By Austin Kleon
Nothing is completely original. Every creative work has been built on what has come before. Kleon explains this statement and gives license for others to be creative -- no matter what kind of artist you are. In Steal Like An Artist, Kleon lists the 10 things you need to be creative.
Here are the ten things, although I recommend reading the book for an explanation of each:
- steal like an artist
- don't wait until you know who you are to get started
- write the book you want to read
- use your hands
- side projects and hobbies are important
- the secret: do good work and share it with people
- geography is no longer our master
- be nice (the world is a small town)
- be boring (it's the only way to get work done)
- creativity is subtraction
What did this book have to do with my faith? Actually, this book has given me the freedom to preach a better sermon. This is because I have always believed that I must write my own sermons for each week from scratch. What works better -- mainly because nothing is really new in God's creation -- is to borrow from others and create a mash-up sermon. If I borrow heavily from an individual, I need to give credit. I can more freely choose what I feel God needs for me to say if I am not limited to the "original" words from Amelia. Why should I have to re-invent the wheel every week when someone else has said it so well already? Certainly, God still has a lot to do with what I say and what I choose. And I give God credit every week.
How creative could you be if you could steal like an artist? I highly recommend this book!
Happy creating!
Amelia
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