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In March 2011, one wonderful artist and a poet named Austin Kleon, wrote on his blog.
Moreover, he wrote in such a way that his manifesto on creativity spread throughout the world, is quoted everywhere and by everyone, and gave impetus to the development of many young talents.

I couldn’t leave such a cool thing unnoticed.
Translated especially for JJ.
I’ll tell you in advance, the entire text is this blog: Click

and my words are in italics, if necessary
And one more warning - there is a LOT of text and pictures. But it's still so cool!

How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 More Things Nobody Told Me)

1. Steal like an artist

Every artist has been asked at least once the question: “Where do you get your ideas?”

And the most honest answer is “I steal them”

Here is a picture I drew a couple of years ago. Find out what's worth pulling. And then move on.
That's all.

Every artist understands this.
Here are 3 words that fill me with hope every time I read them:

There's nothing original

This was said in the Bible: “What has been is what will be; and what has been done will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

Each new idea- just a successful arrangement of old ones, a mixture of elements.

Here's a trick they teach in art schools. Draw two parallel lines.

How many lines? First, second... And a third dark line between them. Do you see?

Another good example what I'm talking about is genetics. You inherit genes from your father and from your mother, but you are more than a collection of their parts. You are a mixture of your parents, and all your ancestors.

Genealogy of ideas
You can't choose your parents, but you can choose your teachers, your friends, the music you listen to, the books you read, and the movies you watch.

J-Z in his book "Decoded" says:
"We grew up without fathers, so we found them on the streets, in history, and in some way it was a gift for us. We had to choose our ancestors who would fill the world that we were going to build for ourselves... Usually our fathers left because they were rejected, but we took their old records and used them to create something new"

You are, in fact, what you let into your life. The sum total of everything that influences you. As Goethe said, “What we love creates us and gives us form.”

The artist is a collector. No, he does not collect everything indiscriminately, but rather collects. Only what he loves.
Exists economic theory, which says that if you find the arithmetic average of the incomes of your five closest friends, the result will be very similar to your own income.

I think the same applies to idea income. We are only as good as our surroundings.

Garbage in, garbage out- that's what my mother told me.
It drove me crazy, but now I realized what she wanted to convey to me.

Your job is to collect ideas. The best way to do this is to read. Read, read, read and read. Read newspapers, weather reports, road signs, faces of passers-by. The more you read, the wider the choice of what will influence you

Pick one writer you really like. Find everything he wrote. Find out what he read. And read it all. Climb your own family tree of writers.

Steal it and leave it for later. Carry with you notebook. Write in your books. Rip out pages from magazines and create collages in your album.

Steal like an artist.

2. Don’t wait to become aware of your own self before taking action.

Last year, a video of Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight in the television series The Office, went viral on the Internet. Speaking about creativity, he said exactly what allows so many people to put off their projects: “If you don’t know who you are and what you live for or what you believe in, it’s almost impossible to be creative.”
If I were waiting for the awareness of my own self, and the answer to the question “Why do I live?” In order to be creative, I would still be sitting around trying to find myself instead of creating something new. From my own experience I will say that in the process of creation you realize who you are.

create=know yourself
You are already ready. Start doing it. Perhaps you are scared. It `s naturally. There is one feature that is characteristic above all educated people. It's called "imposter syndrome." According to the medical description, it is “a psychological phenomenon in which a person is unable to adequately accept his own successes.” He feels like a deceiver who does everything at random, but in fact does not even understand what he is doing.

And guess what? Nobody understands. When I started crossing words out of newspaper columns, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that it was great. It felt like play rather than work. Ask anyone good artist, and he will tell the truth - he does not know where the masterpieces come from. He's just doing his thing. Every day.

Fake it 'til you make it
I like this phrase. It can be understood in two ways: fake it until you make it, until everyone sees you the way you want. Or - fake it until you really learn how to do something. I really like this idea.

I also like Patti Smith's book Just Kids. This is the story of how two friends came to New York to learn to be artists. Do you know how they did it? They behaved like artists. My favorite, key plot of the book - Patti Smith and her friend Robert Mapplethorpe, dressed as tramps, went to Washington Square, where there are always a lot of people. One old lady stared at them and said to her husband, “Take a picture of them. I think they are artists." “No,” he shook his head, “they’re just kids.”
If anything, Patti Smith is the queen of punk rock, and she's amazing. Listen.

The whole world is a stage. To be creative, you also need a stage, a costume and a script. The stage is your workspace. It could be a studio desk or sketchbook. A suit is your work clothes - the special pants you paint in, the slippers you write in, or that funny hat that inspires you. And the script is time. An hour here, an hour there. The script in a play is only the time allotted for different episodes.

Fake it until you make it.

3. Write a book you would like to read

Short story: Jurassic Park came out when I was 10. I loved it. I was obsessed with him. And who at 10 years old was not obsessed with him? The moment I left the cinema I was already hungry for a sequel.

The next day I sat down at an old computer with a green monitor and wrote a sequel. In it, the forester's son, who was eaten by velociraptors in the first film, returns to the island along with the granddaughter of the park's creator. He wants to completely destroy the park, she wants to preserve it. Happens to them different adventures, and as a result, they, of course, fall in love with each other.

I didn't know it at the time, but I was writing what we can now call fan fiction based on existing characters
And 10 year old me saved this story on the computer
And, a few years later, Jurassic Park 2 came out.
It sucked.
The sequel can never live up to what we expect. With a continuation created in our heads.

Write what you know and love.
The question every young writer asks is, “What should I write about?”
And the usual answer is “Write about what you know.”
This answer always leads to the creation of disgusting stories that have nothing entertaining in them.
The best advice is not to write about what you know, but about what you love.
Write a story that you like.
We create because we like it
All fiction- this is essentially fan fiction
The best way to decide what to do is to think about what you would like to achieve but haven't done yet, and then do it. Create pictures that you yourself would like to look at, music that you would like to listen to, write books that you would like to read.

4. Use your hands.

My favorite cartoonist, Linda Barry, once said, “In this day and age, we need to use devices. Remember, your hands are the very first digital device.” When I was studying writing skills in college, like everyone else, I had to turn in my essays in double-spaced font Times New Roman. And everything turned out terrible for me. As soon as I started writing by hand, the work became more fun, and its quality noticeably improved.

The longer I'm away from the computer, the better my ideas become. Microsoft Word- my enemy. I use it all the time at work, so the rest of the time I try not to mess with it.

I think the more writing becomes a physical process, the better the writing becomes. You can feel the ink on the paper. You can spread the sheets all over the table and sort through them. You can put the text wherever it is convenient to look at it.

People often ask me why I don't create Newspaper Blackout apps for iPhone or iPad. I answer that there is some magic in holding a printed sheet in your hand. IN creative process Many of the senses are involved - even smells can provide a very special experience.

Art that comes only from the head cannot be anything good. Look at anyone talented musician, and you'll see what I mean. When I compose poetry, I don't feel like it's work. It's like a game. My advice: Find a way to engage your body. Draw on the walls. Stand while working. Lay things out on the table. Use your hands.

5. Side projects and hobbies are important.

The main thing that I realized in that short time that I was an artist: it is the side projects that “shoot”. By these I mean those things that at first seemed insignificant. Just a game. However, these are the things that are truly worthwhile - they are where the magic lies. My The blackout poems were such a side project. blackout poems - "crossed out poems"
If I only did writing short stories If I had not allowed myself to experiment freely, I would never have become who I am now.

It is equally important to have a hobby. Something just for yourself. My hobby is music. My creativity is for the world, and music is only for me and my friends. We get together every Sunday and make a fuss for a couple of hours. And that's great. So, the advice is this: give yourself time to do nothing. Find a hobby. It will be good for you and you never know where it will lead.

6. The Secret: Do a Good Job and Post It Where People Can See It

I receive a lot of letters from young artists who ask how they can find their audience. “How can I get someone to open me up”? I understand them very well. After graduating from college, I was also at a bit of a loss. The classroom is a wonderful, if artificial, place for creativity - the professor is paid to engage with your ideas, and your fellow students are paid to be interested in them.

Never again in your life will you have such attentive viewers. However, you will soon learn that the world at large does not care about your ideas. It sounds harsh, but it's true. As Steven Pressfield said, "It doesn't mean people are uneducated or cruel, they're just busy." If there was a secret formula for winning over an audience, I would tell you it. But I know only one not so original formula: “Make good project, and put it where people can see it."

This process takes place in 2 stages:

Step 1: “Make a good project” is incredibly difficult. And there is no recipe for quick success here. Work on your idea every day. Fail, do better.

Step 2: “Get the project seen” was difficult only 10 years ago. Now everything is very simple - “put the project on the Internet.”

Step 1 - Be surprised by something. Step 2 - Invite Others to Wonder with You
Be surprised by things that no one else is surprised by. If everyone is going for apples, go for oranges. One of the things I learned as an artist is that the more openly you share your feelings, the more more people I like your art. Artists are not magicians. There will be no punishment for revealing your secrets.

Believe it or not, I'm really inspired by people like Bob Ross and Martha Stewart. Bob teaches people how to paint, and Martha tells them how to transform their home and their entire lives. They both share their secrets.

People love it when you reveal secrets, and sometimes if you're good at it, they'll buy what you're selling.

When you open up and involve people in the creative process, you learn yourself. I learned a lot from the guys who submitted their essays to the Newspaper Blackout website. I borrow a lot from them. We mutually enrich each other.

Therefore, my advice: master Internet programs. Learn how to make a website, how to work on blogs, Twitter and other similar services. Find people online who like the same things as you and connect with them. Share ideas with them.

7. Geography no longer has power over us.

I'm happy that I live right now.

I grew up in the middle of cornfields in southern Ohio. When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was hang out with artists. Get out of southern Ohio and get to where something is happening.
I currently live in Austin, Texas. Overall, a cool place. There are tons of artists and other creative people everywhere.

And guess what? 90% of my mentors and colleagues do not live in Austin. They live on the Internet. Most of my projects, conversations and creative dating happen online. Instead of actually interacting in art studios, I made friends on Twitter and Google Reader.

Life is weird.

8. Be good. (the world is a big village)

Briefly. There's only one reason why I'm here. I'm here to make friends.

Kurt Vonnegurt said it best: “I know only one rule: you have to be kind, damn it.”
The Golden Rule has become even more valuable in our small world. Important lesson: If you talk about someone on the Internet, they will find it. Everyone types their name into Google search. The best way to defeat enemies on the internet is to ignore them. The best way to make friends is to speak well of them.

9. Be boring. (This - the only way do something)

As Gustave Flaubert said: "One must be correct and consistent in Everyday life- this will allow you to be passionate and unique in your work." I am a boring guy who works from 9 to 5, and lives in a quiet area with my wife and dog.
This whole romantic image of a bohemian artist who does drugs, hangs around and sleeps with everyone is completely fictional. It is intended for the superman or for those who want to die young. The truth is: art requires a lot of energy. But there will be no energy if you spend it on extraneous things.
Here's what helped me:
Take care of yourself
Eat breakfast, do a couple of pull-ups, get some sleep. Remember what I said earlier about good art coming from the body?

Don't borrow
Live modestly. Save money. Freedom from financial stress means freedom in the arts.

Find a day job and stick with it.
It will give you money, connection with the world and routine.
Parkinson's Law states that work forces you to manage your time better. I work from 9 to 5 and am creative just as much as I was doing while working half a day.

Keep a calendar and diary
You need a list of upcoming and past events. Art requires gradual work. It is not at all difficult to write a wanderer a day. Do this 365 days a year and you'll have a great story. The calendar will help you plan your work.
Here's the calendar I used when I wrote the book.

The calendar shows specific goals, helps you stay afloat and is happy to cross off completed tasks.
Start a calendar for any purpose. Break the task down into small periods of time. Turn it into a game.

For past events, I recommend keeping a diary. It's not regular, it's just a small book where you list the things you do every day. You'll be impressed by how useful writing this down can be, especially after a few years.

Create a strong family
This is the most important decision you will ever make.
A good spouse will not only be your partner, but also a colleague, a friend, someone who is always there.

10. Creativity is the rejection of excess

Often the artist's choice is to give up what makes art interesting.
In this age of information abundance, those who will succeed will be those who understand what they need to set aside in order to focus on what really matters to them.
Dedicating yourself to something means giving up other things.
What makes you interesting is not only your experience, but also what you have yet to experience
It's the same with art: you have to accept your limitations and move on.

Creativity is not only about the things we choose to include, but also about the things we exclude. Or cross it out.

That's all I can say.

Thank you all.

And thank you from me too if you have read this far.
I tried very hard and translated, so I will be glad if I get some feedback, constructive criticism and others like him.

As for the blog itself, I can say that I simply fell in love with the author. He wonderfully and clearly describes things that many people only get very mature age, which means it gives us Opportunity. The opportunity not to waste time, and now move towards your goals faster.
Everything written applies not only to artists, but also to all other people who want to include at least a drop of themselves in their activities, and give it their all.

We've come to the end new year holidays. I devoted almost all my time to my family and I have the warmest memories from this New Year. I devoted one of my quiet evenings at home to reading. wonderful book— “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.

I literally devoured it in one sitting. And now I’ll throw away all the rules for writing reviews and just share with you my impressions of this wonderful book.

In Austin Kleon, he generously shares with us ten lessons about creative expression that he learned from a decade of trying to figure out exactly how art is made.

In this article, I will literally retell this amazing book in my own words, and also add examples from my life and experience. I will be glad if you are interested.

So, lesson one

Friends, do you know where artists get their ideas from? According to Austin Kleon, they are stealing them. By the way, he’s not the only one who thinks so. In fact, if you look around, you won't be able to find anything completely original. Everything has already been invented before us...

Our genetics simply conveys this idea perfectly. Each of us is a remix of our ancestors. We receive a set of genes from each of our parents, yet each of us is unique.

In addition to the genes of our parents, we are also influenced by a huge number of factors - our friends, teachers, the books we read, the films we watch, the music we listen to.

There is definitely a person in your field who has achieved serious success and who arouses your admiration and perhaps even love. Make it a point to study the path and work of this person.

Then study in detail the stories of three people whom your idol admired in turn. Even if these masters lived a long time ago, they left us their legacy, which is described in their books, pictures, works...

If you want to be ahead, constantly learn! And Google everything: your dreams, fears, problems... From this sea of information, you will eventually draw your own picture. And of course, read constantly! Real, living books, sign up for the library!

Be sure to bring a notepad and pen! I have already lost so many ideas, forgetting that they just need to be written down. Sometimes they pour on me like a river, and sometimes they simply knock me off my feet and even take my breath away from their scale.

But if you don’t write them down, they instantly disappear into thin air just as they appear in my head. The notebook is already lying next to me and several ideas are written down in it...)))

You need to have a special folder for ideas. And it doesn’t matter what it will be: real or virtual. The main thing is not to lose ideas that come to mind in the most magical way.

Lesson two

Have you heard anything about “imposter syndrome”? Here is what medicine says about this: “Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which a person is unable to accept his own achievements.”

It seems to a person that he does not know enough, that he is not yet ready to share his knowledge with other people.

The most interesting thing is that almost everyone feels this. If you wait until you mature and become a true master of your craft, in the end, you will never start.

Cast aside doubts, stop soul-searching and finally get down to business, and not endless thoughts about what is too early for you...

YOU ARE ALREADY READY - GET TO WORK!

Here's what Austin himself says:

Don't steal the style itself, borrow the underlying mindset. If you simply skim the surface of someone else's work without understanding its origins, your work will always be just fakes.

Try right now to draw 10 identical stars or circles on a piece of paper. Did it work?))) Of course not! Man is not capable of making perfect copies and thank God!

Lesson three

Whenever you don't know what to do next, just ask yourself, “What story would be better than this?”

GO AND DO IT. Paint the picture you would like to see; start a business that you would like to manage; write a book you would like to read...

And don't delay! Get started immediately after reading this article!

Lesson four

Sitting in front of a computer for days kills. Austin Kleon thinks so and I agree with him. You definitely need to do something with your hands. Austin has two desks in his office: digital and analog.

There should be no gadgets or digital devices on the analogue floor - only notepads, pens, pencils, etc. That is, what helps you create. But on the digital table there is already a computer or laptop and other electronics.

I thought about it and realized that I also have a strong desire to do something with my hands. I usually write down interesting ideas in a notebook by hand.

I have such a strong feeling that when I simply record an idea on a laptop, it seems to dissolve and lose its former brightness and attractiveness.

Lesson five

Have you heard anything about productive procrastination? In my understanding, this is nothing more than a change in activities. The author of the book recommends working on several projects at the same time. If you get bored with one, go to another.

You will be surprised, but often side projects The things you do for fun can become the most successful things in your life. By the way, the most interesting ideas come to my mind when I'm idle. For example, I walk on the seashore or while jogging at the stadium.

And if before I wanted to learn something every free minute, I downloaded some audiobook or webinar to my phone and listened to them while walking with my child, but now I’ve moved away from that.

I just like to wander in silence - it’s in those moments that the magic happens and cool ideas appear in my head out of thin air.

Austin writes that a person must have a hobby that brings joy. Think about what you really like to do?

For example, I love to do handicrafts and do it with pleasure. At the same time, I understand perfectly well that I do not intend to make money with my hobby. It helps me switch gears, get distracted and just relax.

Lesson six

Fame formula from Cleon Austin
“Do your job well and share it with people”

It's actually simple. Become a true professional in your niche, an expert who knows almost everything about his topic. Of course it is a lot of work, but there are no easy ways here.

And share your knowledge, experience, valuable developments with other people. Create your own group on VKontakte or any other social network that you like best. Start your blog and share your values with people who share them.

And don't worry about someone stealing your ideas. I personally have a very philosophical attitude towards this. While someone spied on something and stole it from me, I already came up with something new)))

I read it in a book interesting quote. It is a little rough, but, in my opinion, quite accurate:

Don't worry about someone stealing your ideas. Even if they're really good, you'll have to shove them down people's throats

Howard Aiken, computer pioneer

Just create and create and don’t worry about the fact that someone can steal your idea!)))

Lesson seven

We live in an amazing time - a time of enormous opportunities that the Internet provides. I am sincerely surprised and don’t understand how these opportunities can be ignored.

It doesn't matter where you live or what you do. By using world wide web we can find like-minded people all over the world. We can communicate with whoever we want, learn from whoever we want and do what really lights us up.

And of course, our environment greatly influences us. Over the past three years I have met big amount people who are incredibly interesting to me.

The geography is simply impressive - different cities, different countries... real life what I do is understood and perceived by very few.

There are a lot of these amazing and interesting people on the Internet and my circle of online communication is constantly growing.

100 years ago Franz Kafka wrote an amazing phrase:

You don't have to leave the house. Sit at the table and listen. Don't even listen - wait. Don't even wait, just sit quietly alone. And the whole world will offer itself to you.

But you should not take this phrase literally...))) It is imperative to leave the house. Walking, wandering, traveling - all this gives new impressions, new acquaintances, new ideas and thoughts.

Lesson eight

In fact, this rule has worked, works and will work at all times - you just need to be a good person and that’s it!

People are drawn to those who are sympathetic, kind, and humane. It has always been this way. Stay close to talented people, try to be useful to them and make friends with them.

There is a wonderful Russian proverb: whoever you get along with, you will gain from it. I completely agree with her.

I only have idiots next to me, I learn a lot from them.

Ouestlove, drummer

Do you want to be a jerk? Be friends with idiots!))) No matter how rude it may sound, this is exactly how it works.

You need to find yourself talented person in your field and thoroughly study his work, subscribe to his newsletter, read and comment on his articles. Try to make friends with this person, become useful to him, maybe even work with him.

Personally, I did this very often and continue to do it now. If I like the project and the author of the project, I do not hesitate to write and offer cooperation. Naturally on favorable terms for him!)))

Help people! Don't expect anything in return! Provide links to sites and blogs of people you are interested in on your resources, talk about them on your social media platforms, send your subscribers links to their interesting articles.

And be sure to take action! Without action there is no result. By and large, nothing happens without action. And be prepared for the fact that not everyone will like what you do. It is quite possible that you will be criticized, maybe even insulted.

The secret is to simply not notice it all - to ignore it, in other words. And this is only possible if you are too busy with your business.

And a few words about dark times... Absolutely all people have them. How to experience them? It’s very simple - collect laudatory reviews and in moments of despair and when you want to throw everything to hell - just re-read them. This is exactly what Austin Kleon advises to do. I do this myself.

When it’s hard and sad for me, I re-read sincere letters from complete strangers to me, in which they thank me for the knowledge that I share, and the charge of motivation and self-confidence that they receive from me. This is incredibly inspiring and gives strength to move on, no matter what.

Lesson nine

Here's what Austin Kleon himself writes about himself:

I'm a boring person, I work nine to five, I live in a quiet suburb with my wife and dog. That romantic image of a brilliant creator, obsessed with drugs, hanging around and sleeping with everyone, has long gone out of fashion. This is for supermen and those who want to die young. The point is simple: creativity requires an enormous amount of energy. By wasting it on nonsense, you will leave nothing for creativity.

Therefore, my friends, take care of yourself!)))

We need to learn how to manage money wisely, because money is not what we earn, but what we save.

How often do we make completely unnecessary purchases, dictated to us by the far-fetched “needs” of consumer society. In his book, Kleon urges not to borrow and spend money very carefully and wisely. I agree with him.

And, of course, you shouldn’t do rash things and quit your main job. It will provide your life, give you new acquaintances, new ideas and, of course, set a certain regime.

Personally, I am not one of those people who rushes headlong to change something in their life. Only after completing several online courses on remote work, I decided to leave my main job and earn money exclusively remotely.

At the same time, I was completely confident that freelancing would feed me and provide me with a standard of living no worse than it was offline.

And, of course, you need to say a few words about the daily routine. Here's what Austin himself says about this:

Having and sticking to a schedule can be even more important than having plenty of free time.

Many people cannot work remotely for the simple reason that they are not able to organize their day.

When working for hire offline, they are subject to the schedule dictated by their employer. Organizing their day on their own is an impossible task for them. There seems to be a lot of time, but it is wasted in vain.

Ideally, the main job should pay well, not be “hard labor” and leave energy for your project in your free time. Finding such a job is not easy, but it is possible.

Another great idea I read in this book is to get yourself a calendar. Writing one unique post a day to your VKontakte group is a completely feasible task that anyone can cope with. But doing this 365 days a year is already a challenge for many.

So, a calendar can become an attribute that will help you plan your work, set clear and specific goals and work very persistently towards them. The idea is great and I will definitely use it.

There is also wonderful advice in the book - to start logbook, in which you can mark all the things you have done during the day. And these don’t have to be work- or business-related matters.

What book did you read today, what movie did you watch, what new funny thought did your child express - anything that touched or amazed you. I'll try to keep a logbook like this and see what comes of it...)))

And of course, you need to find your soulmate and take this search very seriously. By and large, this is the most important decision in our lives. I think that hardly anyone will argue with this statement.

Finding a person who will be your friend, partner and love of your life is great happiness and great luck.

Lesson ten

Today, each of us receives such a huge amount of information that many people have the illusion that their resources and capabilities are unlimited.

Actually this is not true! You need to learn to understand what you need to get rid of, be able to discard everything unnecessary and concentrate on what is most important. My personal experience says that it is very difficult to do this, but I try.

So I “retold” to you those 10 lessons of creative self-expression that a very young artist, Austin Kleon, gave us. “So what now, after reading the book?” - you ask…

If you're really curious about "WHAT NOW?" watch this short video that I specially recorded for you, my dear readers.

I would be very grateful if you write in the comments which of the 10 lessons of creative self-expression from Austin Kleon seems the most significant to you.

I will say right away that reading the above book brought a lot of positive emotions, and the scale of this mass was so great that I wanted to throw out all the impressions of what I read on 10 pages, no less. Well, okay, I’ll move on to presenting my thoughts briefly.

KKH freed me from the obsessive thought of being an artist in one field or another creative profession does not mean at all that he will be worthy of being called such only if he does something unusual without stealing a couple of other things from anyone good ideas. Quite the contrary, competent transformation of borrowed ideas, styles, tricks from other creators gives a completely new creative product. And it will not be considered some pathetic copy of the masterpiece of its brilliant predecessor.

In order not to be unfounded, I will give an example from my life. Probably many of us are familiar with the oppressive feeling of our unoriginality, that now it is hardly possible to do something, make something unusual, something that no one has done before. Surely such thoughts often occur to many people. So, I’m no exception. I consider myself one of the people who are very interested in various creative directions. About a year ago, I became interested in scrapbooking, looked at a lot of information on the Internet, master classes, and subscribed to several print publications on this type of creativity. I thought, now I’ll see what and how and start creating something super unique, because I have enough imagination. But no, that was not the case. After reading 5-6 magazines on scrapbooking, a thought passed through my head in disappointment, dejection, which I want to quote (it comes out twice: the first time it was done by the author of the book KKH) “... there is nothing new under the sun.” What, in fact, disappointed me so much and cut my wings? Much. Take, for example, master classes on creating calendars. I’ve seen so many different options for creating them that it would seem that what else I could come up with to distinguish myself from other scrap craftswomen. But! Using the acquired knowledge in this type of creativity, i.e. scrapbooking and knowledge from another type of creativity (I can’t reveal which one yet), the idea to create an original calendar was immediately born. My new idea for creating a calendar “... is just a vinaigrette, or a mixture, of previous ideas.” More than ever, this quote from the book can be summed up in the above situation from my life.

I got the impression that the author of the book had penetrated my brain and was answering my questions, expressing valuable thoughts about which I was tormented by doubts. Take this quote for example: “Collect books, even if you don’t plan to read them right away... “there is nothing more important than an unread library.” One habit I have is to buy books from time to time, which, as it always seems to me at the time of purchase, I will come home and immediately start reading. But in reality, it sometimes takes a while for many books to get their turn. And for some reason I always feel somehow embarrassed in front of myself. They say I bought it, but I don’t use it. But, as they say, everything has its time. I know for sure that there will certainly be a turn for each of the purchased books.

Despite the fact that the book is very easy to read, it is written accessible language and many of the ideas were already known, yet for myself personally I learned a lot of new things: for the first time I learned that a folder for stolen goods (or, as I would call it “for inspiration”), in the jargon of newspaper reporters, sounds like a “dead woman’s folder.” In general, the content of the book KKH is presented with a dose of good humor. I can’t help but note that the interspersed quotes make me happy famous personalities, links to books.

Chapter entitled “Don't wait until you understand yourself. Get to work!” instills confidence in a novice creator, artist, craftsman.

“You may be scared to start. This is fine." - I agree that the feeling of fear and self-doubt, or rather in what you do, visits very often. IN in this case I don’t mean that I’m afraid to take on this or that business, on the contrary, I try and do it with great pleasure. It's about another fear, the fear of showing off your creations through blogging. For a very long time I didn’t dare to have one, I was hampered by the thought that it wouldn’t be possible to do it beautifully, well, I was afraid of seeming funny. But once you start, even if the first published text and photos will be far from perfect, but over time, when you get into the habit of publishing your work, you acquire the skill of doing it better. Well, very few people will succeed right away; for this you need to get better at it.

Chapter “Try to do everything with your own hands.”

I would like to endlessly give examples and continue to praise the book of KKH. In a word, I recommend it to everyone. This book will be useful to everyone whose work is related to creativity and to those whose profession has nothing to do with it. The profession may not be creative, but the approach to it is quite possible, it’s just that everyone adapts all 10 tips specifically for themselves.

There is nothing completely original in the world. Even great creators looked around a lot and integrated ideas into their work.

Don’t pass off someone else’s as your own, but take ideas and improve them. It’s not a fact that everyone has heard about these ideas, so it never hurts to repeat them. It is important to keep track of what ideas you collect. Garbage in, garbage out.

To avoid dying trying to understand your discipline, try to find out everything about one thinker, then about three people which he liked, etc.

Be curious and constantly learning. Look up the meanings of unfamiliar words, Google your dreams and problems. Don't ask others until you Google it. Read constantly.

Keep what you steal. Always keep a notepad or phone with you and write down everything interesting. When you need inspiration, open it and start reading.

Don't wait until you understand yourself, get started

This way you will save time, be able to understand yourself and learn faster. You are already ready. And don’t let the “imposter syndrome” scare you, everyone feels it. Play creativity until you start creating.

Start copying - everyone learns this way. Do exact copy you won't succeed simply because you are a different person. You need to practice. But don't steal style, otherwise your work will remain just fakes. Borrow a way of thinking, learn to think and see like your heroes.

Switch from copying to imitation, and then start creating yourself. It is impossible to make an exact copy, and you will be forced to modify the techniques for yourself. Transform the work of your heroes into something unique to you. This is how evolution happens. What you give to the world is valuable, and only you can give it to it.

Analyze why you fail at something and how you are different, and turn it into advantages.

Bad Thief: unworthy, skims, steals from one, plagiarizes, imitates, robs.

Good Thief: worthy, learns, steals from many, pays tribute, transforms, arranges in a new way.

Write a book that you yourself would like to read

Don't write about what you know - this is how mediocrity is usually born. Write about what you like. Think about how your idols, great writers, would write, and do the same. What did they miss? What could you have done better? This also applies to your personal life, career, etc. Just ask yourself what story would be better than this one.

Paint the picture you would like to see. Start a business that you would like to run. Write a book that you would like to read. Make products that you would like to use. Do the thing you would like to see done.

Try to do everything with your hands

Computers deprive us of the feeling that we are actually doing something, provoke alienation, and kill you and your work. We just press buttons and click the mouse. The result cannot be touched until you print it out.

Work whose source is in the head cannot be good. Feelings are needed in everything - in music, performances, etc. People need to move, to feel what it is like to create something with their own hands.

Find a way to connect your body to work, start doing something with your hands. The body will tell the brain no less than the brain tells the body. Movement will push the brain to think.

The computer is very helpful in editing ideas and preparing for publication. But it is no help in generating ideas. It's too tempting to hit delete and start tweaking ideas before they're finalized.

Try to create several work zones - one completely analog, the other digital. There should be no electronics in the analog zone, as if the days of quill pens had returned. Write, tear up what you wrote and put what was torn back together. Work while standing. You can implement the idea you have on the computer in the digital zone, but if things stall, go back and play.

Understand the importance of hobbies and side projects

Often, the only truly successful side projects are the ones you do for fun. This is exactly what you do well. And then the real magic begins.

Don't limit yourself to one project. It's better to have several, switch between them and use productive procrastination. Even if you try to give up what you really like, phantom pains will torment you, and you will still return to what you love. Moreover, various projects complement each other, new unexpected connections are created in the brain.

Don't waste time on idleness. When you are busy, you become dull. Creative people find it useful to sit back. It focuses the mind. It is at this time that things come to mind best thoughts. It’s also good to take a walk and do physical labor.

It is very important to have a hobby. It doesn't have to make money. It should simply bring joy. A hobby is something that gives, but does not take. It revives.

Appreciate all aspects of your soul. There is no need to try to do everything according to some single scheme, try to connect all your hobbies. Just do them. And then you look back and see that everything makes sense.

Do your job well and share it with people

Many people are interested in how to become famous. This can be difficult because people are busy and don't care about anything. In fact, you need to take advantage of the fact that you are still unknown. There are no obligations, image or anything else. You can do whatever you want - experiment, do what you like, learn. It is better to attract attention to yourself after you have achieved something.

Another way is to be surprised by something, to pay attention to something unusual. Invite others to wonder with you, tell them something useful and interesting. People love it when you share your secrets with them. You can even learn from them in the process.

The Internet is not only a means of transmitting your ideas, but also their source. Start a blog or website, figure out how they work social media, communicate, learn new things, study.

Forget about geography - it no longer has power over you

With the help of the Internet, we can always be in touch with the whole world, but we can do without it. Kafka also said: “You don’t have to leave the house. Sit at the table and listen. Don't even listen - wait. Don't even wait, just sit quietly and alone. And the whole world will offer itself to you.” Periods of voluntary isolation and short periods of solitude are very important.

Leave the house. It's even better to move from time to time to a place where people live completely different lives. The brain feels too comfortable in its familiar environment. You need to shake yourself up, bring him out of his usual state of balance.

Be good (the whole world is a big village)

Make friends, ignore enemies, speak well of people. Stay close to people who are more talented and smarter than you, who are doing something really interesting. Watch what they do, what they talk about, what they are interested in.

Don't seek approval. It often seems that good job did not require any effort from the creator. But this is a wrong impression. Nobody knows how much time and effort goes into this. Not everyone will appreciate your work. And someone might even insult you. Learn to be comfortable with this situation or just be too busy to notice it.

Collect rave reviews. In moments of loneliness, disappointment and rejection, read a couple and see how your strength returns. But everything is temporary. Don't let yourself rest on your laurels.

Be boring - that's the only way to get your job done

Creativity requires a huge amount of energy, so take care of yourself, eat right, walk a lot, sleep. By wasting energy on nonsense, you will leave nothing for creativity.

Don't borrow. And try to spend as little as possible. Instead, procrastinate. This will allow you not to be tormented by the thought of money.

Don't quit your day job. If your creativity does not yet bring in money, your main job will allow you to receive it. And freedom from financial pressure means freedom of expression. In addition, you will be able to be among people and learn from them.

You will also have a work schedule. Having and sticking to a schedule can be even more important than having plenty of free time. Inactivity kills creativity. It is important not to lose track of your work rhythm. Therefore, try to find a job that will pay you decently and leave enough energy for creativity in your free time.

Get yourself a calendar. Break all planned work into daily segments. Every day, when you finish working, place a cross in the corresponding square. This will allow you not to be intimidated by big tasks and move forward.

Keep a logbook. Past events are no less important than future ones. Just write down briefly at the end of the day what happened - what you worked on, what you ate, what movie you watched, and so on. This is much easier than keeping a detailed diary. But these little things will help you remember a lot of important things.

Striving for a good marriage is the most important decision. This person will always be nearby, will become a business partner, best friend. And it’s doubly difficult for partners of creative people.

Think of creativity as subtraction skills.

In this age of abundance, those who win are those who understand what they need to get rid of in order to concentrate on what really matters. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of unlimited possibilities. A work of art is characterized not only by what is put into it, but also by what is left out.

Overcoming creative block is easy - just limit yourself. Paradoxically, limitation in this case means freedom. Write a song during lunch. Paint a picture with one color. Write a book using only 50 words. Don't make excuses that it won't work. Create things using the resources you have right now.

Take action

Go for a walk.
Keep a folder for “stolen items.”
Join the library.
Buy a notepad and use it.
Make yourself a calendar.
Start keeping a logbook.
Give this book to someone.
Start a blog.
Get a good night's sleep.

Steal Like an Artist is a book by Austin Kleon about how to succeed at what you love. I suggest reading a summary of this book online. Only the most important thoughts and key points!

Reading the book “Steal Like an Artist” will be useful not only for artists, and not only for creative people. Take it wider! Our whole life is creativity in its most diverse manifestations. Business, family, achieving goals, career, recreation, hobbies, favorite things - all this is essentially creativity.

What does “Steal like an artist” mean? This is what you will find out now!

Of course, in order to fully understand and experience the book, it would be better to read it in its entirety. Therefore, you can treat this article as a review (or testimonial) before purchasing. And you can immediately take advantage of this information and start applying it in practice.

Steal like an artist. 10 Lessons on Creative Expression

? Steal like an artist!

There is something that is worthy of being borrowed and something that is not. One out of two.

How does an artist view the world? An evaluation mechanism is always working in his head. He decides whether to use it in his painting, and then moves on to something else. After all, everything can be useful. If not today, then tomorrow.

There is nothing original. Do you think anything is original? Most likely, you simply did not calculate the source of the borrowing.

Nothing comes out of nowhere. Any creativity is based on what was created once before. There is nothing completely original. Any new and even unique idea is just a combination of previous ones.

A good example is you. After all, you are a combination of the genes of your parents, and they, accordingly, are a combination of the genes of their parents, and so on. But! Any person is not just the sum of genes, you are more than just the genes of all your ancestors. Do you understand? You are made up of non-unique things, but you are unique!!!

An artist is a collector. But there is no point in collecting everything in your collection. Artists choose only what is truly worthy.

So feel free to find and save cool ones? ideas. The larger your collection, the more unique creations you can collect from it.

And this requires an open mind. Be curious, learn new things on your own or find teachers (authorities), get better at what you like. Find the best of the best. ?

Did you learn something useful? Great. Then be sure to save this. Steal it like a real artist. “Art is theft,” said Pablo Picasso. But don’t pass off what you stole as yours. It is pointless. Instead, make something new from your collection. Create a whole from small pieces. Create something that will evoke completely unique feelings and emotions that have nothing in common with the original sources. This is what “Steal Like an Artist” really means... Just create, friends!

? Don't wait until you understand yourself. Get to work!

Only by starting to do something can you understand yourself better. Otherwise, you will continue to do self-digging.

Yes, there is nothing strange about this. There is something called “imposter syndrome.” This is a psychological trap when a person is unable to accept his own achievements and feels out of place. It seems to him that he is an impostor, that he is about to be exposed.

Do you want to know a terrible secret? Everyone feels it. Even those who create something truly great and global. Creators don't know where they come from the right decision. They're just doing their job.

A good way to overcome impostor syndrome is ? play. Play until you start creating.

Pretend to be someone you're not. Copy who you want to be. Just play the role and one day you will find that you and your role are one.

Don't be afraid to start as a copy. After all, then you will become an original!

No one is born with individual style. We don't know who we are when we are first born. We get to know this world by copying it.

There is nothing wrong with copying. The trick is that the human hand is not capable of creating an absolutely exact copy. This is impossible! How do we learn to write? Copying the alphabet. But each of us has our own? handwriting! And so it is in everything.

Thus, no matter what you do, no matter what you copy, it will already have a touch of uniqueness. You just need to decide who and what to copy.

So who should you copy? Of course, those people you want to be like. The main thing is not to steal everything from one person, otherwise you will become just a pale copy. Steal from many people, adding your own - this is the only way you will become a true original!

What to copy? Don't steal the style itself, otherwise you'll just make a fake. Copy the way you think. Find the origins of other people's creativity. Look behind the screen, understand in detail how exactly it all began and how it was prepared. ?

Gradually, copying will be replaced by imitation. This is the next stage of your development. Copying is repetition. Imitation is repetition with adaptation for oneself.

It's like a boxer who first learned all the moves of his idols. But sooner or later he will realize that he cannot reproduce all the techniques with 100% accuracy, since he has a different build. And the boxer will have no choice but to adapt the movements to suit himself, creating his own style.

It is precisely the unsuccessful attempt to become a copy of the ideal that will make you unique!

This flaw of ours - the inability to create a perfect copy - is ultimately what makes us special.

Therefore, you can only be congratulated if you realized that you cannot become an absolute copy of your ideal. Think about it, why is this so? What are your differences? These differences can be yours business card, your style.

Thus, blind copying gives nothing to the world. But it gives you the opportunity to become yourself and then give the world something truly valuable.

? Write a book that you yourself would like to read.

To create a masterpiece, write not about what you know, but about what you love. This rule (like others on this list) applies not only to creativity.

Family, business, career, personal life - in each of these areas you can form a picture of what you like. All that remains is to bring what you like to life!

Don't walk on a familiar road if you walk on it only because circumstances have developed that way. Find a path that makes you happy!

Write a book that you would like to read.
Make a website that you would like to be on.
Develop a game that you yourself would like to play.
Build the career or business of your dreams.
Create the family you would like to live in.

Find out what you love and just do it!

? Try to do everything with your hands.

The computer makes our life easier.

Sitting at a computer, we can create something great.

However, you will be much more effective and productive if you work not only with your head, but also with your hands.

Note from me. Take the same one. It would seem that this is nonsense - it is much more convenient to mark completed tasks in a computer organizer. But when you can feel your progress with your hands, it’s a completely different feeling, a completely different motivation! And so it is with everything in this life.

? Recognize the importance of hobbies and side projects.

Sometimes what we do out of idleness or as a hobby actually turns out to be the work of our whole lives.

Do not waste time on idleness and Often brilliant ideas come to us precisely when we are not doing anything useful.

Also allow yourself to take on multiple projects. Tired of being alone? Switch to another one. And so on in a circle.

Just because you have multiple passions doesn't mean you have to choose just one. Sometimes this switching from one to the other helps create something truly unique.

Never give up on your hobby. Even if it remains just a pleasant pastime, let it be your outlet.

Even if you have a favorite thing to do, a hobby should also be present. This way you will create much better. We all need a break, even from what we love.

Allow yourself to be a multifaceted person. And one day you will realize that all this was not in vain.

? Do your job well and share it with people.

How to become famous?

Relax and take advantage of the fact that no one knows about you yet. After all, in such conditions there is no trust in you. You can do whatever you want. So experiment and do it for your own pleasure. You don’t yet have fans, clients, shareholders and advances to work off. Right now you are absolutely free to choose your path. Take advantage of it!

Well, in order to become famous, you need to do the following:

First, do your job well. It sounds simple, but it is actually quite difficult. There will be defeats. Spit! and become better.

? Forget about geography - it no longer has power over us.

The Internet is a great invention that helps us convey our ideas, find fans, partners and clients around the world.

Don’t think that if you live in (.), you won’t achieve anything. Yes, this was the case before (although even then there were exceptions to the rules). But now, when with one click of the mouse you can change the world, such an excuse does not work.

But this does not mean that you need to sit in one place without changing anything around you. Therefore, it will be useful to at least spend some time in other places. Even short trips will be useful, because at this time the world seems new, different, special, and in such circumstances our brain begins to work more intensely, fresh ideas appear. ?

New people around also contribute to new ideas. Moreover, people can be on the same wavelength as you, or completely different, with different interests and a completely different way of life.

Thus, the world around us is full of possibilities. Take advantage of it!

? Be good (the whole world is a big village).

Make friends and ignore your enemies. You can only be as good as the people around you. Now you have the opportunity to communicate online with the best people- with someone who has achieved more than you. Take advantage of this great opportunity! By communicating with the best, you become the best yourself.

And if it turns out that now you are the best, then don’t be proud of it, but find those who are better than you today. Is this the only way to ensure consistency? development.

If something in the world around you makes you angry (for example, unfair criticism), then don’t waste time on it. Instead, use that anger as fuel to become a better person.

There is no point in looking for someone's approval. No matter how brilliant your work is, not everyone will appreciate it. Moreover, you are almost certainly or even with . Score it. Learn to feel comfortable in such an environment. The secret of this skill is simple - be too busy to waste your time on anything negative. Get busy and don't notice it.

And also collect laudatory reviews. Even if you decide not to seek anyone's approval, still collect all the nice things people say about you and your work. For what? The euphoria of success quickly passes, and sometimes difficult times come. And then (when you need support more than ever) you will get these positive reviews and you will understand that you are going to in the right direction. This really helps a lot!

? Be boring (that's the only way to get your job done).

What you love requires. If you waste it on all sorts of nonsense, it will be difficult to achieve success.

Try not to quit your main job if you have just decided to get into creativity or business. Of course for some people it will be effective way development (we drive ourselves into a situation of “we can’t help but do it”; in the end it turns out that we have no choice but to achieve success). But it's still stressful. ?

The daily routine is very important. Having a schedule is often more beneficial than having large quantity free time. So even if you still have to go to work, but you consistently allocate time for your favorite thing, it is far from a fact that you will be less effective.

So the main thing is regularity. Just think, you can write a book quickly and easily if you write just 1 page a day. In a year you can create a full-fledged book! And we're not just talking about books here. Do what develops you for a long time and you will see incredible progress. For you it will seem like slow development, but for the people around you you will be a superman.

Is that why it's so important? plan your days, weeks, months and years. Set a plan and steadily move towards your goal. A big journey begins with a small step!

It is equally important to write down what happened. It will be much easier for you to analyze your life and work, you will be able to objectively see what seems invisible at first glance. ?

And there’s no need to talk about how important a good ❤️️ marriage is. After all, you choose the person who will have the strongest influence on your entire life. later life.

? Think of creativity as the ability to subtract.

We live in an age of information overload. Therefore, now it is imperative to be able to get rid of unnecessary things and leave what really matters.

Don't try to use all resources. This is simply impossible. Most likely, it will even plunge you into a stupor. Try creating artificial restrictions for yourself. All the time allotted for it is spent on work.

Therefore, act in conditions of limited resources. By limiting ourselves, we become freer, no matter how strange it may sound.

My review of the book “Steal Like an Artist”

The book will be useful not only for artists, but also for all creative and non-creative people who want to succeed in their favorite business.

You will learn how to become a Creator with a capital C.

Steal like an artist is detailed instructions how to do what you love. Whether you're starting a business or writing a book (or doing something else, it doesn't matter) - 10 lessons on creative self-expression from Austin Kleon will come in handy.

Some of these tips may seem obvious to you or simply not feasible in your particular case. This is fine. Use only what you are passionate about. After all, creativity is freedom, including the freedom to choose.

Despite the provocative title, the book also refutes it. There's no point in stealing. You can only create! With such a provocation, the author tries to free us from prejudices and stereotypes. And he does it very well.

The main idea of the book is You don't need to be a genius, just be yourself. And then everything will definitely work out.

The book itself is short - 150 pages. Contains many examples, quotes and illustrations. If you want to dive deeper into the world of creativity and inspiration, then it makes sense to buy this book. Also would the book make a great gift? for those who love high-quality and creative things.

Sometimes it is very difficult to select what really works, what can really help. In an age of information overload, you have to dig through a mountain of slag to find a diamond. So, the book “Steal Like an Artist” is, if not a diamond, then certainly a diamond. I recommend!