Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
About
This is a book about permission. Permission to stop hiding behind your own shadow. Permission to start creating something that actually matters. Permission to stand on the shoulders of the giants that came before you and take advantage of their great ideas. The idea isn’t to “steal” other people’s work. So don’t do that. Stealing is bad. Just take bits and pieces from other people’s work and make something of your own out of that. If you use someone else’s stuff to make something of your own, then let them know about it. It’s usually (but not always) flattering. This isn’t a book for artists creating art. It’s a book for anyone creating anything.
Crucial quotes
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” —Gustave Flaubert
“You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.”
“The manifesto is this: 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.”
“It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.”
“If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”
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