Book Review #2: Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Table of Contents
The Book in 3 Sentences. Who should read it? Summary and Highlights. How it impacted me. Top 3 Quotes. Information about the book.

The Book in 3 Sentences.

1. Take ideas from others, but don’t go for plagiarism.
2. Make these stolen ideas your own by simply finding out the holes and filling them with something yours.
3. When creating something, keep yourself away from your computer and start drafting them in pen and paper.

Who should read it?

My recommendation for this book goes to those who are confused about how to start something new. This book is all about finding inspiration from around the world.

After reading this book, You will know:

1. How to find inspiration from others to boost yourself up.
2. What to do after getting a good idea.
3. How to start structuring a project.
4. How to let people know about your work.
5. What is the way to increase productivity when you are tired from your jobs?

Summary and Highlights.

It is a non-fiction book with a lot of instructions. So this review will be a spoiler. I am writing this to keep in touch with the key points. Therefore, I recommend you to read the book first and then continue the rest of the review.

1. Steal Like an Artist.
   • Nothing is Original
   • Every new idea is a mash-up of one or more previous ideas.
   • Collect Good ideas and choose from to be influenced by.
   • Learn about the family tree of an artist to know about them better.
   • Read and collect books.
   • Put all your inspirations in a swipe file for later.
2. Do not wait until you know who you are to get started.
   • Start making stuff and discover yourself throughout the process. Do not wait for it.
   • Fake it until you make it. 
   • Copy your hero’s works, and at the end, you will understand how that was made.
   • Now that you have copied, find out what can you can add to make things different. This whole thing will be yours afterwards.
3. Write the book you want to read.
   • Do the work that you want to see done.
4. Use Your Hands.
   • When you plan something, do things with pen and paper first, then your computer.
5. Side Projects and Hobbies are important.
   • Practice productive procrastination: Work on multiple projects and take a break to do boring works. It will bring great ideas to you.
   • Don’t try to make yourself whole every moment. Just keep doing what you do. Your works will unify you.
6. The Secrets: Do good work and share it with people.
   • Don’t hanker after attention. Do whatever you like as long as you are out of people’s attention. Because you will not get the scope when they start following you.
   • Post your works online. Don’t even take a lifetime to let people know about your work. When they are online, you have a rush to do better.
   • If you are worried about sharing your ideas as they may get stolen, then only share parts of your ideas. Let them connect the dots. You may get a better idea from people, of which even you did not think.
7. Geography is no longer our master.
   • If you are not in a world of your liking, make your world. Surround yourself with books and notes. Keep yourself disconnected willingly for a few moments. Enjoy temporary captivity.
   • Leave your home and get inspiration from outside. When you get back, your home will be the same, but you are not.
8. Be nice. (The world is a small town).
   • Make friends on internet and ignore enemies.
   • Stand next to the talent. Always keep searching for someone better than you. If you are the best person in a room, you need to find another room.
   • Do stupid things forcefully against your mind. This will give you a guilty feeling and will boost you to do right things.
   • Write some appreciation for your hero and let them see. But don’t wish anything in return. And you will get new work out of appreciation.
   • Get comfortable with negative reviews. Get too busy with your work to care for them.
   • Keep the praise words and emails in a special folder. Read them only when you need a lift.
9. Be boring (It is the only way to get works done.)
   • It takes a lot of energy to be creative. So keep yourself healthy and practice a good lifestyle.
   • Make yourself a budget and live within your means. Do not run into debt.
   • Whatever you do, keep a backup earning source. Make sure it is decent and ensure that you have enough time and energy for your creative works.
   • Mark your completed goals every day in a calendar and try to maintain the chain.
   • Keep track of how you are going to work and how far have you reached in a logbook.
   • Marry well. Let your partner be your best supporter.
10. Creativity is Subtraction
    • Create your limitations. That will make your work memorable. Like writing a book with only 50 different words named “Green Eggs and a Ham.”

How it impacted me.

1. This book is for everyone who makes something. So, being a creative person, this book influenced me to start this blog.
2. This book convinced me to do my drafts in papers first and then use my computer. So, now I have more scope of errors and refining them to bring something better.
3. I am being interested in engaging myself in a lot of projects together. (I shall write about them shortly after.) It is also due to the influence of this book.

Top 3 Quotes.

“What is Originality? Undetected Plagiarism.”

“Don’t worry about unity from piece to piece. What unifies all of your work is the fact that you made it.”

“If you ever find that you are the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”

Information about the book.