creative wisdom
“Share your dots, but don’t connect them”
- Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
“Chew on one thinker—writer, artist, activist, role model—you really love. Study everything there is to know about that thinker. Then find three people that thinker loved, and find out everything about them….
The writer Wilson Mizner said if you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism, but if you copy from many, it’s research. I once heard the cartoon
... See more“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
- Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
Done is more important than good. If people don’t like it they can make their own.
“Serious art comes from serious play”
“Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them”
You’re only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with. In the digital space, that means following the best people online—the people who are way smarter and better than you, the people who are doing the really interesting work.”
- Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
“The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom. Write a song on your lunch break. Paint a painting with only one color. Start a business without any start-up capital. Shoot a movie with your iPhone and a few of your friends. Bu
... See more“None of us know what will happen. Don’t spend time worrying about it. Make the most beautiful thing you can. Try to do that every day. That’s it.”
- Austin Kleon, Keep Going