An Awakening Call to Show Your Work
Revelations I gained from Austin Kleon’s book: Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered.
I recently finished a book by Austin Kleon Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered. When I came across this book, the title immediately caught my eyes. There are many books teaching us how to do good work, and we just assume that good work will automatically speak for ourselves. But will it? I asked myself that question, and that’s when I find myself couldn’t put the book down.
It’s a book that, once you start reading, really gets you thinking. As someone who often hesitates to share online, this is the exact dose of wisdom I need to break out of my shell — like what I’m doing right now.
Different people may find different insights in this book. Kleon himself, according to his own words, is “a writer who also draws.” But I believe all kinds of occupations would benefit from learning how to show their work. To me this book is definitely mind-changing. Here are three revelations I gained after reading this book.
#1 Your work is worth sharing
It’s not uncommon to have started writing something to share, but end up never getting out that draft. It’s often the thought that someone else must have done it better than me that deceives ourselves into dismissing the value in our work and never hitting the share button.
That thought is not only wrong, but destructive. Back when I was a graduate student studying economics, the sheer volume of economic literature and brilliant minds before me was pointing out one distressing fact: I will never have something new to share. And that to some extent discouraged me from pursuing academic research any further.
Interestingly enough, the very first chapter in Kleon’s book was to bust this destructive thought and convince readers that “the forest is a quiet place if only the best birds sing.” First and foremost, you don’t have to be the best to be able to share your work. Being the best, as glorious as it sounds, is a vague and unrealistic expectation that neither you or the world should have on yourself. Instead, share your work to add voices to your community, to spark ideas through discussions, or simply just to document the work for your future self as a process of learning. You always have something to share and worth sharing.
#2 Let your community find you
When I was a college freshman, I was eager to keep honing my badminton skills, but struggled to find a buddy since I barely knew anyone or any such groups. Realizing that it would take me forever to bump into a badminton fellow, I took a bold step and posted a note next to the student hall’s elevator calling for badminton lovers. I remember I was nervous about that note all night, worrying about how people would react to it. Fortunately, my last resort worked, and with more-than-expected responses, I sort of accidentally established a badminton club. It was so exhilarating to have my badminton community at last.
The moral of this story is precisely what Kleon wrote: “Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you. ” At that time I didn’t understand the true power of that note and why it worked, and over the years I still faced the same struggle to find like-minded people — not just badminton. Until these words struck me. I was only putting up my antenna and waiting for the right signals, instead of sending out my own signals. I have been trying so hard to find my community, but it would be much easier if I put myself out there and let them find me. Showing who I am and what I love will naturally draw audiences with similar interests and eventually lead me to the community. Lo and behold, it is always larger than you think.
#3 Be a connector
It’s not enough to just find a community. In fact, it takes much more to be a good citizen of it. Kleon used a spectrum to vividly depict three distinct community behaviors. Hoarders only absorb but rarely contribute, while spammers share a lot about their own work but pay very little attention to others’. In both cases, communication is blocked as information only flows one-way. Only when there is what the writer Blake Butler called an open node, a.k.a. a connector, can a community come alive with all members more engaged and better connected.
In the badminton story, although I was able to gather enough people to start a club, I wasn’t able to keep the club active for long. Over time, people formed their own badminton group, and became too busy with schoolwork to organize or participate in events. Thinking back, what was lacking is a good connector, and I should have done better at that. I was too focused on improving my own skills, and I didn’t recognize the needs to connect through playing. I was falling on the hoarder range of the spectrum. Similarly, as a data scientist, I have been learning a lot from the community, but rarely give my own contributions. I’m missing out the opportunity to get inspirations from others and to better build the community. It’s time to move along the spectrum and become a connector.
These are the revelations I got from this book. It not only teaches why it’s worth sharing my work, but also how. I’m going to check out Kelon’s other book Steal Like an Artist, and eager to know how it complements with this book. Feel free to check out these books on your own. I would love to hear how you like them!
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