It has taken me a couple of weeks to write on the last but not the least part of Austin Kleon's trilogy - Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad.
I had earlier made a review on the first 2 parts: Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work
So I thought it was logical to write on all 3. I started reading this book soon after I reviewed Steal Like An Artist, but there wasn't much of a push to go through with it.
For some reason, I wasn't as excited about it as the previous 2 and I kept procrastinating reading it.
Thankfully I was able to get past the procrastinating and I figured it wasn't in any way less informative it was what I needed as it answered some interesting questions like:
How do you stay productive, creative, and prolific as an artist during the good and the bad times?
The book is made up of 10 chapters in which the author talks about creative processes, routines, do's and don'ts and the beauty of creating.
Some Lessons From Keep Going:
#1 every day is Groundhog day
Creativity comes and goes, it doesn't seem to flow every day, some days you got the juice, and other days you feel blank. But it seems these days, weeks or months of the creative block are out of control, but in the first chapter of this book, we learn we can influence it how.
Establish a routine
By establishing specific habits and rituals to get you into the mood, you’re likely to experience higher levels of creativity versus just waiting for inspiration to hit.
You must learn to show up to harness your creativity as best as possible and one way to do that is by showing up every day — and you can accomplish that by having a schedule. Everyone's schedule is different but you can establish what's best for you by asking yourself questions like: "are you a morning person or a night owl?” “What gets you in the creative mood?”
#2 Build a Bliss Station.
The author urges us to retreat from the world once in a while to regain touch with our inner creativity.
One major way to the that is to take some time away from your phone and the Internet.
#3 Forget the Noun, do the verb.
A lot of us want to be the Noun without doing the verb. Austin Kleon urges us to focus on the process and not the results.
"Art and the artist both suffer most when the artist gets too heavy, too focused on results."
#4 Protect your creativity.
One of the easiest ways to hate something you love is by turning it into your job.
Kleon suggests you keep your creative process as a hobby to avoid falling into the pit of loathing what you once loved. And if you already do what you love for a living, he suggests you have a creative side project, something you don't have to worry about selling.
This way you can stay motivated and remain in love with doing the things you love to do.
He talks about another way of protecting your creativity and that is by Gifting.
Start and finish a project with aim of gifting it to a friend or family. When you give a gift you aren't worried about money but it feels a lot fulfilling and you can find yourself falling in love with your passion over again.
#5 Know when to walk away.
Keep Going urges us to learn to identify when our passion turns from becoming a source of joy to misery.
There are saying that the best source of inspiration comes from hardship and suffering, while this can be true. It is important to know when your creative outlet is bringing you joy or is bringing you down.
You have to walk away when it keeps bringing you down.
Conclusion
The above are just a few of the lessons you can learn from this book. We go through a lot of seasons in our lives, some will inspire us, and some will shut off our creativity. This book teaches us how we can take the necessary steps to revive our creativity.
By creating a routine, creating a Bliss Station, and retreating from the noisy world now and then, one can create a space that nurtures creativity and inspire a sense of inspiration.
Keep Going is certainly a great read. Although, I’d advise you to pick up the previous; Steal Like an Artist (book 1) and Show Your Work (book 2) before reading Keep Going.
It is better enjoyed if you have read the precedent books.
PS: All photos in this article are from screenshots from the ebook version of Keep Going owned by me. You can visit Austin Kleon's official website to get a copy.
Thank you for reading!
Check out the previous reviews:
Interesting! You have just summarized the book and it makes it worth reading for me. For someone like me, these are the kind of books I enjoy reading which gives me suggestion on how to live a productive life through being creative.
We won't always have the inspiration to be creative but there are some certain steps we could imbibe to revive the creativity in us.
Thanks for sharing them with us and recommending these great books worth reading.
Hi @princessbusayo
Thank you for reading the review!
I completely agree!
Thanks once again for stopping by!
It's my pleasure 😊
This kind of books inspire me a lot. I had already heard about steal like an artist, but I didn't know very well what it was about, I just read the reviews of each book and I'm very interested in reading them, I think they have tips and motivational phrases that can help people who dedicate their life to art!
Hi @nicxi
Good to know you find this kind of book inspiring. I'm pretty just you would love this trilogy.
Yes! I concur. Thank you for your wonderful comment!
Sounds like I a book I should read. I haven’t read the book itself yet, but you did a great job summarizing it into this small comprehensive article. Good job!
Yes dear, I honestly urge you to read them, not just Keep Going! I'm pretty sure you'd love it!
I need this book on my read list. Insightful review.
Yes, you sure do. I promise you won't regret it
Ah, people discovering this goated trilogy more and more makes me so glad.
A book that changed my life.
I would never forgot who shared me the book.
Best piece ever.
Hi @stevenson7
I honestly feel glad to have found it myself.
Awww! This is so nice to hear! Glad it did help you. Thank you for sharing
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