[Book] Show your work

In his book <Show Your Work>, Austin Kleon discusses how he shares his work, builds networks, and connects with audiences. He shares mindsets that help turn your in-progress work in silos into findable work. I collected a few lessons from this book, some of which I believe can be applied to my routines. And the first lesson is…

Lesson 1: Don’t waste your time networking

Austin shares a way to build your network. You can gain an audience by generously sharing your ideas and knowledge online. The audience often helps you when you need it—for fellowship, feedback, or patronage. Instead of wasting your time networking, take advantage of the network.

I love this lesson. My valuable networks didn’t come from networking, like going to random parties, social events, meetups, and so forth. If I have to join social events, I time-box them and often leave early or as soon as I don’t have to stay. They rarely put me in touch with someone I was looking for. (Of course, they’re great when looking for fun!) Valuable networks were often built when I shared something valuable with them or helped others with them. When I gained something valuable, I expressed my appreciation and followed up once in a while, which helped me stay connected with them.

Lesson 2: Amateur means lover

You might think your work (writing, code, art, product, etc.) is not mature enough and not ready to be shared. That is not true. You can start sharing something simple from the very beginning. Consider yourself to be the documentarian of what you do. Write your thoughts down in a notebook, a blog, or a personal website. Keep a scrapbook. Take a lot of photographs of your work at different stages in your process. This isn’t about making art, it’s about simply keeping track of what’s going on around you.

We’re all terrified of being revealed as amateurs. But being an amateur is a good thing. An amateur is the enthusiast who pursues work in the spirit of love (in French, the word means “lover of something”), regardless of the potential for fame, money, or career.

I miss the time when I spent all my summer vacation building robots and cars at college, writing a computer program for a wild animal quiz when I was younger, and drawing and painting random things at kindergarten. I found fun and joy. The difference between this lesson and these beautiful memories of mine is that you have to stick with something. Over the years, you might be tempted to ditch your online storage for the newest, shiniest social network. Don’t give in.