The bookcase

One of the books Shaun rated five out of five.

Steal like an artist

Austin Kleon

  • 5/5
  • Finished 2023
  • Memoir
  • Philosophy
  • Self-development
  1. Steal like an artist
    1. you are a mashup of what you choose to let in your lift. Sum of your influencers.
    2. devour old films/music/books/poems that resonate
    3. chew on 1 thinker, study all about them, find 3 people he loved, do the same, and repeat.
    4. hang favourite idols on your wall.
    5. “it’s not the book you start with, it’s the book the leads you to”
    6. carry notebook + pen with you wherever you go. Have a ‘swipe file’
  2. Don’t wait until you know who you are before you get started
    1. ask anyone doing creative work, they don’t know where the good stuff comes from, they just show up to do their thing. Every day.
    2. Copy your heroes, but study what makes you different
  3. Write the book you want to read
    1. Build the product you want to use, do the work you want to be done
  4. Use your hands
    1. have a digital + analog desk
  5. Side projects + hobbies are important
    1. “the work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life”
  6. Do good work + share it with people
    1. enjoy obscurity while it lasts
  7. Geography is no longer our master
    1. your brain gets too comfortable in everyday surroundings
  8. Be nice
    1. complain about the way other people make software by making software
    2. public fan appreciation posts
    3. keep a repository of time you were praised
  9. Be boring
    1. be regular + orderly in your life, so that you my be violent + original in your work.
    2. establishing + keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.
    3. get a calendar, tick each day when you work. Make a chain. Don’t break the chain.
    4. keep a log book “What’s the best thing that happened today”
    5. marry well
  10. Creativity is subtraction
    1. nothing is more paralysing than the idea of limitless possibilities. Limitation means freedom. Don’t make excuses for not working - start, right now.