Show Your Work! - Austin Kleon

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

1. Share your thoughts, your process, and your work online for free.
2. You don’t need to be an expert to do this. Beginners helping other beginners is often the most relatable kind of help.
3. When you share consistently, you naturally attract people who care about the same things you do and that kind of audience can quietly change your life.

🎨 Impressions

Before reading it, I thought sharing online was something reserved for experts, influencers, or people who already had everything figured out. I consumed content, but never seriously considered contributing anything of my own. This book gently flipped that mindset. It made me realise that sharing isn’t about being the best, it’s about being honest about where you are, what you’re learning, and how you think. It showed me that progress, process, and small insights are often more valuable than polished conclusions. What really stuck with me was how simple the idea was: start where you are, use what you have, and share as you go. No permission needed. No credentials required.

📀 How I Discovered It 

This reading was suggested by Ali Abdaal.

🦉 Who Should Read It? 

If you’re even slightly interested in creativity, entrepreneurship, or business in any form you could probably stop reading this and just pick up the book. Even if you’re not interested in creating, building, or putting yourself out there at all, it’s still worth your time. It has a way of opening up new ways of thinking and showing you possibilities you didn’t even realise were there.

☘️ How the Book Changed Me 

• It helped me feel more comfortable sharing my thoughts and work online, without overthinking every post.
• It made putting myself “out there” feel less intimidating and more like a normal part of the process.
• It gave me the push I needed to finally start my own website.

✍️ My Top Quotes

• Amateurs know that contributing something is better than contributing nothing.
• Carving out a space for yourself online, somewhere where you can express yourself and share your work, is still one of the best possible investments you can make with your time.
• 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.
• Make people better at something they want to be better at.

📒 Summary + Notes

A New Way of Operating

• Think of your work as a never-ending process, not a final destination.
• When you share that process openly, you naturally attract people who are curious about the same things you are.

1. You Don’t Have to Be a Genius

• Creativity isn’t about lone geniuses working in isolation—it’s about scenius.
• A scenius is a whole scene of people supporting each other, sharing ideas, borrowing inspiration, and learning together.
• Anyone can contribute. You don’t need to be an expert to belong.
• In fact, amateurs often make the best teachers because they still remember what it’s like to be a beginner.
• Learn something in public. Share what works, what doesn’t, and help others walking the same path.

2. Think Process, Not Product

• The internet changed everything. People don’t just want polished outcomes but they want to see how things are made.
• Take people behind the scenes. Show the human behind the work.
• Document as you go: screenshots, notes, photos, half-formed ideas.
• Even if you never share it, documenting your process is valuable on its own.

3. Share Something Small Every Day

• Sharing isn’t oversharing if it’s useful, interesting, or entertaining to someone else.
• A simple test: Could this help at least one person? If yes, share it.
• Get your own domain and personal website—even if you don’t know what to write yet. It’s an investment that compounds over time.

4. Open Your Cabinet of Curiosities

• Share other people’s work and ideas you genuinely enjoy.
• Curating thoughtfully creates value.
• Always give credit—think of it like adding a museum label with context and links.

5. Tell Good Stories

• People connect through stories, not just information.
• The better you tell stories, the easier it becomes to share yourself and your work.

6. Teach What You Know

• Teaching doesn’t reduce your value—it increases it.
• When you teach, you invite conversation, feedback, and unexpected learning in return.
• This exchange is where the real magic happens.

7. Don’t Turn Into Human Spam

• Aim for genuine connection, not follower counts. Hearts matter more than eyeballs.
• If something energises you, do more of it. If it drains you, stop.
• Make online friends—and meet them in real life when you can.

8. Learn to Take a Punch

• Criticism comes with visibility. It’s normal. Don’t let it stop you.
• Most negativity is loud but powerless.

9. Sell Out

• Build a mailing list early. Give generously now, share meaningfully later.
• Help others when you can but protect your time and your work.

10. Stick Around

• Don’t quit. Keep showing up.
• Take breaks when needed.
• Change directions if you want. You’re not starting over, you’re starting a new chapter with more experience than before.