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# Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
- URL: https://www.peterkos.org/steal-like-an-artist-by-austin-kleon/
- Published: 2021-04-23T16:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-05-01T14:29:59.000Z
- Author: Peter Kos
- Tags: .books

I enjoyed reading and scribbling into [Austin Kleon](https://amzn.to/3djp7L8?ref=peterkos.org)’s [Steal Like An Artist](https://amzn.to/3uVCyqq?ref=peterkos.org). I ordered this one via Amazon for my wife and then stole it from her (lesson learned). 

[![](//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0606368868&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=blackbird2020-20&language=en_US)](https://www.amazon.com/Artist-Turtleback-School-Library-Binding/dp/0606368868?%5Fencoding=UTF8&qid=1618557338&sr=8-1&linkCode=li3&tag=blackbird2020-20&linkId=aaccd9fcc8c9c80c05d8498dcb012b13&language=en%5FUS&ref%5F=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Fil&ref=peterkos.org)![](https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=blackbird2020-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0606368868)

It’s a one-afternoon read, and it’s inspiring. I was reading it the way I think it’s meant to be read — with a pencil. Underlines, notes, scribbles, doodles. It was my first analog book after a long time. 

I’m a [kindle](https://amzn.to/3tq91Vx?ref=peterkos.org) guy, as it’s the most portable way to carry all books of parallel reader that I am. But I’m a change junkie, so I decided to order some physical books this time. And yes, I was excited as the package arrived. It’s an entirely different experience than the “*download completed*” message on kindle. It’s tangible. There is a socially distant human touch involved. A *Hello*, a *Thank You*, and *Have a nice day*!. 

So it felt natural to have this whole physical reading experience using a pencil. And it was satisfying. I’m happy that I also ordered [The Steal Like An Artist Journal](https://amzn.to/32l678Q?ref=peterkos.org) with it — or I’d be ordering one right now. 

### Here are some book notes from Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon 

- Steal like an artist. (Snatched the book from my wife).
- New ideas are just mashups of multiple old ideas.
- GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out). I couldn’t agree more. If we watch a lot of crap on TV, consume shit posts on social media, and get into stupid Twitter fights — let’s not expect there’s going to be good output.
- Hoarder vs. collector: artists collect selectively, only what they really love. Your income is probably the average of your five closest friends’ income. (\*I know you’re calculating now!)  
Your job is to collect good ideas.
- Pursue your role models/thinkers. Study everything about them. Find three people they loved, and find out everything about them. (That’s how [Steve Jobs led me to Bob Dylan](https://www.peterkos.org/chronicles-volume-one-by-bob-dylan/) and Joan Baez!)
- Hang pictures of your favorite artists.  
(My favorite Steve Jobs’ portrait is [Diana Walker’s 1982 shot of Steve in his empty living room](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8wlyE4kMzkA/VBFo4BktZVI/AAAAAAAABt4/5bfMttbeutk/s1600/steve.jobs.home.woodside.california.1982.photography.diana.walker.time.jpg?ref=peterkos.org). Seated on the floor, in a lotus pose, reading, and enjoying a hot beverage. That’s my desktop wallpaper).
- Dead masters can’t refuse your apprenticeship. You can learn whatever you want from them.
- Be curious about the world in which you live. Google EVERYTHING.
- **Always be reading**. —Probably my favorite quote from the book.
- Carry a notebook and a pen with you all the time. —I’ll try; my iPhone is always there to collect stuff in my Evernote repository.
- Copying is about reverse-engineering.
- Copying from one author is plagiarism; copying from many is research.
- You don’t want to look like your heroes — **you want to see like your heroes**. Internalize their way of looking at the world.
- **[Write the book you want to read](https://www.peterkos.org/shitty-first-book/)**.
- All fiction is fan fiction.
- [Do the work you want to see done](https://www.peterkos.org/the-practice-by-seth-godin/).
- Practice productive procrastination.
- If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes.
- What unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you’ll look back and it will all make sense.
- **Wonder at something**. Invite others to wonder with you.
- Build your own world.
- All you need is a little space and a little time — a place to work, and some time to do it; ***a little self-imposed solitude and temporary captivity***.
- .. leave home. You can always come back, but ***you have to leave at least once***.
- If you’re the most talented/smartest person in the room, you need to **find another room**.
- **Keep your day job**. Freedom from financial stress also means freedom in your art.
- Keep a logbook.
- ***Limitations mean freedom***.
- Creativity is the things we choose to leave out.