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It’s gonna sound completely cliché, but my favorite book in the world is The Alchemist. If you haven’t read this masterpiece by Paulo Coelho, your life is incomplete.

what the hell are you waiting for?

– Jay-Z ft. Linkin Park

I digress…

This post isn’t about The Alchemist but it is about a book that has some key things in common with The Alchemist.

You may have seen this book on my list of the most inspiring books for creative millennials. Aptly titled Steal Like an Artist, it reminds me of The Alchemist for a few reasons:

  1. It’s an extremely quick read, but…
  2. It’s PACKED with tons and tons of insightful quotes, stories, and lessons.
  3. It’s a book you’ll read over and over again and…
  4. You’ll always be able to take a new lesson away from it.

I truly think every single person – not just millennials – should read Steal Like an Artist, so I won’t completely spoil it for you, but I will share a few highlights. If you’d rather watch my video review of Steal Like an Artist, check it out on the LaziMILLENNIAL YouTube channel!

3 highlights from steal like an artist by austin kleon

“Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.”

Boy, could I deliver a sermon on this right here?!

Put simply: you don’t have to know exactly what you’re doing to start doing something.

Oftentimes, it’s what we discover in the process of doing that truly helps us hone in on what it is that we should do.

Take college for example.

Many high school students have some idea or inkling of what they might want to do in the future, but many don’t. Either way, they’re still encouraged to go to college after high school.

Well, in college, if you plan on graduating, you have to pick a major, and that major shoots you down a specific path. Supposedly, at the end of that path, you’ll figure out what you’re gonna do with your life. (Lol.)

But in many liberal arts schools, you don’t have to choose that major until your second or third year of college. And if you want, you can change it.

Point being: When you start college, you don’t know who you are yet. And that’s okay. You go anyway.

Can you imagine if high school students were told not to start college until they’re 100% who they are or what they want to be?

No one would EVER make it to college.

I don’t know if I’ll ever know 100% who I am or what I want to do, but I make moves in spite of that uncertain because in the process of “doing” you “become.”

Being multi-passionate is not a crime.

For the multipotentialites of the world, I don’t know if there’s a more self-affirming book than Steal Like an Artist.

(Wanna learn more about where the term “multipotentialite” came from? Here’s the answer, delivered through one of my favorite TedTalks!)

Y’all know that having multiple passions is something I’m… passionate about, haha! After all, I built an entire platform for multi-passionate millennials.

So it was refreshing to read Austin Kleon’s words about not getting rid of your passions and the benefits of being able to move back and forth between them.

Once you get tired of one thing, you can go to the next, and so on and so forth. All the while, you’re building parts of your creativity that you might not have if you were only focused on one outlet.

Now, I’m fully aware that this is only productive to a certain extent. There is a limit to how much you can do well at once, but I believe that limit is fluid.

While one person may not be able to multitask at all, another may thrive on being involved in 3 or 4 different projects at a time.

And it’s okay for you to be either of those people or anyone in between!

You are the common link!

As sure as the sun will rise, society will try to force you into a category and label you accordingly. Why?

Because something about human nature makes us need to label people and things so that we can better identify and understand them.

When you don’t fit neatly into a box or follow a neat path, people struggle with that.

Can you see any examples of this in your own life?

Me? I’m a pharmacist by training, but I never wanted to practice pharmacy in the traditional sense. Instead I wanted to work in public health.

You can imagine how much that confuses both public health professionals and pharmacists alike.

On top of all that, I’m a freelance writer.

On top of that, I love music.

Plus, I’m obsessed with Spanish.

And I love drawing and painting.

When you have a lot of stuff going on, people don’t know how to fit you into their boxes. Because of that, they can make you feel like something is wrong with you (…to the point where YOU also try to fit yourself into a box and feel bad about yourself when you can’t).

What I love about Steal Like an Artist is that it emphasizes that there doesn’t HAVE to be a common link between your interests.

YOU ARE THE COMMON LINK.

You are the common denominator between all your interests and pursuits.

And that is enough.

You are enough.

Pin me to come back to this post later!

Truthfully, I could go on and on about the wonders of this book, but then you wouldn’t read it for yourself.

If you’re an active reader and like to engage and reflect while reading, SLAA also comes with a journal for your thoughts and reflections.

I’m almost positive this will be a book you’ll revisit over and over again.

By the way, if you haven’t read The Alchemist yet, what are you doing with your life? You can order The Alchemist and Steal Like an Artist via Amazon using the links below!

have you read steal like an artist? What’s your favorite inspirational book?