Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon, the author of Steal Like An Artist, says that it’s okay to “steal” ideas because nothing in this world is completely original. Everything has been done before in some way, and all artists do is tweak a thing or two, but the core idea stays the same.
Take my website as an example. There are tons of websites sharing book summaries, and I’m doing the same thing. The difference is how I share my thoughts. At the end of the day, we’re all talking about the same books, but each of us adds our own flavor to it.
So, why are you here reading my website? It’s because you want to know my thoughts. Maybe you found me through YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram, or maybe you just saw my site in Google search results. Whatever the reason, you’re here to hear my perspective, and that’s what makes it unique.
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Book in Five Sentences
- Nothing is Original: Everything is built on something that came before. Stop stressing about being totally original. Embrace influences, but make them your own. Even the best artists copy, they just do it in their unique way.
- Follow Your Passion: Don’t try to fit into someone else’s idea of success. Do what excites you, even if it doesn’t seem like the perfect path. Your passions will guide you in ways you can’t predict yet.
- Your Heroes Can Teach You a Lot: Don’t just admire your heroes; learn from them. Copy their work and find out where you fall short. That’s where your unique touch will come through.
- Hobbies Matter: You don’t need to monetize everything. Hobbies are a way to do something creative for pure enjoyment, without worrying about making money or getting famous.
- Share Your Journey: Don’t wait until your work is “perfect” to share it. The internet is a great space to show your process, even the messy parts. This helps you connect with people and get feedback that can improve your work.
Steal Like An Artist Summary
Steal Like An Artist is one of those books everyone should read because it talks about work and how you can grow by doing what you love.
The author has shared 10 big ideas that will open your eyes and make you see the reality of being an artist. These ideas will inspire you and give you a new way to look at creativity and originality.
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
- Steal Like an Artist.
- Don’t Wait Until You Know Who You Are to Get Started.
- Write the Book You Want to Read.
- Use Your Hands.
- Side Projects and Hobbies Are Important.
- The Secret: Do Good Work and Share It with People.
- Geography Is No Longer Our Master.
- Be Nice. (The World Is a Small Town.)
- Be Boring. (It’s the Only Way to Get Work Done.)
- Creativity Is Subtraction.
By the way, the book is quite short—you can finish it in just an hour. It’s packed with small insights that will make you rethink some of the things you’ve always believed.
Nothing is Orignal
“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.” – William Ralph Inge
Jonathan Lethem once said that when people call something “original,” it’s usually because they don’t know where the idea came from or what inspired it.
A good artist understands that no idea appears out of thin air. Everything creative is built on something that came before. Even the Bible says, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
Related: Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Some people might find this concept disappointing, but for me, it’s uplifting. André Gide captured it well: “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
When you let go of the pressure to be completely original, you can stop forcing yourself to create something out of nothing. Instead, you can embrace inspiration and build on what already exists.
Copy your heroes
“I have stolen all of these moves from all these great players. I just try to do them proud, the guys who came before, because I learned so much from them. It’s all in the name of the game. It’s a lot bigger than me.” – Kobe Bryant
Here’s the beauty of being human: we’re incapable of making perfect copies. And in that imperfection, we find what makes us unique. That’s where growth and creativity come from.
When you try to copy your heroes, pay attention to where you fall short. Somewhere in those gaps lies your individuality—your unique twist on the world. That’s what you should highlight and develop into your own style.
Simply mimicking your heroes isn’t enough. The real way to honor them is by taking their influence and turning it into something that only you can create. That’s how you add value to the world—by contributing something that’s authentically yours.
Don’t Throw Any of Yourself Away
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward.” – Steve Jobs
If you’re passionate about two or three things, don’t feel like you need to choose one and abandon the rest. Keep them all in your life. Your passions, no matter how different they seem, are part of who you are.
That’s why having a hobby is so important. A hobby isn’t something you pursue for fame or money; it’s something you do purely because it brings you joy. For me, it’s making YouTube videos. I don’t expect anything from it—it’s just something I genuinely enjoy doing.
Don’t throw away parts of yourself to fit some imaginary mold. Don’t stress about having a grand plan or a perfect vision for your work. What connects everything you do is simple—you. One day, when you look back, all those seemingly random pieces will come together and make perfect sense.
You can take this website as an example. I don’t plan to make money out of it; I write these articles for myself.
Whenever I feel like revisiting a certain book, I can just come back to my own articles, and they’ll bring back that memory, that feeling, the thoughts I had when I was writing them.
Just like everyone else, I take tons of notes when I read books. What I’m doing here is putting those notes online, on my server, so I have control over them. It’s my way of preserving my thoughts and creating a personal library for myself.
Share What You Like
- Step 1: Wonder about something.
- Step 2: Invite others to wonder with you.
You should wonder about things that no one else is thinking about. If everyone’s wondering about apples, go wonder about oranges.
The more open you are about sharing your passions, the closer people will feel to your work. Artists aren’t magicians. There’s no penalty for revealing your secrets.
You don’t have to put yourself online only because you have something to say—you can also use it to figure out what you want to say.
The internet doesn’t have to just be a place to publish finished ideas—it can be a space for ideas that aren’t fully formed yet, a place where your work can grow.
Many artists worry that being online will slow down their creativity, but for me, having an online presence is a boost.
Most websites and blogs display posts in reverse-chronological order, so your latest post is the first thing visitors see. It’s like being only as good as your last post.
Steal Like An Artist Review
Honestly, what the author shares isn’t something entirely new. All of it is already out there on the internet—you’d just have to find it on your own. What Austin Kleon did is take those ideas, put them together, and share them in his own way.
So, like him, don’t hesitate to borrow ideas from others. Just make sure you add your own twist—be yourself while you’re learning from someone else.
Buy Steal Like An Artist:
Steal Like An Artist Quotes
“What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.”
“You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.”
“When people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.”
“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.”
“You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life.”
“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy,“The best advice is not to write what you know, it’s to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like best—write the story you want to read. The same principle applies to your life and your career:” you will find yourself.”
“Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.”
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