How To Show Your Work According to Austin Kleon

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It seems like every single 3rd-grade math teacher on the planet is adamant that we show our long division and map out our steps.

Lately, it seems like math is turning into English, but I digress.

We’re not going to talk about mathematics today.

Instead, you and I are going to dive into the world of content creation and design.

Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work! has been one of the most impactful books I’ve read this year on content creation.

Here are my top takeaways from his book.

Natural Talent Is Overrated

It’s great to be talented. A little extra prodigy and genius never hurt a soul.

But talent is not a necessity, especially if you’re a creator.

My first big takeaway from Show Your Work! Is that you don’t need talent.

You see, being creative isn’t about your IQ, your financial status, or whether your chicken sandwich preference.

Creativity has no standards.

Do you want to be a better creator? Than create.

Do you want to be a better writer? Than write.

Do you like to learn how to design websites and build marketing funnels? Then get out there and do it.

According to Kleon, creativity is all about being an Amateur.

We are all amateurs.

An amateur is someone who goes after their work in the spirit of love (Amore).

You aren’t here just for the results. You’re here for the process.

You don’t create to be perfect. You create because you love your craft, and you love learning.

Austin Kleon has this great quote from the book that I simply adore, “You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it.”

It’s a simple concept, really, but it makes so much sense, doesn’t it?

I mean, how will you know what you sound like if you’ve never spoken?

How will you know if your voice is deep and brassy or high and flutey?

The truth is there is no telling if you don’t ever speak. So speak!

Screw being a professional perfectionist that gets everything right. If you already knew everything and did everything right, there’d be nothing else to learn or discover.

Instead, share what you love and find what you love through sharing.

Share Your Process With The World

You ever purchase a Blu-ray extended cut?

You know, the ones that have all of those extra cuts and features?

Moviemakers really know how to peel back the curtain and take you behind the scenes to see their process.

Artists used to think that their processes needed to be kept hidden. After all, you wouldn’t want people coming after your secret formulas!

But things are different today. The best chefs in the world share every little cooking secret.

Take chef Gordon Ramsay, for example. He’s undoubtedly one of the most well-known chefs in the world.

Why?

He shares his recipes, techniques, and styles.

He isn’t afraid to share what he knows and loves, and neither should you be.

Now, let’s get back to you, shall we?

You need to take people behind the scenes and show them the daily ins and outs of your operations. Pull back the curtains and get in there.

Become a documentarian in everything that you do.

Gary Vaynerchuk, a leading marketer, and entrepreneur, has a cameraman following him 24/7 just to capture little moments in his life.

I know my life isn’t significant enough (and my battery not long enough) to film every little part of my process.

But what if I just filmed 15 minutes of it every day?

15 minutes every day turns into over an hour and a half of content after just one week!

Think about that… That’s as long as a movie!

In 2013 Chris Hadfield shipped off to space.

While in space, he recorded himself doing routine tasks. Yet he found himself getting millions of views!

How? He was in flipping space!

I’m not telling you to sign up for Elon Musk’s Mars space program, but use the power of documentation to your advantage.

You’re much more impressive than you think you are.

Be Consistent/Not Perfectionistic

Austin Kleon came up with this genius idea of a Daily Dispatch.

A daily dispatch is you putting out your work out there in the world every single day.

Your work will eventually compound on itself, and before you know it, you’ll have a heaping hunk of content that you can be proud of.

But scratch all of that right now. Forget about the months, years, and decades. In fact, forget about what you have to get done this week!

Focus on today!

Today is the only day that we can wrap our little human brains around anyway.

Package and share everything that you learn.

What influenced you today? What’s an exciting shower thought that’s worth sharing? What’s your process when you go to work? What new workout did you try this morning?

Let the thoughts and ideas flow. Write down these ideas so you don’t forget, and then choose a mode of delivery to share with the world.

You can use all different kinds of sharing methods, including but not limited to:

• Blog Posts
• Videos
• Social Media Posts
• Essays and Research papers
• Infographics

There’s no shortage of how you share, and there’s only one caveat.

Be consistent!

From personal experience, I can say that 95% of what you produce will be straight garbage.

But that’s okay.

All you need is 5% to start building momentum.

Be consistent and throw perfectionism out of the window. Share helpful information about your processes and how others can do.

Love the process of starting small and build momentum from there.

Tell Me All of Your Secrets

Don’t hold anything back.

I admit I’m guilty of this. I always want to save some of my creative stock later, hoping that it’ll pull me some massive traffic or viewership.

The truth is, great ideas come and go, don’t hold onto your great idea. Share them with the world.

Sharing everything you know means wiping your slate clean. It means that you can go out and learn more. Plus, everything you’ve created can add massive value to someone else’s life.

Please, please, please do not become an information hoarder.

We all have treasured collections-our favorite books, movies, songs, etc. Don’t keep them to yourself. Share your collection with the world.

Here’s a great tip that Austin gives: Don’t let anyone make you feel wrong about the things you genuinely enjoy.

Your secrets are important, so share them. Share your magical formulas, share the secret sauce, make the world a better place.

Also, don’t forget to give credit where credit is due.

Always hyperlink back to the creator of the work. This will keep you from getting sued, and honestly is just the honorable thing to do.

Giving credit can also earn your relationships within your industry, which is always a plus.

What are your recipes? What can you teach the world?

Become a Great Storyteller

Once you know what to share, you have to know how to share it.

According to Austin, great work doesn’t speak for itself.

An excellent illustration of this is the world of art forgery.

Art forgers can be extremely talented people. They can almost wholly replicate pictures and paintings. In fact, you probably couldn’t tell the difference between the copies and the originals if you squinted.

What makes Van Gough’s Starry night different from a forged copy?

The story.

Your story is a big part of what makes you, you. Without a story, your art ends up being lackluster and without direction.

But with a story, you become something compelling, heart-wrenching, and mind-blowing.

Put a story behind everything that you do, every piece of content, every text message, every Tweet, every Instagram post. Words communicate meaning, and meaning is how you show your work.

To make a great story, you need to have a great structure.

Austin puts this beautifully. He says:

• In the first act, you get your hero up a tree.
• In the second, you throw rocks at him.
• In the third, you let him down the tree.

Your story doesn’t have to be about trees and rocks, but it needs to have characters, conflict, rising action, and a solution.

You may not have noticed it, but every piece of content has a story arch, even the one you’re reading right now.

Let’s swap shoes for a second.

The post that you’re reading right now has two characters, me and you. Together we’re experiencing the conflict of learning how to Show Our Work! Better and create more compelling content in our work. Each subheading that you’re reading is rising action, and the conclusion is the solution!

Stories are everywhere. What stories do you tell yourself? What stories do people around you tell themselves?

Austin Kleon also recommends a few other story structures like Dan Harmon’s Story Cycle and John Gardner’s story plot.

Don’t Be Human Spam

No one likes spam.

Don’t barrage people with spam; no one likes that. Instead, work hard to prepare and present fantastic gourmet dishes of content.

Stop and listen to what your audience is telling you.

Austin Kleon quotes Richard Ford, saying, ‘When people realize that they’re being listened to, they will tell you things’ (very roughly paraphrased).

So if you want to be listened to, listen to others, and deliver them what they want.

If you want to be a great chef, you have to be a great eater. If you’re going to be a great writer, you have to be a great reader.

The content writing community is filled with people who want to publish tons but don’t read enough. Readers are listeners, eaters are listeners, viewers are listeners.

Don’t be human spam. Be human luxury.

Work Is Never Finished Only Abandoned.

“Don’t Quit Your Own Show”-Austin Kleon.

I want you to imagine something.

You’re a musician.

Not just any musician, you’re a star, and people show up for you. They come to see every single one of your shows and tell you that your music has changed their lives.

But last year, you produced an off album.

Not your most excellent work, and you weren’t proud of it. The fans didn’t eat it up this time. There were no signings, and album sales dropped a ton.

Your tickets didn’t sell out, and you started resorting to performing gigs at bars to get by.

So you decide to quit.

Let’s talk about this. Was your work finished?

No. It was abandoned.

You can’t tell whether your next article, song, or video will be a hit. You don’t get to choose that.

But what you can do is choose to keep going.

Keep always producing, keep showing your work. Stay on that grind, and don’t set super high expectations.

Remember, you’re doing this because you love it, not for the money, not for fame or fortune, but because you are genuinely fascinated with continuously learning and improving.

You can learn more about following through with your work long-term here.

Conclusion

Austin Kleon is a fantastic writer, and his book Show Your Work! exemplifies that.

His cute drawings and accurate descriptions make it easy for plebeians like me to learn from them and share them with people like you!

You can pick up a copy of Show Your Work! Here.

Thanks for reading and remember…

Always Show Your Work!

Christopher Chan