Introduction
If you want followers, be someone worth following.
Austin Kleon
Hello herro friends, it’s Meg and today’s video is the first of a new series on my channel called Meg’s Book Notes.
Today I will be sharing the things I learned from the book, “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon.
Mandatory reading for everyone
Off the bat, this book is a must read for everyone. Whether you’re a creative or not, self branding is a part of everyone’s life in one way or another. “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon guides the reader through the thought process and practical methods to make your mark on in the vast canvas that is the internet. It’s a very short read – I read it in a day. It’s one of those low commitment books that has a very high impact.
There’s so many good nuggets in this book, it’s hard to really summarize it without giving the entire book away. But I wanted to share a few of my key takeaways from reading the book.
Be an amateur
Amateurs are not afraid to make mistakes or look ridiculous in public. They’re in love, so they don’t hesitate to do work that others think of as silly or just plain stupid.
Austin Kleon
We need an element of amateurism in our lives — to be so in love with something that we don’t care what other people think about you.
I think a lot of people of scared of being the amateur. But we cannot be a master at something unless we are willing to be amateurs. It’s just a part of the learning process, and we should embrace this period in our life to make mistakes and learn.
Don’t obsess over the wrong things
Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.
Austin Kleon
I often find myself getting caught up in the metrics of things.
How many followers or subscribers I have, for example.
But my goal isn’t to become the biggest creator in the world, my goal is to create connections with people who value my work.
Share something every day
The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Share your reading list. Point to helpful reference materials. Create some tutorials and post them online. Use pictures, words, and video. Take people step-by-step through part of your process.
Austin Kleon
Ask yourself, “What am I working on right now?” Share your work with the world in the form of a tweet, blog post, or any other medium of your choosing.
This is probably my biggest takeaway in terms of how I operate in my day to day life. I started sharing what I work on during the day on Twitter as kind of a public work diary.
It’s a good way for me to stay in the practice of creating output, even on days where I’m not working on my creative endeavours.
Sharing doesn’t decrease the value of your work
I think a lot of people have this fear that when they share they’re exposing their trade secrets. That sharing is inherently a losing process.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Teaching people doesn’t subtract value from what you do, it actually adds to it. When you teach someone how to do your work, you are, in effect, generating more interest in your work.
Austin Kleon
Not only that, you create an opportunity for yourself to learn from the people who react to your work.
Don’t be fooled by the lie that sharing is a losing game. It is a game in which you only gain!
Keep going
The people who get what they’re after are very often the ones who just stick around long enough. It’s very important not to quit prematurely.
Austin Kleon
Don’t stop. Successful people have this in common: they didn’t quit.
When it comes to creating a following online, or branding yourself, you have to be in it for the long game.
Overnight success is a myth, and it’s only by continuing to show up every day that you are going to be able to make a real impact.
So don’t stop. Keep going.
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