Three Takeaways from Steal like an Artist

Takeaway 1: Don't be afraid that what you are doing is already done

Let me take this blog as an example. I have been wanting to blog for a very long time, however I would say there were two primary reasons that were stopping me. 

1. I wasn’t sure on what topic I wanted to blog about.
2. What is the point in writing a blog when there are so many blogs out there on the internet? 

The solution to my first excuse was to write on topics that I was curious about and my learnings. After having tried a few fields I have found a few topics that interest me more than the others, like design, business and personal development. 

While having found a solution to the first I was still hesitant to start one due to the second reason. However, what motivated me further and made me realise that my voice can be useful was the following quote I read in this book and the fact that the way I present my content is what makes it unique. 

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"Everything that needs to be said has already been said but since no one was listening, everything must be said again." - French writer André Gide 

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Takeaway 2: Learn to say NO 

Both in our professional and personal life I truly believe that we need to be aware on what we are spending our energy on. A lot of times we end up saying yes in order to not disappoint someone or out of fear of missing an opportunity without analysing in depth if this is what we truly want and were aiming for. By doing so we only end up draining ourselves and it eventually reflects on our work and everyday life. 

Learning to say no by prioritising what is important gives us the time to rest, relax and put our energy on projects and people that we really care about. We are all creative in some way or the other and it is important to protect our energy and use it wisely. 

This is a big topic and I would like to go in depth sometime in the near future. 

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It takes a lot of energy to be creative. You don’t have that energy if you waste it on other stuff.

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Takeaway 3: Embrace your limitations

As creatives there is a gap between where we are and where we want to be and even as we grow the gap still remains as we continue to increase our expectations of ourselves. It is important that we embrace these limitations of ours and create. As these limitations are the ones that make our work ours. 

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Creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out. 

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While there were many more takeaways from the book, I leave it to you to enjoy this book on your own. 

Have a great day.