“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon (Book Recommendation)
“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. Have you ever felt like you don’t want to show your work? Perhaps you’re afraid that by showing your work you would be judged or criticized? Or perhaps you feel like you’ve got nothing to share?
If so, you’re definitely NOT alone.
I’ve certainly felt that way for the longest time.
Austin Kleon’s book “Show Your Work” outlines 10 simple ways to get you to overcome your fears and start sharing your creativity and brilliance with the world.
In this blog post, I will share these 10 simple and awesome ways from the book so that you can start showing your work, building your personal brand, and attracting your tribe.
HOW I FOUND THIS BOOK
A few days ago, I came across a YouTube video.
And the YouTuber suggested a book called “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. He mentioned that this book has changed his life forever as a content creator and is a pivotal reason why he started blogging and later on started his YouTube channel (which now has over a million subscribers).
Therefore, out of curiosity, I quickly went into my local library app and looked for this book.
Luckily, I found it and reserved it within just a few clicks. And within a few days, the book was shipped around the city and arrived at a library nearby my house.
This book is an easy read and within less than 2 hours, I have finished reading this inspiring little book.
I GOT INSPIRED TO SHARE MY WORK!
“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon was an inspiring book!
And indeed, I feel like from reading this book alone, I myself became less afraid of showing my work!
Which I feel like is a BIG deal (especially with all the fears that I have always had – more on that below).
Therefore, in this blog post, I am going to summarize the key lessons from this awesome little book.
If you are a content creator, or if you have ever thought of starting a blog, a podcast, or a YouTube channel, I hope my post below will give you some inspirations, tips, and pointers too.
With that being said, that’s dive right in and see how you can show your work.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
- How To Turn Your Mess Into Your Message (4 Simple Steps)
- How To Stop Being a Perfectionist (YouTube Audiobook)
- 5 Ways to Shatter Self-Limiting Beliefs and Self-Doubts (YouTube Audiobook)
- How To Start a Blog to Show Your Work in 30 Minutes or Less (FREE Step-by-Step Guide)
- 30 Best Online Business To Start TODAY (with Little or No Money)
- 9 Best Personal Development Books of All Times
- 13 Inspiring Books For and By Women Entrepreneurs
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no extra cost to you, I may earn a commission when you purchase through my links. This is how I’m able to keep most of my content free and support my social missions. Thank you for supporting my blog! Please read my disclosure for more info.
READY TO CREATE A BUSINESS AND A LIFE THAT YOU’LL LOVE?
Grab my FREE
PASSION TO PROFIT PLAYBOOK
and start turning your passion into a deeply satisfying, impactful, and profitable business.
Make Money.
Change The World.
MY 3 GREATEST FEARS OF SHOWING MY WORK
I have a confession to make.
And that is – I have always been afraid of showing my work.
Chances are if you are reading this blog post, or you have seen any of my videos or training before, you probably wouldn’t think that I have that fear.
However, it is very true.
For years and years, I have wanted to share more of my work and to help more people, but I was always paralyzed by 3 of my own fears…
- I am not an expert and I have nothing worthwhile to share with others (aka, my imposter syndrome)
- I will quickly run out of ideas to share and therefore I won’t be able to share consistently
- My work is not good enough and would be criticized by others
These 3 fears of mine have perpetually stopped me from sharing my ideas and work online for years and years.
In fact, if I can be completely transparent with you, I’ve wanted to start posting useful content online since the Year 2012. But even up until now, you can see that there are still gaps in my postings.
Completely guilty.
WHAT CHANGED AFTER READING THIS BOOK
After reading this book, I feel that my fears are probably the same fears as 99.9% of the content creators out there. And likely, if I may guess, you probably have the same fears too.
However, the only real difference between those who made it and those who didn’t was probably the action – show your work.
And this book “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon re-iterated that – with many useful tips, inspirations, and ideas which I can’t wait to share with you more below.
SHOW YOUR WORK BY AUSTIN KLEON
As I said, this is an awesome and inspiring little book, especially for content creators.
Moreover, those who have always wanted to start sharing your work and have been held back by your own fears – grab a copy and read this book NOW!
“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon will inspire you to start showing your work, sharing your creativity, and getting discovered.
Show Your Work
The book was divided into 10 simple and easy-to-read chapters. And each chapter is a way for you to show your work, share your creativity, and get discovered.
1 – You Don’t Have To Be a Genius
2 – Think process, not Product
3 – Share Something Small Every Day
4 – Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosity
5 – Tell Good Stories
6 – Teach What You know
7 – Don’t Turn into Human Spam
8 – Learn to Take a Punch
9 – Sell Out
10 – Stick Around
Below, I will share the key findings from each chapter.
There are more insights and goodies from the book, so be sure to grab a copy or borrow it from your local library too!
Show Your Work Tip # 1 – You Don’t Have To Be a Genius
“That’s all any of us are – amateurs. We don’t live long enough to be anything else.” – Charlie Chaplin
This is so fitting to be tip # 1!
In fact, not being an expert was my first greatest fear about showing my work. I don’t think I am an expert!
It Is Great Being An Amateur!
In “Show Your Work”, Kleon pointed out that we are all terrified of being revealed as amateurs.
But, in fact, today it is the amateur – the enthusiast who pursues her work in the spirit of love, regardless of the potential for fame, money, career, making mistakes or looking ridiculous in public – who often take their chances, make new discoveries, found new possibilities, and attracted her tribe.
Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind, there are few.”
What I found comforting to realize from this book is that the world is changing so fast that it has essentially turned all of us into amateurs.
None of us are learning all the new tricks and trades in any given industry fast enough. And therefore, we should keep our amateur mindset around and stay hungry for learning.
HOW TO SHOW YOUR WORK
And the best way to get started to show your work is just to think about what you want to learn and make a commitment to learning it in front of others.
In other words, learn and then share what you have learned with others!
Forget about how you will make money or a career off it. Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart and your love) on your sleeves.
Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.
Bam! I love that!
CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT BUSINESS YOU SHOULD START?
Check out Millie’s online course Perfect Niche Formula to help you dig deep into your heart and soul, and find YOUR perfect business idea that combines passion, purpose, and profits!
A business idea that is soul-centered, heart-driven, deeply satisfying, meaningful, and profitable.
Show Your Work Tip # 2 – Think Process, Not Product
“A lot of people are so used to just seeing the outcome of work. They never see the side of the work you go through to produce the outcome.” – Michael Jackson
Traditionally, we have been trained to only show our best work and our finished products to others. However, “Show Your Work” suggests something radically different.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The book recommends that we take people behind the scenes. And, let people see our journey of creating the work.
Why?
Because the journey is actually messy and real. And the journey consists of many ups and downs, frustrations, mistakes, setbacks, and obstacles. And those are the REAL stuff that people need to know and to learn from.
“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen – really seen.” – Brene Brown
BECOME A DOCUMENTARIAN
We should become a documentarian of what we do!
- Start a work journal – write your thoughts down in a notebook, or speak them into an audio recorder
- Keep a scrapbook
- Take photos of your work at different stages in your process
- Shoot videos of you working
So that when you are ready to share your work one day, you will have a surplus of material to choose from.
SHOW YOUR WORK TIP # 3 – SHARE SOMETHING SMALL EVERY DAY
This chapter is profound for me.
Why?
Because this was my 2nd biggest fear which stops me from sharing my work. I was always afraid that I will run out of ideas to share (and, thus, my work becomes inconsistent.)
Confession – I still have this BIG fear.
However, at least after reading this chapter, I have decided to just do that – share something small every day. Hence, this blog post (a small round of applause for encouragement, please?)
“Put yourself, and your work, out there every day, and you’ll start meeting some amazing people.” – Bobby Solomon
FOCUS ON TODAY
Overnight success is a myth.
Dig into almost every overnight success story and you will find about a decade’s worth of hard work and perseverance. Building anything substantial takes a lot of work and time – but thankfully, we don’t have to do all of it in one big chunk.
Focus on today.
Once a day, share something small with the world.
The format doesn’t matter. It can be a blog post, an email, a tweet, a YouTube video, a podcast, or a Facebook post, or an Instagram post.
YOUR OWN BLOG
One of the best places to show your work is of course on your own website/blog.
Why?
Well, do you remember Myspace? Friendster? Social media is great, but they come and go. You don’t own it and one day they may be gone and so will all your work and connections.
Build your own blog. And share your work there. It will build up to be a substantial asset over time.
RELATED READ
Don’t have enough time to show your work? Don’t think that way.
We are all busy and we all have 24 hours a day. The answer is finding that time.
And I am sure if you want to – you will find that spare time – perhaps in between your commute, your lunch break, the few hours after your kids go to bed at night.
Focus on today. And share something out there with the world. Let’s do it!
RELATED READ
Show Your Work # 4 – Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities
We all have our own treasured collections.
We all carry around interesting things that we have learned, lived, and experienced through our lives.
Where do you get your inspiration? What do you like to read? What websites do you visit on the internet? Who are your heroes? What YouTube videos or Podcasts do you listen to? What music or movies do you love?
When you find things that you genuinely enjoy, don’t let anyone else make you feel bad about it. Celebrate them.
Share your taste and your feelings. Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people.
Let me do a shameless plug here – do check out my YouTube Channel and Shine To Impact Podcast! I do hope that they will brighten up your days!
Show Your Work Tip # 5 – Tell Good Stories
In the book “Significant Objects”, Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker did an experience.
They wanted to prove that stories are powerful drivers of emotional value.
First, they went to thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales, and bought a bunch of insignificant objects for an average of US$1.25 per object. Then, they hired a bunch of writers, to invent a story that attributed significance to each object.
Finally, they listed each object on eBay, using the invented stories as the descriptions.
After much bidding on eBay, guess what happened?
The result was surprising! They were shocked to find out that the objects they bought for just a total of US$128.74 have turned into US$3,612.51!
They went up in value 28 times!
So, in conclusion, your story matters.
Tell good stories about who you are and what you do! That is what connects with your people and builds your tribe.
STORYTELLING MATTERS
Storytelling really matters.
Over the years, the best and most impactful speeches I’ve delivered were done through lots of storytelling.
This is a skill I’ve worked hard to learn and to craft over the years.
If you’d like to check out some of my stories (and lessons), check out these episodes from my YouTube Channel.
SHOW YOUR WORK TIP # 6 – TEACH WHAT YOU KNOW
“The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” – Annie Dillard
Wow. This is profound.
Learn and then Teach. Teach and then learn again.
Kleon suggested that the minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others.
- Share your findings
- Share your reading list
- Point to helpful reference materials
- Write a blog post and share it
- Share in your podcast
- Share in your YouTube videos
- Create some tutorials and post them online
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. People feel closer to your work because you are letting them in on what you know.
SHOW YOUR WORK TIP # 7 – Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
“What you want is to follow and be followed by human beings who care about issues you care about. This thing we make together. This thing is about hearts and minds, not eyeballs.” – Jeffrey Zeldman
Shut Up and Listen
If you want fans you have to be a fan first.
If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community.
And you are doing it wrong if you are only pointing to your own stuff online. You have to be a connector.
If you cited other people’s work, reference them. Put a link back to their website. Give them credit.
If you want to get, you have to give. If you want to be noticed, you have to notice.
Be Someone Worth Following
Stop worrying about how many people follow you online. Don’t waste your time reading articles about how to get more followers.
Instead, if you want followers, be someone worth following.
Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love, and you will attract people who love that kind of stuff.
Show Your Work Tip # 8 – Learn To Take A Punch
And this chapter addressed my personal fear # 3.
I was always worried that by showing my work, I will be criticized. So this chapter is encouraging for me too.
“The trick is not caring what EVERYBODY thinks of you and just caring about what the RIGHT people think of you.” – Brian Michael Bendis
When you put your work out into the World, you have to be ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The more people come across your work, the more criticism you will face.
Ignore those naysayers and dream stealers.
Got a problem with people constantly attacking you? Kleon suggests that you use the BLOCK button on your social media sites. Delete nasty comments. And turn off comments on your blogs or social media if you have to.
RELATED READ
Show Your Work Tip # 9 – Sell Out
We all have rent and expenses to pay. So, you have to become unapologetic about making money from your work.
Work a full-time job or part-time job and share your work at the same time. Put out great work and eventually try to monetize it.
If you have to, put out a DONATE NOW button on your website. These links do well with a little bit of human copy, such as “Like This? Buy me a coffee”.
This is a very simple transaction, and you may just start earning some income that way.
If you would like to support my business, do check out my SHOP!
Keep A Mailing List
Even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, you should always be collecting email addresses from people who come across your work and want to stay in touch.
The people who sign up for your list will be some of your biggest supporters, just by the simple fact that they signed up for the potential to be spammed by you.
Don’t betray their trust and don’t push your luck. Build your list and treat it with respect. It will pay you back in folds one day if you deliver great value and content consistently.
Having said that, if you’d like to receive my insider inspiration, tips and strategies, do subscribe to my email list.
Pay It Forward
When you have success, it is important to pay it forward. Help others. Give opportunities to others. Showcase others’ work. Give people a chance.
“Above all, recognize that if you have had success, you have also had luck – and with luck comes obligation. You owe a debt, and not just to your gods. You owe a debt to the unlucky.” – Michael Lewis
“Show Your Work – 10 Ways To Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered” by Austin Kleon will inspire you to start showing your work, sharing your creativity, and getting discovered.
Borrow it from your local library or grab a copy from Amazon!
If you are a content creator, also check out New York Times Bestseller “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon too.
Show Your Work Tip # 10 – Stick Around
Every career has many ups and downs.
The people who get what they want are often the ones who have not quitted prematurely and have stuck around long enough.
Chain Reactions
“We work because it’s a chain reaction, each subject leads to the next.” – Charles Eames
If you want to create momentum, don’t stop. Instead of taking a break in between projects, waiting for feedback, and worrying about what’s next, use the end of one project to light up the next one.
Just do the work that’s in front of you, and when it’s finished, ask yourself what you missed, what you could have done better, or what you could not get to, and jump right into the next project.
Instead of Starting Over, Use the Mentality of Beginning Again
When you feel like you have learned whatever there is to learn from what you are doing, it is time to find something new to learn so that you can move forward.
You can’t be content with mastery. You have to push yourself to become a student again.
“Anyone who isn’t embarrassed by who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.” – Alain de Botton
So don’t think of it as starting over. Think of it as beginning again. Go back to chapter one and become an amateur again!
Look for something new to learn, and when you find it, dedicate yourself to learning it out in the open.
Document your progress and share as you go so that others can learn along with you. Show your work!
READY TO CREATE A BUSINESS AND A LIFE THAT YOU’LL LOVE?
Grab my FREE
PASSION TO PROFIT PLAYBOOK
and start turning your passion into a deeply satisfying, impactful, and profitable business.
Make Money.
Change The World.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog post on “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. Once again, to summarize, here are the 10 ways to show your work, share your creativity, and get discovered.
1 – You Don’t Have To Be a Genius
2 – Think process, not Product
3 – Share something small every day
4 – Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosity
5 – Tell Good Stories
6 – Teach what You know
7 – Don’t turn into human spam
8 – Learn to take a punch
9 – Sell Out
10 – Stick Around
There are more insights and interesting examples in the book, so be sure to grab a copy or borrow it from your local library.
I hope with this book you will also start to show your work more!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
- How To Turn Your Mess into Your Message (+ 4 Simple Steps)
- How To Stop Being a Perfectionist (YouTube Audiobook)
- 5 Ways to Shatter Self-Limiting Beliefs and Self-Doubts (YouTube Audiobook)
- How To Start a Blog to Show Your Work in 30 Minutes or Less (FREE Step-by-Step Guide)
- Top 13 Benefits of Starting an Online Business
- 30 Best Online Business To Start TODAY (with Little or No Money)
- 9 Best Personal Development Books of All Times
- 13 Inspiring Books For and By Women Entrepreneurs
If you have enjoyed this post, please LIKE or SHARE it with your friends. Sharing is caring!
CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT BUSINESS YOU SHOULD START?
Check out Millie’s online course Perfect Niche Formula to help you dig deep into your heart and soul, and find YOUR perfect business idea that combines passion, purpose, and profits!
A business idea that is soul-centered, heart-driven, deeply satisfying, meaningful, and profitable.
