Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

Creativity is a learned and practiced skill that allows for individuals to express themselves and enhance their lives. In Austin Kleon's book, "Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative," he provides an insightful look into how to embrace existing ideas and understand creative influences to ultimately shape individual creative abilities. With insightful advice and real-world examples from his life and career, Kleon helps readers understand how to effectively cultivate their creativity.

Kleon begins the exploration of the creative process by discussing the importance of seeking inspiration from those who have come before. He emphasizes the idea of “stealing” ideas to use as your own, not considered plagiarism, but more of a form of homage, as it allows for more expansive understanding of various perspectives and approaches to ideas. Kleon explains that taking something that already exists and reworking it according to one’s own style is beneficial in developing individual ideas and creativity.

The book also focuses on the concept of “curation” or learning to discern the good ideas from the bad, and then discarding the bad ones and saving or collecting the good ideas. This step is essential to the development of an individual’s creativity as it will provide them with the ability to identify when something can help them in their creative process and when it should be discarded. Additionally, curation allows for individual’s to create a creative repertoire from which they can easily draw from in order to “steal” ideas.

Kleon goes one step further and discusses how to “collect” ideas by taking what works for others and tailoring it for individual use. He explains that it's important to have a “touchstone” or a collection of ideas that can be used as a reference point when working on one’s own projects. He also explains that it's important to learn to recognize when an idea is complete, and to make sure the idea is fully developed so as to be a helpful reference in the future.

The author further encourages readers to take the time to create projects to allow for practice and exploration of their own creativity. In addition, Kleon encourages readers to find their unique voice and artistic identity to effectively express their own creativity. He emphasizes the need for readers to find their own individual style and to refuse to conform to the accepted standards of society. This allows for the expression of own personal identity and creative vision.

The book also provides advice on how to effectivelyhandle creative blocks and the frustrations of creative failure. Kleon stresses the importance of persistence, understanding that not every attempt will be successful, but that it's important to continue to push forward. He offers insight on how to let go of one's fear of failure and to focus on the joyof experimentation. In addition, Kleon provides tips on how to use constructive criticism and feedback to enhance one’s creative process.

The concluding section of the book focuses on the importance of living a creative life. Kleon encourages readers to embrace their true creative nature and to focus on embracing the creative process. He explains that it's important to seek out creative outlets and to find joy in the creative process as it’s both a fulfilling and meaningful path.Ultimately, Kleon’s book provides a comprehensive look at the creative process and offers insightful advice on how to embrace one’s creativity. It offers readers the opportunity to explore their individual creativity by taking what already exists and making it into something of their own. With advice on everything from finding inspiration to curation, collecting ideas and living a creative life, Kleon provides an insightful look into the creative process.