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Austin Kleon Quotes (1983-)
Author, Artist
About Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon (born June 16, 1983) is the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Austin Kleon quotes.
βEstablishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time. Inertia is the death of creativity. You have to stay in the groove.β
βIf there was a secret formula for becoming known, I would give it to you. But there's only one not-so-secret formula that I know: Do good work and share it with people.β
βThe way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.β
βThe great thing about dead or remote masters is that they can't refuse you as an apprentice. You can learn whatever you want from them. They left their lesson plans in their work.β
βLet go of the thing that you're trying to be (the noun), and focus on the actual work you need to be doing (the verb). Doing the verb will take you someplace further and far more interesting.β
βThe minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Share your reading list. Point to helpful reference materials. [...] Take people step-by-step through part of your process.β
βIt's always a mistake to equate productivity and creativity. They are not the same. In fact, they're frequently at odds with each other: You're often most creative when you're the least productive.β
βAlways be reading. Go to the library. There's magic in being surrounded by books. Get lost in the stacks. Read bibliographies. It's not the book you start with, it's the book that book leads you to.β
βIn this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what's really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.β
βBe open, share imperfect and unfinished work that you want feedback on, but don't share absolutely everything. [...] The act of sharing is one of generosityβ you're putting something out there because you think it might be helpful or entertaining to someone on the other side of the screen.β
βEveryone who's turned their passion into their breadwinning knows this is dangerous territory. One of the easiest ways to hate something you love is to turn it into your job: taking the thing that keeps you alive spiritually and turning it into the thing that keeps you alive literally.β
βYour attention is one of the most valuable things you possess, which is why everyone wants to steal it from you. First you must protect it, and then you must point it in the right direction. [...] What you choose to pay attention to is the stuff your life and work will be made of.β
βHuman beings want to know where things come from, how they were made, and who made them. The stories you tell about the work you do have a huge effect on how people feel and what they understand about your work, and how people feel and what they understand about your work effects how they value it.β
βWe all go through cycles of disenchantment and re-enchantment with our work. When you feel as though you've lost or you're losing your gift, the quickest way to recover is to step outside the marketplace and make gifts. There's nothing as pure as making something specifically for someone special.β
βOur culture mostly celebrates early successes, the people who bloom fast. But those people often wither as quickly as they bloom. [...] I don't want to know how a thirty-year-old became rich and famous; I want to hear how an eighty-year-old spent her life in obscurity, kept making art, and lived a happy life.β
βDon't think of your website as a self-promotion machine, think of it as a self-invention machine. Online, you can become the person you really want to be. Fill your website with your work and your ideas and the stuff you care about. [...] Stick with it, maintain it, and let it change with you over time.β
βThe best advice is not to write what you know, it's to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like bestβ write the story you want to read. The same principle applies to your life and your career. Whenever you're at a loss for what move to make next, just ask yourself, "What would make a better story?"β
Quotes About Austin Kleon
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Austin Kleon from others.
Daniel H. Pink on Austin Kleon
βAustin Kleon is one of the brightest new minds on the creative landscape. [...] With simple yet profound insights, and an array of his amazing images, he casts aside old stereotypes of the creative life and tells what it's really like.β
About Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon (born June 16, 1983) is the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going.