The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk 241: Austin Kleon - How To Steal Like An Artist
Jan 22, 2018
Austin Kleon, New York Times bestselling author and artist known for Steal Like an Artist, talks creativity, daily rituals, and how small habits build lasting work. He describes a factory-like creative process: collect, write a page a day, then shape pieces into bigger projects. He also covers reading as research, reclaiming hobbies to restore creativity, and valuing deep connections over vanity metrics.
01:01:31
Do A Little Every Day
- Do steady, sustainable work by doing small daily actions like Stephen King's page-a-day rule.
- Austin Kleon recommends consistency over bursts to accumulate meaningful output over time.
Book That Started As A Talk
- Steal Like An Artist began as a talk, then a blog post, then a viral piece that turned into a book.
- Austin Kleon credits years of blogging and a prior book for making the book opportunity easy to seize.
From Book To Talks To Breakthrough
- Austin turned his first book, Newspaper Blackout, into speaking gigs that led him to craft the Steal Like An Artist talk.
- That talk became a viral blog post and ultimately the book that changed his career trajectory.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Sustaining Excellence Requires Consistent Work
03:03 • 4min
Working 'A Lot' Versus Hard Work
07:26 • 5min
Origin Story of Steal Like an Artist
12:09 • 5min
Making a Career by Doing the Work in Front of You
16:41 • 4min
A Daily, Factory-Like Creative Process
20:24 • 5min
Using Notes, Diaries, and Live Feedback
25:27 • 55sec
Daily Blogging Reignited His Work
26:22 • 4min
Reading as Essential Research and Pleasure
29:55 • 8min
Advice for People Who Feel Uncreative
37:38 • 6min
Analog Desk, Digital Desk, and Walking
43:15 • 2min
Enjoying Captivity and Avoiding Wi-Fi Distractions
45:26 • 2min
Hearts Not Eyeballs: Quality Over Quantity
47:06 • 7min
Connections, Community, and Consistent Work
54:02 • 5min
Where to Find Austin Online
59:19 • 31sec
Outro
59:50 • 2min
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Books for living
Will Schwalbe
In 'Books for Living', Will Schwalbe shares personal stories about books that have shaped his life, connecting classics and modern works like '1984', 'The Little Prince', and 'Bird by Bird' to everyday issues such as disconnecting from technology, making friends, trusting others, and honoring loved ones.
Each chapter reveals what drew him to a book, associated people, and its role in self-understanding, offering insights to live more fully amid modern distractions.
#754
• Mentioned in 45 episodes
Show Your Work!
Austin Kleon
In 'Show Your Work!
', Austin Kleon provides a manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age.
The book emphasizes the importance of generosity over genius, getting 'findable' by using the network, and self-discovery through sharing your creative process.
It offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, and productive, including chapters on sharing something small every day, engaging with your audience, and the etiquette of sharing online.
The book is filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples to inspire and guide readers in their creative journeys.
#316
• Mentioned in 85 episodes
Steal like an artist
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Austin Kleon
This book, which began as a speech given by Austin Kleon to college students, expands into a manifesto for creativity.
It outlines ten transformative principles such as 'Steal like an artist' (honoring, studying, and transforming ideas), 'Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things,' and 'Use your hands' (emphasizing physical work).
Kleon argues that creativity is not original but builds on what came before, and he provides practical tips and inspiring concepts for artists, writers, musicians, and anyone generating creative work.
#7930
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
Newspaper Blackout
Austin Kleon
Newspaper Blackout is a unique collection of poems by Austin Kleon, created by eliminating unwanted words from newspaper articles with a permanent marker.
The book includes original poems by Kleon, submissions from readers, and an appendix on how to create your own blackout poetry.
It has been praised for its innovative approach to poetry and has inspired a movement in blackout poetry across the internet.
#3
• Mentioned in 1,030 episodes
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations is a series of private writings composed by Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's greatest emperors, as he struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe.
Written between 170 and 180 CE while on military campaigns, this work combines Stoic philosophy with personal observations on leadership, duty, mortality, and human nature.
Through twelve books of intimate thoughts never intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius explores themes of self-improvement, resilience in the face of adversity, and living virtuously while accepting what cannot be changed.
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
Episode 241: Austin Kleon - How To Steal Like An Artist
Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of three illustrated books: Steal Like An Artist, Newspaper Blackout, and Show Your Work! His latest release is The Steal Like An Artist Journal: A Notebook For Creative Kleptomaniacs. His work has been translated into over twenty languages and featured on NPR's Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. New York Magazine called his work "brilliant," The Atlantic called him "positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet," and The New Yorkersaid his poems "resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead." He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. He grew up in Ohio, but now he lives in Austin, Texas.
"Reading is so essential to writing... I don't even think about it. I just always do it."
Show Notes:
- Sustained Excellence =
- "I wrestle with jealously about others who do better work than me... Until I realize it's very rare to see someone who doesn't deserve it based on how hard they work."
- The people who sustain excellence are typically the hardest workers over the long term
- "If you want to do better, work harder."
- Austin's ritual
- Write a page a day like Stephen King
- Little bits of work add up over time
- When you do something you love, you're always working... It's an endless stream
- "I try to be a good boss to myself" -- But there is no punching the clock in and out... It's always in
- Write a page a day like Stephen King
- Steal Like An Artist
- Wrote an article titled "10 things I wish I had known when starting out" -- That became the best-selling book
- The blog post and speech that went with it went viral
- Wrote an article titled "10 things I wish I had known when starting out" -- That became the best-selling book
- The Creative Process
- Daily writing... Eventually show the audience to test if it's useful for them
- "It's like a factory"
- Collect
- Make time to write
- Gather to longer piece to essay
- Put it out to the world
- Collect feedback (live audience sometimes)
- A daily blog helps the book writing process
- Collect, synthesize, make, share -- "Stealing & Sharing"
- Reading is a massive part of the writing process... Must read a lot
- "Reading is so essential to writing. I don't even think about it, I just do it."
- "My job as an author is to point people to things people haven't seen"
- "Being a leader... You have to be curious... You have to find great stories and examples." -- You must read a lot to do this
- What advice do you give to others?
- "You need hobbies... People used to have hobbies, not they have Netflix." Try to restore something, do work, have a hobby -- It will build creativity
- The two desks
- Analog desk -- pens, markers, paper, scissors... Make stuff
- Digital desk -- computer
- "Walking is an insanely creative activity"
- Enjoying captivity -- Be useful on train rides, flights... No wifi
- The open office plan is a nightmare for an introvert like Austin
- "You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it.
- "The number of people doesn't matter as much as the quality of the people who follow you."
- "Becoming a friend of someone you look up to is one of the best things that could ever happen"
- Creating great work gives you the opportunity to do this
"You want hearts, not eyeballs." -- Focus on engagement of your audience, not just the size of it.
Social Media:
- Read: Steal Like An Artist
- Follow Austin on Twitter: @austinkleon
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
- To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12
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Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions
Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why