The Book in 3 Sentences

1. There are no unique messages, only unique messengers. Artists don’t get ideas, they take inspiration from others and blend them with their thoughts. That is how true and “original” art is made.
2. Art is (happy) freedom + discipline. That’s it.
3. The book offers wonderful insights on how to enhance your creativity, things that are common but ignored by modern society.

Who should read it?

This has to be a mandatory requirement for anyone who is creating content online. Apart from that, if you’ve got interest in Art, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, this is a book that is going to help you a lot.

Finally, this is for anyone who needs to find peace and calm from the busy bandwagon as it offers refreshing insights on living a more happy, curious, calm and joyous life: a life full of meaning by doing and making time for things that we love, i.e. igniting the artist within you.

Best Quotes

• “When people call something “original,”, nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.”
• “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
• “Read deeply. Stay open. Continue to wander. Google.”
• “Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. Get used to pulling it out and jotting down your thoughts and observations. Copy your favourite passages out of books. Record overheard conversations.”
• “I have stared long enough at the glowing flat rectangles of computer screens. Let us give more time for doing things in the real world . . . plant a plant, walk the dogs, read a real book, go to the opera.”
• “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life”
• “Instead of being friends with people who live geographically apart, make twitter friends. You don’t need to be anywhere special to be connected with the world that you want. That is the power of social media.”
• “All you need is a little space and a little time: a place to work, and some time to do it. A little self – imposed solitude and temporary captivity.”
• “Complain about the way other people make software by making software.”
• “A great artist is a boring guy with a 9-5 who lives in a quiet neighbourhood with his wife and kids. The whole romantic image of the creative genius doing drugs and running around and sleeping with everyone is played out. The thing is: it takes a lot of energy to be creative, and you don’t want to waste that energy elsewhere. Those old principles do actually work: of doing breakfast, doing some push-ups going for long walks and getting sleep.”
• “Take walks, go to libraries, use notebooks, get yourself a calendar, start a blog, take a nap.”
• “Start copying what you love. Copy, copy and copy. At the end of copy, you will find your self.”

Highlights & Notes

Art is theft

The idea associated with artists being original thinkers is absolutely false. When people call something original, they do not know the sources involved there. One thing artists are good at is collecting ideas. They always have some sort of filing system (which Austin calls a swipe file), which helps them collect ideas which they can think upon later. It really is an inventory of all the ideas and things they liked. The idea of carrying a notebook and a pen (or a note-taking app on a mobile or laptop) is life-changing. Believe me (and Austin).

Schooling vs Education

There is an education for which you go to paid schools. But the best type is what is called self-schooling. In the modern society that we live in, there is an abundance of resources. All you need is curiosity about the things you love. And then there is Google and people we surround ourselves with. A combination of these 3 serves as the best school. No wonder internet is a wonderful place.

Who to copy and what to copy?

Copy from your ideals. From your heroes. People who inspire you, who you want to be.

The fact that we are unable to make exact copies is a wonderful flaw. In an attempt to copy our ideas, we will find our own techniques i.e. what works for us, because mid-way we will realize that our body and mind is different from theirs and we are not able to fully copy them. The book gives an example of how Legend Kobe Bryant tried to copy the greats before him, and how The Beatles started as a cover band. You copied the alphabets in playschool so that you could write sentences later. We learn by copying.

Digital v/s Analogue

The computers are killing us. Yes, they are wonderful tools for the 21st century and our lives cannot be what they are today without them, still, there has to be a separation of Digital things and Analog ones.

Just typing and clicking is not moving. To make things, you need to move your body. As Austin Kleon puts: “The computer is really good for editing your ideas, and it’s really good for getting your ideas ready for publishing out into the world, but it’s not really good for generating ideas. There are too many opportunities to hit the delete key. The computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us—we start editing ideas before we have them. The cartoonist Tom Gauld says he stays away from the computer until he’s done most of the thinking for his strips, because once the computer is involved, “things are on an inevitable path to being finished. Whereas in my sketchbook the possibilities are endless.”

What he recommends is: creating 2 separate desks. One analogue and one digital. One where you have all the computers, lenses, keyboards etc. And the other where the magic happens, which is full of pens and pencils, pads and paper and sticky notes and scissors so that you can revisit your craft period when you were in school.

On Side Projects and Hobbies

Having side projects is the most important thing in the world. Because those are the things you love and would do for the rest of the lives without anyone forcing you to.

It does not necessarily need to be productive. It is just any (creative) activity that is just for you. And do this stuff regularly because this is play and gives you happiness, which then blends into other areas of life as well.

Having a lot of side projects gives you a chance to bounce between them if you get bored from one. This is the ideal life, really.

Sharing work with people

The power of the internet is that you can be friends with people living on the other side of the globe. And so, it is a good idea to share the work with people on the internet, which will attract other like-minded people. Literally, this stuff is life-changing.

But, sharing the work means you are providing value for free, and people may perceive it in the wrong way. Get comfortable with it. The right ones will stick and appreciate it.

With the internet comes its stupidity. There are a lot of people out there posting stupid stuff on the internet. Instead of picking fights, do your work. Fights are endless, your time is not.

Captivity and Solitude

“All you need is a little space and a little time: a place to work, and some time to do it. A little self – imposed solitude and temporary captivity”

The modern world is competing for our attention. Food scientists are competing to play with your taste buds. The nerds at silicon valley are making apps that compete for your time. In this state of a hodge-podge, it is essential to make the time of quiet for yourself, where YOU do the thinking, not anyone else.

Art is in discipline

Being regular and orderly in life enables us to be violent and passionate in our work, because you will have those boring systems put in place to take care of all the other things, and you can focus on doing your work.

Those old principles do actually work: of doing breakfast, doing some push-ups going for long walks and getting sleep. The whole romantic image of the creative genius doing drugs and running around and sleeping with everyone is played out. the thing is: it takes a lot of energy to be creative, and you don’t want to waste that energy elsewhere.

Keep Your Day Job

While side hobbies and interests are good, it does not mean we should absolutely throw away the boring 9-5 job. While there are people out there who quit their jobs to be full-time artists, keeping your job means that you don’t need to worry about your money problems, which in turn gives you the freedom to express yourself at your craft. When you are fearful if your art will resonate with people or not, neither is it all fun nor will it be your best work.

Youtuber Ali Abdaal has this ideology that doing ANYTHING full time is not a good idea. Instead, being the jack-of-all-trades sorts is a more practice thing to do, and apparently is more fun.

Rating

5/5. (A mandatory read for all my friends!)

If you like this summary, you will love the book. Also, do check out Austin Kleon’s website for more of his awesome work. He writes an amazing newsletter in which he sends 10 interesting things that he discovers each week.