10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad
Austin Kleon
résumé
Keep Working. Keep Playing. Keep Creating.
In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself—for life.
The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it’s a loop—so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself—sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, ”The demons hate fresh air”). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you’re doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them.
Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.
contents
I WROTE THIS BOOK BECAUSE I NEEDED TO READ IT
1 EVERY DAY IS GROUND HOG DAY
2 BUILD A BLISS STATION
3 FORGET THE NOUN, DO THE VERB
4 MAKE GIFTS
5 THE ORDINARY + EXTRA ATTENTION = THE EXTRAORDINARY
6 SLAY THE ART MONSTERS
7 YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
8 WHEN IN DOUBT, TIDY UP.
9 DEMONS HATE FRESH AIR
10 PLANT YOUR GARDEN