Austin Kleon Quotes

Plagiarism is trying to pass someone else's work off as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering.

Don’t Go Back to School

Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things, too.

Nadie nace con estilo ni con voz. No sales de la matriz sabiendo quién eres. Al principio de nuestra vida, aprendemos imitando a nuestros héroes. Aprendemos copiando.

The only mofos in my circle are people that I can learn from.” — Questlove

Paul McCartney has said, “I emulated Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis. We all did.

Brancusi practiced what I call The Vampire Test. It’s a simple way to know who you should let in and out of your life. If, after hanging out with someone you feel worn out and depleted, that person is a vampire. If, after hanging out with someone you still feel full of energy, that person is not a vampire. Of course, The Vampire Test works on many things in our lives, not just people — you can apply it to jobs, hobbies, places, etc.

Human beings want to know where things came 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 affects how they value it.

What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?

Clay Shirky in his book Cognitive Surplus. “On the spectrum of creative work, the difference between the mediocre and the good is vast. Mediocrity is, however, still on the spectrum; you can move from mediocre to good in increments. The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something.

The artist is a collector. Not a hoarder, mind you, there’s a difference: Hoarders collect indiscriminately, artists collect selectively. They only collect things that they really love. There’s

Criatividade não é apenas o que escolhemos usar, são as coisas que escolhemos deixar de fora.

The 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.

Google it. You’ll either find the answer or you’ll come up with a better question.

Guess what: None of us do. Ask anybody doing truly creative work, and they’ll tell you the truth: They don’t know where the good stuff comes from. They just show up to do their thing. Every day.