So I finished these two library books this month; don’t worry – one was really short and had less, smaller-sized pages. It also helped that both were to the point, and engaging.
Do Cool Sh*t by Miki Agrawal – I’ll admit I was drawn to read this, not just because of the title, but because the author is a twin [for those of you that don’t know, I am a twin]. I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I will say this, if I’d been a better time manager, I’d have finished this book in 3 days. Instead, it took me 3 weeks. I started it two weeks ago and was about halfway through it. And then just finished it two Sundays ago, in less than 2 days [Yeah, I’m still a slow reader, and a horrible time manager (too much tv!)].
My main takeaways: know what you want, but know who you/what you are really capable of [are you really talented in _____? we don’t want the American Idol judges laughing at you], set/follow/change your plans [sometimes life throws curve balls]; be honest with yourself [we all have limitations], be prepared [always make plans] and be bold [meet people]! One of the things I learned about myself is, as much as I love to freelance, I’m not as “entrepreneurial” as I’d like to be. I need to work on that, or accept the fact that I’m just a part-time freelancer.
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon – this book is the shorter one [with smaller pages]. I only discovered this book after I stumbled across his “Show Your Work” book at a Mr. K’s Used Book Store [and more]. I quickly devoured “Show Your Work!” [a must read, will review later!] and wanted to read “Steal” because the title intrigued me. It also doesn’t help that I’m a former child clepto(maniac) [short stint, it was only a few months and before Navy Exchanges had security cams (you can thank my siblings and I for that). Anyway, back to the mini-review; Kleon has 10 tips on being creative.
My takeaways: don’t really steal someone’s work, just be inspired to create your own work and do it already! One of my favorite tips is to keep a physical notebook with you at all times [I have one in my purse], but actually WORK on your ideas [I’ve yet to do this on a regular basis]. Another favorite takeaway: have two desks, one where you can draw/doodle, and a digital desk [computer/laptop] to keep your work flow separate. Simply because sometimes, the work can be different or completed differently. For example, if it’s an illustration project that you want to keep non-digital, then don’t bring over to digitize it, until you are completely done with it [processing it, or even thoroughly thinking it through]. Sometimes, artists can interrupt the work by ‘digitizing’ it too soon. I’m guilty of that.
Anyway, that’s it for now! Thanks for reading! And of course, keep on reading!
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