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The Book in One Sentence
- Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path.
The 10 Big Ideas
- Steal like an artist.
- Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.
- Write the book you want to read.
- Use your hands.
- Side projects and hobbies are important.
- The secret: do good work and share it with people.
- Geography is no longer our master.
- Be nice. (The world is a small town.)
- Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
- Creativity is subtraction.
Steal Like an Artist Summary
Kleon’s believes that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.
An artist looks at the world by figuring out what’s worth stealing and then moves on to the next thing. When you look at the world this way, you stop worrying about what’s “good” and what’s “bad”—there’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that’s not worth stealing.
A good artist understands that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.
André Gide once said, “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
“Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas.”
“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.”
Study everything there is to know about one thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them. Repeat this as many times as you can.
John Walters once said, “Collect books, even if you don’t plan on reading them right away. Nothing is more important than an unread library.”
“Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. Get used to pulling it out and jotting down your thoughts and observations.”
In Kleon’s experience, it’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.
Plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work off as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering.
The writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research.
At some point, you have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them. Imitation is about copying. Emulation is when imitation goes one step further, breaking through into your own thing.
“In the end, merely imitating your heroes is not flattering them. Transforming their work into something of your own is how you flatter them. Adding something to the world that only you can add.”
“The best advice is not to write what you know, it’s to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like best—write the story you want to read.”
“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.”
“If you have space, set up two workstations, one analog and one digital.”
“It’s the side projects that really take off.”
“If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take a really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can.”
“Do good work and share it with people.”
“If you talk about someone on the Internet, they will find out.”
“The best way to vanquish your enemies on the Internet? Ignore them. The best way to make friends on the Internet? Say nice things about them.”
“If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”
“Instead of keeping a rejection file, keep a praise file.”
“It takes a lot of energy to be creative. You don’t have that energy if you waste it on other stuff.”
“Learn about money as soon as you can.”
“Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.”
“Figure out what time you can carve out, what time you can steal, and stick to your routine.”
“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.”
“The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself.”
“The right constraints can lead to your very best work.”
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