***
Be nice.
Be open.
Be curious.
Be friendly.
Be considerate.
Be compassionate.
Live by the golden rule.
Be willing to look stupid.
Stay busy with your work.
Human kindness is necessary.
Don't be jealous or envious of others.
Treat others how you want to be treated.
Surround yourself with smart and talented people.
Let others know how you feel about them.
Channel your feelings into creativity.
Say nice things to and about others.
Know that praise is fleeting.
Learn from other people.
vFollow creative people.
Don't waste any time.
Be a great friend.
Write fan letters.
Be genuine.
Be humble.
Work hard.
Be nice.
Create.
***
I guess those little statements sum up what I got out of Austin Kleon's Chapter 8 of Steal Like An Artist, which is entitled, "Be Nice (The world is a small town)." It's not that he said every one of those things, but some of them just naturally came into my mind as I was reading the chapter.
Kleon begins the chapter with a short discussion about the golden rule as it applies to the Internet—that saying nice things about people online is the best way to befriend them and that ignoring "enemies" is the best way to make them "disappear." He also talks about surrounding yourself with smart, talented people, or following those people online. You'll learn the most by doing this.
Kleon seems to enjoy getting himself all worked up and angry by reading stupid posts on the Internet. He states that "Anger is one of my favorite creative resources." He admires Henry Rollins who is said to find anger and curiosity the things that keep him moving, keep him going forward and creating. My husband is a big Henry Rollins fan, starting with enjoying his music but also reading his books and watching his live talks on video. Personally, I don't know much about him, but maybe I'll read something he's written. I'm not much into his music. Anyway, my own beliefs about what helps me and what hinders me revolve around eliminating drama from my life, doing my best to accept things as they are including my own feelings (such as anger, sadness, etc.), and trying to stay very aware of what's real in any given moment. I find that provoking myself to get angry or upset by reading about things that make me angry or going over and over in my head thoughts that make me upset does me absolutely no good. It doesn't serve me at all. It doesn't serve anyone else. It actually has the potential to create more negative thoughts and patterns in the brain. It has the potential to cause mental anguish and physical symptoms just by continuously ruminating (if you get stuck in a cycle). I can't see how intentionally getting oneself angry and then channeling that energy through creative means is good for anyone. This is just my opinions. That's not to say that I think one shouldn't use his/her anger or sadness or whatever is there emotionally to inspire oneself in creativity...I'm not saying that at all. I just don't go looking for it! It's fine if that's what you want to do, for sure. To each his own. Maybe I'm missing Kleon's point; maybe he's just saying that no matter how you are feeling—angry, depressed, ecstatic, lazy, joyful, melancholy, anxious, or whatever—just go make something! Create!
Kleon also encourages us to write fan letters without looking for some kind of response or affirmation from the recipient. I've written a few fan letters in my life, always hoping for some kind of response (never having gotten one), but I do see his point that showing your appreciation for someone and their work that you admire is important for you. The person may or may not ever read what you wrote about or for them; that doesn't matter. You will benefit from having shown the appreciation. It's like saying that giving is better than receiving, that the joy of giving far outweighs what we get from getting. I agree with that. I love to give people things. I don't expect anything in return. Conversely, I love when people give me things too! And, I love to show my deep appreciation for gifts that people give to me. I don't expect gifts. But if I receive a gift or a compliment or praise, it's a wonderful feeling—one to be enjoyed, and then you let go of the joy (because it is fleeting just like everything else) and send it out into the universe or turn it into something you do for someone else to bring them joy.
I do like Kleon's suggestion of keeping a praise file. It's like a little bank account upon which you can draw when you are running low on "funds." Keep a collection of positive comments, praise, compliments, appreciation from others, etc., somewhere that you can access on days when you feel rejected, discouraged, misunderstood, unliked, unappreciated. Having a praise file would have helped me a few days ago. The week before spring break was tough; I had three nights in a row of getting about three hours of sleep per night. Ugh. It's pretty standard for me to be lacking sleep regularly these days, but that was a little extreme. The fourth day was the last day of classes for me, and when I was finished with classes, I ate a carb-heavy lunch and then went home to watch movies with my friend; we were both OUT within about 15 minutes! EXHAUSTED! She left a few hours later and I got up and ate a small dinner, then watched some TV, got horizontal on the couch again, and fell asleep early in the evening, not moving from that spot until about 7am the next morning. At that point I had to get up, shower, eat breakfast, and go to work from 9–12. I felt like S-H-I-T. I couldn't think straight. I didn't feel good physically. I couldn't eat. I felt like my nervous system had taken a big shot, and I was also feeling shaky and emotionally drained. I went to work and tried to be creative! I got barely anything done. I won't get into the details of the work day. However, when I was leaving, I was seriously questioning my abilities as a designer and even questioning my decision to go to school to be a designer! I was a mess. Now right about then, a praise file would have come in handy! Given, there were multiple factors contributing to my state of mind, and I was basically crashing just from overworking myself and not taking care of myself mentally or physically. But still, a praise file! It would have definitely helped and possibly given me the lift I needed. I'm much better now, by the way (she said, happily). And, there's still more than half of spring break left. :)
When it comes to following people who are smarter or more talented than me, I am in complete agreement with Kleon that this is a great thing to do. I follow some people on Twitter, but the problem is that I'm rarely on Twitter. I need to be on it more or following people does absolutely no good! Anyway, here are some of the people I follow:
Jessica Hische (of course!) (@jessicahische) My hero
Maya Bruck (@mayabruck) Amazing web designer and typography teacher
Luke Wroblewski (@lukew) "Humanizing technology" Has worked at Yahoo, eBay, NCSA
Julie Zhuo (@joulee) Product design director at FaceBook
Biz Stone (@biz) Co-founder of Twitter
Cap Watkins (@cap) VP of Design at @BuzzFeed; formerly at Etsy, Amazon, Formspring, and Zoosk
So, as Kleon advises, I'm going to write a fan letter, and I'm going to write it to Jessica Hische.
___________________________________
Dear Jessica,
I learned about you during my first semester of school (graphic design program). We were given a Pinterest blog assignment, and I came across your Daily Drop Cap project and fell in love with it! Since then I've become a serious fan of you and your work. I admire your drive and determination, your organization (I even have your "Today is the Day" planner), your attention to the most minute detail, your aesthetic sensibility, the humor and sweetness and beauty in your work, how amazingly prolific you are, and much, much more. I find I can look at your work, pieces I've seen, over and over and over again. It always amazes me! I've watched a couple of your talks on Youtube, and I've learned so much from listening to you discuss your work, your process, your views, your advice... and your delivery is so entertaining and captivating as well. I am humbled by you, and you inspire me greatly. My own work has benefited from how I've been inspired by your work. You are my hero. Thank you, Jessica.
Most Sincerely,
Gloria Roubal
http://jessicahische.is/
___________________________________
I will also post this on my professional blog and link it to Jessica's site there. Maybe I'll actually get up the courage to send it to her. I'll probably edit it before I do that, however. :)
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