody told you about being creative by AUSTIN KLEON 

You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.― Austin Kleon.

About the author:

Austin Kleon is an artist and writer. Author of the redacted poetry collection Newspaper Blackout. His work has been featured on NPR’S Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, The Wall Street Journal, and the art website 20×200.com. Kleon lives in Austin, Texas.

STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST SUMMARY

In this summary, you’ll discover the ten things that nobody told you about being creative, according to Austin Kleon. Also, keep in mind that this is not the complete book, only a summary with a few key takeaways and analysis. 

Please enjoy.

HOW TO LOOK AT THE WORLD (LIKE AN ARTIST)

How does an artist look at the world?

“Artists,” says Kleon, “figure out what’s worth stealing, then move on to the next thing.” By doing so, you stop worrying about what’s “good” and “bad.” The artists see two things: stuff worth stealing and property that’s not worth stealing.

NOTHING IS ORIGINAL

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

What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. 

It even said in the Bible; “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

THE GENEALOGY OF IDEAS

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

You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life.

In other words, you are the sum of your influences.

The German writer Goethe said, “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.”

  GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT

Kleon reminds us that, the artist is a collector.

Not a Hoarder. But a collector of ideas, inspirations and muses.

There’s a difference.

He writes, “Hoarders collect indiscriminately; the artist collects selectively.”

Your job, as Austin describes it, is to collect good ideas.

The more good ideas that’s in your vault, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.

CLIMB YOUR FAMILY TREE

Try not to spread your taste bud across the board. Explains Kleon. Maintain all your focus on one thinker—writer, artist, activist, role model—you love.

Then find three people that thinkers loved and find out everything about them.

Climb up the tree as far as you go, then build your branch after.

SCHOOL YOURSELF

Austin Kleon prioritizes the notion of always be learning.

Whether in school or not, getting an education is always your job.

You have to be curious about the world in which you live. And go deeper than anybody else.

Use Google as a tool to deepen your knowledge. 

It’s not the book you start with; it’s the book that the book leads you to. – Austin Kleon.

SAVE YOUR THEFTS FOR LATER

Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go.

• Remember to write down your thoughts and observations throughout the day.
• Keep a file to keep track of the stuff you’ve swiped from others.
• Keep a scrapbook and cut and paste things into it, or you can take pictures of things with your camera phone.

See something worth stealing?

Please, put it in the swipe file.

Need a little inspiration?

Open up the swipe file.

 DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE TO GET STARTED

 MAKE THINGS, KNOW THYSELF

Kleon reminds us that it is in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.

Creative thinkers often have no clue where their creative ideas come from. They simply show up to do their thing—every day.

The keyword here is consistency and the willingness to fail, until you truly know what you came here to do.

So don’t be afraid to show up and execute the ideas you think are aligning with the core belief of who you are.

FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT

You start as a phony and become real.–Glenn O’Brien.

Austin Kleon believes that there are two ways to go about this:

1. Pretend to be something you’re not until you are—fake it until you’re successful until everybody sees you the way you want them to; or
2. Pretend to be making something until you make something.

Here’s another takeaway I thought was worth mentioning; “you have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and start doing the things you want to be doing.”

As Shakespeare points out long ago, “All the world’s a stage.”

Creative work is a kind of theater.

The stage is your studio, your desk, or your workstation.

  START COPYING

 We learn by pretending and copying. This is not the same as plagiarism. Copying is about reverse engineering.

Austin refers to this concept as seeing yourself as a mechanic who remodels cars by taking things apart to see how they work.

Every single artist in history uses these same tactics. Even the Beatles started as a cover band.

• First, figure out who to copy.
• Second,  figure out what to copy. 

 IMITATION IS NOT FLATTERY

We want you to take from us. We want you, at first, to steal from us because you can’t steal. You will take what we give you, and you will put it in your own voice. And that’s how you begin. And then one day someone will steal from you.” -Francis Ford Coppola.

Eventually, you’ll have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them. The difference is straightforward. Austin describes imitation as copying. And emulation is doing your own thing after learning the ropes, and you can start walking alone. 

In the end, merely imitating your heroes is not flattering them. Transforming their work into something of your own is how you compliment them.

WRITE THE BOOK YOU WANT TO READ.

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW LIKE. 

Austin says the best advice is not to write what you know; it’s to write what you like.

Whenever you’re at a loss for what move to make next, think about what would make a better story.

CREATE A FAN FICTION OF YOUR IDEALS BOOK

When you crave a sequel of the work you admire, put your mind to work, and come up with ideas of what the next chapter should look like, start writing your own fan fiction.

Make that stuff. Do the work you want to see done.

 

USE YOUR HANDS.

We don’t know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do not get them from our laptops” –John Cleese.

STEP AWAY FROM THE SCREEN

Austin believes computers have robbed us of the feeling that we are actually making things. They make us feel tired and immobilized.

We need to move to feel like we’re making something with our whole bodies, not just our heads.

Austin encourages us to start going through the motion of moving our bodies first and kick-starts our brain into thinking before immobilizing ourselves on the screen.

I have stared long enough at the glowing flat rectangles of computer screens. Let us give more time for doing things in the real world..plant a plant, walk the dogs, read a real book, go to the opera.” – Edward Tufte.

The author suggested that we bring analog—hands-on tools into our work to improve the quality of our well-being. He believes computers are for editing your ideas, and it’s suitable for gathering ideas for publishing. However, says Austin, it’s not ideal for generating ideas.

Austin Kleon suggests you have two separate workstations if you can. Perhaps something similar to his workspace below:

1.  Have a working area for ONLY analog/hands-on tools to spark your creativity. Things such as markers, pens, pencils, paper, index cards, newspapers, and items of that nature.
2. Have a working area for ONLY digital/Electronic stuff. This is where you do the editing and publishing of your work.

If you have space, set up these two workstations and keep everything in their selected place. It will increase your productivity and clarity.

 

SIDE PROJECTS AND HOBBIES ARE IMPORTANT.

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

 PRACTICE PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATION

Austin Kleon highly recommends working on multiple projects.

However, this is quite different from multitasking. Having another important project in mind when you feel tired of that same old recipe is what will keep the creativity to flow. That way, you can bounce between them.

He also mentioned practicing being bored.

As the artist Maira Kalman says, “Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.”

Creative people need time to sit around and do nothing. Said Kleon. So, take the time to mess around. Get lost. Wander. Because you never know where it’s going to lead you.

  DON’T THROW ANY OF YOURSELF AWAY

Austin suggests you keep all your passions in your life. If you have two or three fundamental forces, don’t feel you have to choose between them.

The playwright, Steve Tomlinson, suggests that if you love different things, you keep spending time with them. “let them talk to each other. Something will begin to happen.”

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” -Steve Jobs.

Austin emphasizes the importance of having a Hobby that makes you happy, whether you are making money from it. You’ll look back one day, and it will all make sense.

 

THE SECRET: DO GOOD WORK AND SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE.

 IN THE BEGINNING, OBSCURITY IS GOOD

Look for attention after you’re doing excellent work. There’s no pressure when you are unknown. Experiment. Do things just for fun because you’ll never regain that freedom once people start noticing—paying you attention and money.

It’s not that people are mean or cruel; they’re just busy.” – Steven Pressfield.

Enjoy your Obscurity while it last. Sees it as an opportunity to experiment with new ideas and fail forward fast.

 THE NOT-SO-SECRET FORMULA

Austin Kleon highly recommends you do good work and share it with people. That’s the secret formula for becoming known.

Here are the two steps Austin mentioned:

• Step one, Do good work. There are no shortcuts. Make stuff every day. Realize you’re going to suck for a while. Get over it. Fail forward.
• Step two, Share it with people. Put yourself out there, and share what you’ll learn online and with family members. Just do something!

The more open you are about sharing your passions, the closer people will feel to your work.

SHARE YOUR DOTS, BUT DON’T CONNECT THEM

Learn something new. Find the people on the Internet that love the same things as you and connect with them. Share things with them.

If you’re worried about giving your secrets away, you can share your dots without connecting them.

Remember, you have control over what you share and much you reveal.

 

GEOGRAPHY IS NO LONGER OUR MASTER

 BUILD YOUR OWN WORLD

Austin believes you don’t have to live anywhere other than the place to start connecting with the world you want to be in. There’s a community of people out there you can connect with.

Now, if you’re not into the world you live in, Austin would suggest you build your little world around you. His advice is to surround yourself with books and objects you love and redecorate your room with things that inspire or spark joy in your life.

LEAVE HOME

Distance and difference are the secret tonics of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has changed, and that changes everything. -Jonah Lehrer.

Austin Kleon truly believes where we choose to live can have a significant impact on the work we do. At some point, he said, ‘Leave home, you can always come back, but you have to leave at least once.

Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.

Find a place that feeds you—creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally.

 

BE NICE. THE WORLD IS A SMALL TOWN.

MAKE FRIENDS, IGNORE ENEMIES

• Ignoring your enemies on the Internet is the best way to defeat them.
• The best way to make friends online is to say nice things about them.

 STAND NEXT TO THE TALENT

The only mofos in my circle are people that I can learn from.  – Questlove.

Remember, you’re only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with. This means that they follow the best people online. The ones who are more intelligent and better than you. The people who are doing exciting work.

Austin’s tip on what you will need:

• Curiosity
• Kindness
• Stamina
• A willingness to look stupid.

 QUIT PICKING FIGHTS AND MAKE SOMETHING

Complain about the way other people make software by making software. -Andre Torrez.

Austin acknowledges that you’ll see a lot of stupid stuff out there that you’ll want to feel the need to correct or even shout with anger, but that doesn’t work.

Instead of wasting your anger on complaining or lashing out at people, use it to make something you’ll be proud of.

 WRITE FAN LETTERS

When we write fan letters, we often seek a blessing or an affirmation. But you shouldn’t need their response if you love somebody’s work.

Austin recommended you write public fan letters instead.

• Write a blog post about someone’s work that you admire and link to their site.
• Make something and dedicate it to your hero.
• Answer a question they’ve asked, solve a problem for them, or improve their work and share it online.

Austin clarifies this by saying, “Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe they won’t, but the important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return and get a new job out of the appreciation.

VALIDATION IS FOR PARKING

Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn’t. -Craig Damrauer.

Sometimes by the time, people catch on to what’s valuable about what you do, you’re either a) bored to death with it or b) dead.

You can’t go looking for validation from external sources.

Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood or ignored—the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.

KEEP A PRAISE FILE

Validation is for parking, but it’s still a tremendous boost when people say nice things about our work.

Austin’s advice for keeping a praise file:

• Put every nice e-mail you get in a particular folder.

When you’re not in a good mood, open that folder for a boost. Instead of keeping a rejection file, save a praise file. 

Be Boring. (it’s The Only Way To Get Work Done.)

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” – Gustave Flaubert.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

It takes a lot of energy to be creative.

You don’t have that energy if you waste it on other stuff. 

Austin mentions a few tips he learned from Patti Smith, who tells young artists to:

• Eat breakfast
• Do some push-up
• Go for long walks
• Get plenty of sleep

STAY OUT OF DEBT

Austin’s grandpa used to tell his dad, “It’s not the money you make; it’s the money you hold on to.”

Austin’s advice about money management:

• Make yourself a budget.
• Live within your means.
• Pack your lunch.
• Pinch pennies.
• Get the education you need for as cheap as you get it. And
• Save as much as you can.

The art of holding on to money is all about saying no to consumer culture.

KEEP YOUR DAY JOB

A day job gives you money, a connection to the world, and a routine.

Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.

The worst thing a day job does is take time away from you, but it makes up for that by giving you a daily routine to schedule a regular time for your creative pursuits.

Austin says 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 do things in your spare time.

It will often feel as if you’re living a double life, but it’s okay; know your end goal. Determine what time you can carve out and when you can steal, and always stick to your routine.

 GET YOURSELF A CALENDAR

A calendar helps you plan work, gives you concrete goals, and keeps you on track.

Austin Kleon highly recommends keeping a calendar to plan your work and track your progress. He uses the same method as the comedian Jerry Seinfeld to stay on top of his goal.

He suggests you get a wall calendar showing you the whole year. Then, you break your work into daily chunks. Each day, when you’re finished with your work, make a big fat X in the day’s box. “After a few days, you’ll have a chain,” Seinfeld says. “Just keep at it, and the chain will grow longer daily. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is not to break the chain.”

Get a calendar. Fill the boxes. Don’t break the chain.

 KEEP A LOGBOOK

A logbook isn’t necessarily a diary or a journal; it’s just a little book in which you list the things you do every day.

The small details will help you remember the vital information. It’s a beautiful way to track how far you have traveled.

 MARRY WELL

She rescued me. I’d be playing in a steak house right now if it wasn’t for her. I wouldn’t even be playing in a steak house. I’d be cooking in a steak house.-Tom Waits, on his wife and collaborator, Kathleen Brennan.

Austin reminds us who you marry is the most crucial decision you’ll ever make. And “marry well” doesn’t mean your life partner—it also tells who you do business with, who you befriend, and who you choose to be around.

Be with someone that compliments your energy and keeps you grounded.

CREATIVITY IS SUBTRACTION.

CHOOSE WHAT TO LEAVE OUT

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

Austin says the way to get over the creative block is to place some constraints on yourself because when it comes to creative work, he explains limitations mean freedom.

Austin suggests you not make excuses for not working. Use the time, space, and materials you have at the moment.

Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the money in the world, all the colors in the palette, anything you want—that just kills creativity.” – Jack White.

Ultimately, creativity isn’t just what we choose to put in; it’s what we choose to leave out.

Choose wisely. And have fun.

Quick RECAPS:

• • Don’t wait until you know who you are to start
  • writing the book you want to read.
  • Use your hands
  • Side projects and hobbies are important
  • Do good work and share it with others.
  • Find your tribe. (whether online or offline)
  • Be nice. (The world is a small town, you never know who you might run into one day)
  • Be boring because it’s the only way to get things done.
  • Creativity is subtraction. (Less is more.)

Thank you for reading. If you find value in this post, share it with someone who could benefit from these ideas. Thanks for your support, till next time, stay strong.