“you are a mashup” – Austn Kleon
This is a very visually entertaining book. I’ve been meaning to read it for a while but just could not find in any local libraries. Until yesterday, I found that it was really just hiding in the teen section for a library I go to quite often. Lots of pretty pictures and lots of great insight.
Here’s what I took from it.
(1) Stealing from one is plagiarism, steal from many, originality
The old age adage of letting what you love influence you. I am not a big fan of when people use the “nothing is original” as an excuse for stopping their work. This sounds like something else. Of course it does! Everything under the sun has been done before. Great artists left lessons in their work.
I always tell people that whatever you want to do. Someone has made a ton of money doing it already. Copy them!
(2) It is ok to be diverse
I remember when I was younger, I was having trouble deciding whether I wanted to keep doing rock music. Or should I do hip hop music. Or should I do pop music. I love them all!
But I kept thinking to myself, if I focus on one genre, I would probably lose street credit in the other. As time went on, I not only realized that was a ridiculous notion but found that diversifying genres helps me see things in the other ones that I normally wouldn’t see.
You gotta go after what makes you whole.
(3) Be boring (it’s the only way to get work done)
Doing the work is the most important thing. Time. How much are you willing to put in? And in order to do that, you have to free yourself from unnecessary drama. Stay in. and put in those hours.
“It is better to take something that does not belong to you then to let it lie around neglected” – Mark Twain