STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST

Austin Kleon

Rating: ★★★★★

Austin Kleon's inspiring manifesto "Steal like an artist" was released this year. It's described as "a manifesto for the digital age" The book has an enticing view on life, One which really correlated with my own philosophy.

Like Sun Tzu's "Art of War" the book is played out as an analogy. In this case an analogy of an artist/entrepeneur. Austin Kleon is a relatively 'new' author, Who currently resides in Texas. The book starts off stating a rather bold principal "Nothing is original". It goes on to explain how every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of previous ideas, The book is consistent in keeping with the first principal all the way through.

The book draws a line between 'plagiarism' and 'original', Showing the reader that the two categories arent as differenet as one may think. Of course all ideas come from somewhere and an original idea is just a 'mash-up' of multiple ideas. The book explains how you are the sum of your influences, You a mizture of what you choose to let in to your life, It portrays this in an analogical manner.

Austin Kleon discusses how all advice is biographical, It comes from past experiences and thats why its quite hard to relate to other popels advice, As the old dictum goes 'Learn from experience, Not from others'. Austin emphasizes the point 'Dont wait till you know who you are to start making things', Because making things is how you discover yourself.

Throughout the book Austin discusses 10 principals of being a successful 'creative. One of which is 'Fake it 'till you make it' which really means; 'Talk the talk, before you walk the walk'. Which I personally think is essential in life, You dont just become an entrepreneur over night, You either are one from the beginning or your not.

In my opinion one of the most crucial principals in the book is 'Write the book you want to read', It means 'Do what you want to do, Not what others dictate you to do', The point of life is to do what youre passinate about and have fun doing so, Right? (Within certain means). We've always been told to 'Write what we know' not 'Write what we like', Is everybody wrote about what they knew how would we make new discoveries?, Inspire others?

The book is small and 'pocket-friendly', but in no meens does this reflect its content, This book is a must read. Austin Kleon wrote this book in a manner that not a lot of people would, He wrote it simply, Making it easy to understand and supporting each topic with an illustration. The book is enjoyable, yet really makes you think. The book itself is quite subjective and oozes creativity. I would highly recommend this books for anyone to read, You wont regret it.