Steal Like An Artist

Austin Kleon

Steal Like An Artist

When Mr. Kleon was asked to address college students at Broome Community College in upstate New York in 2011, he shaped his speech around a simple list of ten things he wished someone had told him when he was starting out at their age.
They were:

  • 'Steal like an artist;

  • Don't wait until you know who you are to start making things;

  • Write the book you want to read;

  • Use your hands;

  • Side projects are important;

  • Do good work and put it where people can see it;

  • 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.); and,

  • Creativity is subtraction.

After giving the speech, he posted the text and slides of the talk to his popular blog. The talk went viral, and Kleon dug deeper and expanded to create the book, for anyone attempting to make things - art, a career, a life - in the digital age.

Marc Dion