10 Creativity Lessons from Austin Kleon and How You Can Use Them

This is something that I’ve sorely neglected over the past year since I’ve begun writing: share everything that I’m doing.

I made a commitment earlier this year to write about every book that I read, and while I’ve blown up the rate at which I devour books, I’ve certainly been lacking in the reporting department.

This is a first attempt to get that ball rolling again (and there are A LOT of books that I’ve read this year).

So to kick it back off again, I’m reaching back into the archives of earlier this year to start with Austin Kleon and his book, “Show Your Work!” It’s one of three that discuss pure gold when it comes to getting started and maintaining momentum in terms of tapping into your creativity and making something of it.

With further ado, here are the ten lessons that he covers in the book.

1. You don’t have to be a genius

Nobody said that having a genius-level intellect was a requirement for creativity. In fact, we all possess that kind of thinking when we’re young. The term “amateur”, usually associated with polymathic tendencies that come with genius creativity, is French for lover, obsession, a drive to study something incessantly.

When it comes to content creation, being prolific in productivity has more to do with execution without judgment than anything else. The less you have to lose, the more you have to gain, and this is the hardest mindset to keep in the face of success.

This is why children succeed so fast. They have no such hang ups when it comes to their imagination. It’s why my three-year old can entertain himself endlessly with a cardboard box while the dogs stare at him curiously.

One way to recapture the essence of this genius behavior is to take something you recently came across and create something out if it. Whatever you consumed or overheard or read, draw inspiration from it and do something with it. Put it out to the world and see who responds. True artists create with everything and everyone, but you need to go where people are listening… that’s the internet.

Yes, it takes work, but you’re going to die someday. The act of creating and sharing is building your obituary on your terms.

How I use it:

I draw a large amount of my inspiration from watching my children as well as the material that I consume on a regular basis. My kids love to describe and narrate what they’re doing (partly from exposure to their YouTube viewing), and they waste no time in going from one activity to the next.

Along with that, I curate what I want to listen to when I’m commuting. I have an interest in history, current events, and philosophy. Topics that come up for discussion have a fascinating feature in that each one has elements of the other, and I can tie them back to my own experiences for discussion.

2. Think process… not product.

There’s a difference between the process and the product.

It appears obvious at first, but when you dig a little deeper, you might realize something interesting about people: we very much prefer the product as opposed to the process.

• You don’t actually care about how the chips were made, you just want to scarf down as many as you can before your kids catch you.

• It doesn’t matter that pushing the button in the car now does the same thing a key used to do for previous generations, just that it starts the engine.

• The incredible technology that facilitates what you type on the keyboard to appear on the screen is of no interest to you, you just need to get that email out to your manager before the end of the day.

The product, the result, is usually what matters. The same applies to building an audience through your content—at least as far as they’re concerned. Nobody cares about a resume. Everyone cares about the results.

You, however, must focus on how it happens.

The trick is to share your progress, the systems, the process you use. The cherry on top is that it’s insightful to you as well. Your audience will appreciate what you do more because they get to see how the sausage is made, so to speak. Just because we know how a rainbow is formed or why the sky is blue doesn’t lessen the impact or the wonder of it when we see it.

How I use it:

Documentation and posting how I get things done or the experiments I run on myself are instructive for me. In this newsletter, you can dig back to the sets of seven series that I’ve written about my thoughts on education, AI, identity, and more…

I’m coming up on 500 articles across several platforms as a result.

3. Share something small every day

The “build in public” mantra is a version of this.

Whatever stage you’re at, share that progress. It’s frightening to think about, and it’s rife with thoughts of being constantly judged by armchair philosophers. But that’s the huge distinction. Anyone who says anything is most likely not doing the same thing, not building something that they’re proud of, not toiling away in obscurity.

“Focus in days. Think in years. Dream in decades.”

The thing to ask yourself every single days is: “What are you working on?” Find the time to do it. If it’s important to you, you will figure out how to squeeze out every single moment you can around your responsibilities. I’ve seen plenty of people on the internet who wasn’t single, twenty-something living in their parents’ basement pull it off.

Whatever you do, share something that helps, not so you are present in someone’s timeline. Being visible can just as easily lead to being annoying. It’s the same as in a 9-5 job. If you’re always around your manager but have nothing to show for your daily activities, you won’t get a promotion.

How I use it:

I do a weekly newsletter every Sunday to share things that I come across on the internet that pertain to the topics that I like to write about. Whatever lessons I’ve learned, I summarize or update and pass it along to the people I want to share it with.

4. Open up your cabinet of curiosities

Sharing is caring, so why not talk about all the little things and experiences that you’ve come across in life?

The idea behind this is to not hoard it like a dragon guarding its treasures. We are naturally curious, and we curate what we’re interested in. Stamps, baseball cards, Beanie Babies…these were the things that were popular for my generation at least. I think it’s Labubu’s or something now.

It’s not just trinkets either. We draw inspiration from a variety of areas and individuals, both in the real world and in media. Superheroes, industry leaders, and inventors are just a handful of categories that I personally draw from. In addition, that list evolves with time and experience. So wherever you’re at, start with a list and branch out, and don’t hold back when it comes to giving credit (even if the individuals aren’t real).

Don’t hold back when it comes to your passions and interests, either. What you enjoy curating and collecting say a lot about your core values, not to mention that they also bring true happiness. Combined together, your “cabinet of curiosities” can provide a clear picture of you.

How I use it:

I’m a bit of a nerd who enjoys stories of creation, industry, and overcoming obstacles. Every now and then, I like to mention my heroes, my inspirations, and how I became the person I am today.

People I draw inspiration from (in no particular order):

• The Count of Monte Cristo, Robinson Crusoe and other literary characters

• Naval Ravikant/Mark Manson and thought leaders like them

• Batman/Ironman archetypes

• My family

• Writers, professional or not

And of course, Austin Kleon. Way too many more to list here, but you get the picture.

5. Share good stories

Stories are the heart of every piece of high impact communication.

Why do you think history is so popular when it comes to our species? We want to learn and explore and rediscover who we are, how we came to be, where we originated from. Stories are the backbone of our civilizations, our governments, and our lives. AI can craft decent stories with the right prompting. Like any technological advancement, it’s still dependent on its inputs.

But it wouldn’t be rooted in anything from your personal experience…so there’s that.

How I use it:

I didn’t really do this very much growing up. I mainly regurgitated the stories of others through music, dance, and theater. While it was a lot of fun and quite fulfilling in its own right, it never felt like I had any full ownership of the narratives. Frameworks, templates, notes, scripts, choreography…they were always provided to me to follow along and inject my interpretation.

That’s all well and good when it comes to mastering a craft, but these days, I share stories from my life as a 9-5 parent juggling a million things and connecting the dots on how I got here.

6. Teach what you know

This is the biggest hangup that most start with.

The value of what you know is always downplayed in your mind because you know it. It becomes inherently of less value to you because you own the knowledge. I’m continuously surprised at how much of my experience seems to be valued by others. I always assumed everyone already knew what I struggled to understand.

The catch for everyone who claims to have the knowledge: just because you know how doesn’t mean you can do it.

This is why information is free. It costs to apply it and master it. Information is only the beginning. This is where the adage minutes to learn and lifetime to master comes in. This is why you go to Google and AI but still have your own doctor and dentist. I can share knowledge and experience all day, but you will never understand until you try.

Help others improve. It’s how you build a community. And for us introverts, it’s a terrifying prospect, but it is ironically why writing platforms are so compelling for us.

In sharing what you know now, you attract those who can take you farther.

How I use it:

I teach Chinese on a weekly basis. The moment I tell them to do it on their own, the contempt for the material falls apart faster than a wet Kleenex tissue.

I also assist in teaching Tai Chi. The students are far more open and curious to unlock their physical potential. While the ages range from 30s and up, the realization of just how much range their bodies possess is humbling for them.

Language and martial arts are two skills that technology alone cannot fully impart.

7. You are not human spam

This was a fascinating chapter for me.

It reminded me of the story of the monk and the student who was seeking advice and knowledge. The student came in with all sorts of preconceived notions that he wished to map to whatever the teachings the monk would provide. When having tea, the monk kept pouring it into the overflowing cup to demonstrate the student’s mindset.

Shut up and listen.

What is Human spam? It’s people who put effort into learning the craft but expect that along to entitle them to access and success. I’ve met people with doctorates who are like this. It’s a great achievement to be sure, but it’s like achieving a black belt in a martial arts style. Getting a degree in anything doesn’t indicate the end — it’s an indicator of possession of a set of skills required to truly begin on the road to mastery.

Nobody owes you anything for your existence

How I use it:

No matter what happens, I put in the work.

Day in and day out, I show up. Whether it’s for my wife, my children, my parents, my coworkers, or my friends, I put in the time it takes and the actions required to push forward on making an effort personally, professionally, and with determination.

Input and output parity is something I’ve come to understand as an ever-shifting ratio — that which has to be steadily shifting towards the right. The more you grow, the more you show. At 43, I’ve built a simple system that can be tracked, traced, and executed regardless of my physical or mental state.

Granted, I’m getting older, and my physical resilience is becoming a bit more sensitive. I refuse to let it become an excuse, though.

8. Learn to take a punch

Inevitably, you will emerge from obscurity.

Stick to anything long enough, and you’ll get noticed. It’s a guarantee that most people seldom experience beyond a certain point these days, but trust me, it’s there. Overnight success takes years to happen. One moment you’re nobody. The next, you can’t turn a corner without someone recognizing you. It doesn’t matter if it’s locally or internationally. The chances of you being recognized when you stay in one spot will make you visible.

In some circles, you become a target. This happens without fail on the internet.

As a producer, you are the source. And as such, there will be consumers who will judge your work. Where there is love, there is indifference…and hate.

No matter what, don’t take it personally. This is the fastest way to kill any momentum you have, and it would be a shame to struggle out into the light, only to be shamed back into the abyss you worked so long and hard to emerge from. Whatever you do when you step onstage, don’t feed the trolls, especially the ones who live in your head. Those will have been with you for a while, but they love company from the outside.

Champion your cause. Make it unassailable.

How I use it:

I’ve only had a handful of experiences in the digital space so far. I’m honestly not sure how I would go about handling this one as my visibility here is somewhat limited to positive interactions. I’m sure that as I refine my ideas that there will be some trolls that come crawling out of their little hidey holes.

It’s a tough road, but I believe that it’s one that will be worth the journey.

9. Sell out

Quite possibly the biggest hurdle to face for all starving artists across reality…

Kleon pointedly asks this interesting question: Why do we celebrate the phrase “sold out” but cancel the phrase “sell out”? I think it’s likely because the vast majority of us have never tasted the kind of historic, life-changing success the likes of those we so fawningly subscribe to and consume. The gurus and the growth experts across the internet that use the recursive formula of showing how they grew a following by growing a following don’t have any qualms when it comes to this process.

During the Renaissance, patrons would sponsor great artists. It’s no different today, except that it is on a decentralized and global scale. The major distinction now is that it’s not necessarily what you offer, it’s how you offer it, how you market it, which pain points you press to make people aware of a perceived “deficiency” somewhere. That is what is distasteful and where the phrase “selling out” hits hardest.

It’s why you don’t put anything out until you truly feel you have something to offer.

How I use it:

I’ve been writing for almost three years now.

This whole time, I’ve been asking myself all the questions that I’ve mentioned here; doing the internal work needed to start decoupling from the social narrative I was raised on. I was taught the framework of the previous generation that no longer serves the people who participate, but those who facilitate it.

I finally feel like I have something to say — something to offer for all the time spent reflecting on my journey here.

I’m right at the tipping point.

10. Stick around

Above all else in starting any endeavor, it’s the continuation of it that compounds the results.

It doesn’t matter if you only have moments throughout the day. If it matters to you, you’ll find a way. Everyone has challenges in life with the same amount of time. It’s not when, it’s how. While there’s no guaranteed visible result some days, make no mistake…you are building momentum. As Austin says in his book:

You can only keep going. That’s what’s in your control.

How I use it:

My mentality has always been predispositioned for continuity.

I don’t do something and wait for feedback or praise. I take it in stride as I go. Even when I have to stop for a period of time; if I need to take a break for any reason (life happens), I leave a little bit for me to start with. Sabbaticals are great for reflection and inner growth because they are built-in pauses with purpose. A mind is a machine that can burn out if it runs too long and too hot. I’m not talking about extended periods of time. I’m talking about the commute to and from work, when I’m running errands, or even when I’m doing chores around the house. These actions have their own rhythms that extract me from my musings so that I can jump back in with a cool engine.

Iteration requires space.

Whew! So there it is!

It’s a lot, and it’s basically the digest of the book with my thoughts on each point.

There’s so much more in it, though, and I’m doing it a huge disservice (but don’t all book reviews, though?) I’d definitely recommend you picking up this one if you want inspiration in your own content creation process, regardless of what stage you’re at.

P. S.

If you’re someone who is a technical and introvertive, then I encourage you to start building a digital presence. With the way AI and technology are progressing, there are two choices: 1) you either get ahead of the curve before it becomes impossible to control your footprint or 2) you relinquish that part of your life and subject yourself to an uphill battle if and when you decide to shift gears.

I’ve realized now that it’s not feasible to assume things will work out the way they did even a decade ago. The world is changing quickly, and those who understand its underpinnings are the ones who will weather the storms ahead.

I’m here to help. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m beginning to see farther ahead.