Let others into your process and then let them steal ideas from you. It’s not about getting famous. It’s about improving with accountability. sometimes if someone hates something about your work, it can be fun to push that part even further to make somethign they’d hate even more (having your work hated by certain people can be a badge of honour) If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community. You have to be a good citi zen of that Community. If you’re only Point into your own stuff, you’re doing it wrong. You have to be a connector. If you want to get, you have to give. If you want to be noticed. You have to notice. Shut up. And listen, be thoughtful, be considerate. The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” You have to make stuff, said journalist David Carr when he was asked if he had any advice for students. "No one is going to give a damn about your résumé; they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers."

if you spend your life avoiding vulnerability, you and your work will never truly connect with other people Beware of selling the things that you love: when people are asked to get out their wallets, you find out how much they really value what you do. Have you ever wondered why most of the famous contemporary authors had begun their writing journey as book reviewers? Take people behind the scenes – The finished product model of creativity is a relic of the pre-digital era. Where the only way artists could find an audience for their work was to show the finished product in all its glory. The internet has changed this. People really do want to see how the sausage gets made. Audiences want to see the person behind the product.

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

Austin Kleon is a constant rainbow amidst gloomy Internet clouds. I open his weekly newsletter every single week… because it’s a neverending cornucopia of creative delights and inspirations that keeps my thinking fresh. If you liked his mega-hit Steal Like An Artist or books that push and motivate you like Brave Enough or The War of Art, then you will love this thoughtful, mind-expanding, idea-filled romp. Yes, romp. You will read this … and you will romp.” This is a no-holds-barred approach to hanging tight with the mindset and habits we all need for an inspired life. A long line of creatives, like John Waters, Ralph Waldo Emerson, C.S. Lewis, and Wendell Berry, are quoted here, and if these alone don’t move you along, any of the practices in this sweet little book surely will. Perfect for gifting.” The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Take people step-by-step through part of your process. Make people better at something they want to be better at. Stop worrying about how many people follow you online and start worrying about the quality of people who follow you.

It also takes less than 30 minutes to read, so you’ve got no reason not to. ☘️ How the Book Changed Me If you’re not ready to take the leap of sharing your own work with the world, you can share your tastes in the work of others. Kleon started his career in a public library in Cleveland, Ohio. While working in a library, Kleon became a blogger and posted his poems. Kleon also taught library users how to use computers. [10] Kleon taught himself HTML and CSS. There was a part that hit me more than others, the part that analyses the spectrum of creativity and states that “mediocre” is far away from good, but it is still on the spectrum while doing nothing is not even there. Since I tend to be a perfectionist I need to hear this over and over to overcome the fear of doing things that are not perfect.

Show Your Work Summary

The author shares two different ideas about networking and connecting with a community in this book. In one part, he is saying to work hard and put the best content online; then, the right people will come to you to connect with you. In another part of this book, he says, Interviewing designers from all over the world has been such an amazing thing to do, I have become friends with new creative people, been able to engage with some of my idols in design. By sharing your work online, you’ll attract an audience of people who care about the same stuff you do – this can change your life. When you feel like you’ve learned whatever there is to learn from what you’re doing, it’s time to change course and find something new to learn so that you can move forward.”