Steal Like An Artist (Austin Kleon) - Summary, Notes & Highlights
🚀 The Book in 1 Sentence
Every creative work is just a remix.
🎨 Overall Impression
This book was such a refreshing read. It immediately hit a lot of my self-doubt and fears of imposter syndrome. Ultimately it was a confidence boost I completely did not expect. Now, don't take "confidence boost" as short-term instant gratification. Austin's ideas have changed my fundamental perspective about the creative process.
Who Should Read It?
If I were going to be broad I would say anyone who has a social media account. But to add a bit of specificity, anyone who has the idea or desire to share content online should read this book and come back to it often.
It will change how you perceive content creation as a whole, from a personal Instagram post to a work email. If you feel like you've been holding back because you have nothing unique to say, think about this - no one does.
☘️ How The Book Changed Me
- It made me more comfortable with sharing my thoughts and my work online
- It made me generally more comfortable with putting myself 'out there'
- It made me dedicate a lot more time and effort to my blog
- Starting the blog was the first step to starting my YouTube channel
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
"What to copy is a little bit trickier. Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes."
“Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”
"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."
🎩 Best Illustration / Story
No move is a new move. Kobe Bryant admitted that he stole all his moves from his basketball icons. He then elaborated and said he wasn't able to do several of the moves because their body types did not match his. So he created variants to his play style and size. He made adjustments to each dribble sequence to match his speed, reach, and even technical ability.
Just in case you don't know, Kobe is an absolute legend.
📒 Summary
All advice is autobiographical
Austin has a theory, that any advice anyone ever gives you is ultimately advice they would give their younger self. ie; This review would be super useful to a younger me!
Think about that for a minute.
It means anytime you give advice moving forward - it should be so thoughtful as if you were giving it to your younger self. Makes you wonder a bit doesn't it? All those times we go full Oprah and channel our inner voice, giving tons of wrong advice- haha. Reminds me of a HIMYM episode.
But the other side of the coin made me wonder - how can I possibly get access to advice from future me (that would awesome)!
Nothing is new, who knew
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon says "there is nothing new under the sun". Not a single thing. Nothing. Zip. Nada.
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
So if there is nothing new do we then have a license to plagiarize? Of course not. If you'll recall the one-sentence summary was that everything is a remix of something original. This far along we're creating a remix of a remix of... you get the point.
Just because it's a remix it does not mean it's not original it means someone added their personal touch to something. He applied his worldview to create an NFT. She applied her experiences to a new song. They tweaked an idea and started a business.
Look at it from this perspective. As you read this, or anything really, no author is inventing words. Yet every book is different from others simply because the arrangement of words is uniquely position based on the intent of the author.
Freedom from originality
He elaborates on the fact that if nothing is new then we have no more pressure of being original. The burden to create something entirely new is gone since new doesn't exist.
It's not a depressing concept but the exact opposite. We need to embrace influence vs running away from it. Since there is nothing new under the sun, anything created has had some level of mimicked inspiration. André Gide said:
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
Isn't that beautiful. Doesn't that make you feel like a burden has just been lifted off your shoulders? It did for me. Pressure's off.
Maybe this has never been an issue for you but for me being original has been important. Overwhelmingly so to the point of paralyzing my creative potential. What I realized is no one has a voice until you give your voice a voice. You will never have anything to say until you speak.
Take care of you
Austin has an entire section about self-care. I thought it was strange at first in a book about creative stealing. He provides a shift in mindset that is so simple but I started implementing with my wife and we've been loving it so far.
At the end of the day, we typically ask each other "how was your day?" The problem with this is the human brain will almost always go to the most negative thing that happened. An issue at work or bad experience with a colleague etc. Instead, if you shift the question to "what's the best thing that happened to you today" then we have a reason to dig for positivity. So, what's the best thing that happened to you today?
Money Talks
Money is another point he brings up which I completely did not expect to find in this book. Austin says "learn about money as quickly and early as possible". Although he focuses on extreme budgeting (which I am not a fan of at all) I understand his overall message - live below your means.
I've been a firm believer in learning about money, it's a passion of mine. Not to be rich or have tons of it but to understand it. If all advice is autobiographical I wish I had learned at least the basis sooner, much sooner.
It just wasn't talked about enough in my circle of friends and family when I was growing up. No talks about investment advice, taxation, cash flow, etc. All concepts I had to pick up on my own and deepen my knowledge of it for myself, but also as a means of providing for family to the best of my ability.
For this reason, I started my YouTube Channel. I want to continue learning and document that process.
Marry Well
Not just the spouse selection but the friendships, companions, work relations, business partners. "Can two people walk together if they are not in accord?" I'll break these down from my perspective. Marriage is serious. My wife and I don't use the "D" word and we don't plan on it (I'm sure no one does) but I feel like when couples talk about it you're setting the possibility for that option and we would much rather be nimble, learn how to adapt and better ourselves for each other.
Marriage is not a say yes once in the altar and you're done. You say yes a million times over. No one is married to the same person they said yes to at the altar. We all change, mature, and the continuity in choosing to love makes all the difference.
My wife and I are lucky to have found each other. Some of our previous relationships weren't healthy and we weren't nearly as mature so it was a bit of adolescent pain you can say, but never the less. We met, started dating, got engaged and got married all in 8 months. Now we have a beautiful daughter who has brought a tremendous amount of joy, happiness and sleep-less nights into our lives.
Find The Right Job(s)
Jobs are important but they aren't everything. Austin makes a strong point that I've always applied but never really thought about. Each job should allow you to learn something you can expand on in the future. My first job was dressed as a full-on banana and stand in a street corner holding a sign - that was the start of my advertising career.
I've never felt tied down to a job but as my grandfather always said - "always give it your all" so I have. Gracefully throughout my career, I have been able to work for some pretty awesome companies and amazing people. Each position has propelled me further and further.
Here's my 12 year CV in 45 seconds.
From the visual fruit advertiser, I was able to get a job as a marketing associate at Office Depot. I was no longer wearing the advertisement but learned to create them for small businesses. From there I met a business owner who hired me as an advertising consultant (little did he know). We worked together for four years in which I actually learned digital marketing. We founded a business - I learned about digital user acquisition. We sold that business. I worked for Grant Cardone - learned all about an ad agency. Went to work for an agency - learned growth hacking. Got hired by a mobile app - learned about funnel marketing. Now I work for a Broker-dealer and I am learning about alternative investments.
It's okay to jump around from job to job when you're younger, I highly recommend it. I didn't actually know what I loved and was passionate about until I started working for Grant. I was 25 at the time and didn't even know what the heck I enjoyed doing yet. So I tried different things and found a few that I love.
My advice, work and get your money right first - then go find something you love even if it means doing two things at once, you'll find the time.
If you want to get a copy of How To Steal Like An Artist you can do so here. (Full transparency: this is an affiliate link).