Austin Kleon Quotes

In my opinion, the most ordinary things, the most common and familiar, if we could see them in their true light, would turn out to be the grandest miracles . . . and the most marvelous examples.” All it takes to uncover hidden gems is a clear eye, an open mind, and a willingness to search for inspiration in places other people aren’t willing or able to go.

If you want followers, be someone worth following. Barry Hannah said to one of his students, “Have you tried making yourself a more interesting person?” This seems like a really mean thing to say, unless you think of the word interesting the way writer Lawrence Weschler does: For him, to be “interest-ing” is to be curious and attentive, and to practice “the continual projection of interest.” To put it more simply: If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested.

Before you go to bed, make a list of anything you did accomplish, and write down a list of what you want to get done tomorrow.

Carving out a space for yourself online, somewhere where you can express yourself and share your work, is still one of the best possible investments you can make with your time.” — Andy Baio

If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested.

If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community. If you’re only pointing to your own stuff online, you’re doing it wrong. You have to be a connector. The writer Blake Butler calls this being an open node. If you want to get, you have to give. If you want to be noticed, you have to notice. Shut up and listen once in a while. Be thoughtful. Be considerate. Don’t turn into human spam. Be an open node.

Brian Eno, A Year With Swollen Appendices Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From

Disconnect from anything and everything electronic.

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” — William Bruce Cameron

Ella me rescató. Estaría tocando en un restaurante de buffet si no fuera por ella. Bueno, ni siquiera estaría tocando en un buffet. Estaría lavando platos en el buffet.” — Tom Waits, hablando de su esposa y colaboradora, Kathleen Brennan

You are the sum of your influences. The German writer Goethe said, “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.

The trouble is, we don’t always know what’s good and what sucks. That’s why it’s important to get things in front of others and see how they react.

Recommended Reading Linda Barry, What It Is Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody Jason Fried + David Heinemeier Hansson, Rework Lewis Hyde, The Gift Jonathan Lethem, The Ecstasy of Influence David Shields, Reality Hunger Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow Ed Emberley, Make a World

Es un fracaso convertirse en el ideal que a fin de cuentas nos define y nos hace únicos.” Menos mal.

You have to remember that your work is something you do, not who you are. This is especially hard for artists to accept, as so much of what they do is personal. Keep close to your family, friends, and the people who love you for you, not just the work.