Steal Like an Artist is a short book by Austin Kleon about the habits and practices of successful creators. Though not specific to a single creator, it references many known and somewhat lesser-known creators.
What I loved about this book was that it included quotes and images that delve deep into the creative process. I’m a process-oriented person and I felt that this book successfully brought together how-tos and related evidence into the space of creation.
True to its message, its form is short and to the point. I appreciate that Kleon wants the reader to get into the act of creating sooner than later.
This said, not only is it inspirational and insightful, but it’s also actionable.
These are a few of the lessons I gleaned from it put in my own words.
Combinatorial creativity
Nothing is original
Rarely do creators concoct ideas and concepts on their own. Instead, they synthesize from multiple sources and ultimately create their version of the thing.
As Isaac Newton wrote :
“If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
This is what creators do. They combine ideas to get to their work of art.
An expansion of this is the idea of combinatorial creativity, which has been written about extensively by Maria Popova at brain pickings. Popova likens creativity to more like working with LEGOs:
“For creativity, after all, is a lot like LEGO – if we only have a few bricks of one shape, size, and color, what we build would end up dreadfully drab and uniform; but if we equip ourselves with a bag of colorful bricks of various shapes and sizes, the imaginative temples we build might appear to an onlooker to have been inspired by “a ray of grace,” yet we need only look to our bag of LEGOs to be reminded from whence they came.”
Idea remixing
Along the line of combinatorial creativity, Kleon suggests we remix ideas to invent our own. This topic reminded me of James Altucher’s 'idea sex' practice. In his article describing how GI joe was invented (worth a read in of itself), he quotes the inventor Stan Weston stating:
Truly groundbreaking ideas are rare, but you don’t necessarily need one to make a career out of creativity. My definition of creativity is the logical combination of two or more existing elements that result in a new concept. The best way to make a living with your imagination is to develop innovative applications, not imagine completely new concepts.
As Weston says, combining ideas and applying them when solving problems is much more useful than developing entirely new concepts.
Create a swipe file
Combinatorial creativity seems simple on the surface - connect some dots, have new ideas. However, how do you make sure you have these connections? Kleon suggests creating a ‘swipe file’ or a file of things you’ll refer to or use later when developing your work.
In the creator space, swipe files take the form of google folders, notions hubs, or highly organized notes in Roam research. To me, the easiest way to start is just to start bookmarking or adding content to a reading list. Your next step should be organization, then curation and creation (in no order).
Getting in the habit of saving interesting ideas or assets will get you closer to having ready access to connections when you need them.
Get Over Yourself
Everyone is an imposter
At the start of anything new, we all feel like imposters. The biggest mistake as we grow and get better is that we believe this feeling will eventually go away. It doesn’t.
Take it from Maya Angelou, who said:
I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.
Doubting your abilities is a natural consequence of not having superpowers and being able to occupy another person’s mind. This ‘what are they thinking’ behavior leads us to believe that others will see through us. We believe that other great creators have unlimited confidence and the gold overflows from their brains. Neither is the case.
All people are inherently narcissistic (though its on a spectrum) and are usually only thinking about themselves.
Even the greatest creators feel like imposters, regardless of where they are on the journey.
In the book, Kleon shared a method for embracing imposter syndrome - acknowledge that we’re all playing a part on the stage of life. Regardless of how well we play the part, we take part in the play. The difference is that creators have the unique opportunity of actually influencing what’s acted out on stage. If they can put comfort aside, creators can use their art to inspire others to start or continue their journey.
Hence, feeling like an imposter is permanent, it’s what you do with the feeling that matters. As Kleon suggests, we’re all imposters in our way and we have a choice to make - we can either own who we want to be, or we can believe we’re imposters and never overcome our fictional fears.
Embrace obscurity
To thrive as a creator, you need to be authentic. That’s easy to say, but the road to authenticity is hard. It takes time to get to know yourself. It takes effort to realize what art you want to create. Therefore, Kleon suggests that when just starting, creators should embrace obscurity.
This embrace takes the form of just focusing on the act of creating, day by day. This embrace gives you the permission to work on your process and develop your voice. It gives you the right to keep practicing until you’ve discovered who you are and what you have to say.
Once you’ve honed in on your identity and curiosity, then it’s time to amplify that message. Your niche will become clear and your true self will emerge.
Simplify your life and art
Be boring
Keep your day job, have a routine, and become a consistent creator. This is the way to develop a habit that will endure through both easy and hard times.
It will reduce pressure and allow you to create until you find you need to scale your message and your art.
Creativity is constraints
Creation is distillation. It’s synthesizing observations in a way that no one else has. To do this successfully, you must cull and cull again until you’ve refined your art to something worth sharing.
Through this process, you create clarity for yourself and your consumers.
Instead of adding substance, always be asking yourself - what I can remove, what is confusing? Through this introspection, you’ll find sections, sentences, words, or empty phrases.
Book Rating
7/10 - I gave this book a 7 primarily because I felt a lot of the insights were stolen; no pun intended. I feel like it could have been a blog post, but it was organized as a book that was easy to read and integrate. I still give it a 7 because of the diversity of the creators included, and the thematic organization.