Show your work

🚀The Book in 3 Sentences

Creativity is a social act: share your process with the world. This won’t just make you more discoverable and help you build an audience; it will also help you connect with like-minded people throughout your career.
Document your process to develop an audience, hold yourself accountable, and create a valuable feedback loop. If it isn’t online, it doesn’t exist.
The more you teach, the more you’ll learn.

🎨 Impressions

A brilliant and short book, it resonated tremendously with me and in what I believe “The Feynman technique” is, to choose a concept to learn, teach it to yourself or someone else, return to the source material if you get stuck, and finally simplify your explanations and create analogies.

I believe this is incredible practical advice for the 21st century that should apply to all of us. Especially to develop discipline around sharing your work so you can find your tribe and audience, this will refine your work and increase mastery over it. It will also improve your storytelling, and increase the quality of your connections.

Who Should Read It?

People who want to become better at their craft.
People who want to build an audience and kickstart a career writing, sharing or doing creative work.

☘️ How the Book Changed Me

It has inspired me to share my process, failures and successes, to document my process as I do my work, and the learning I keep doing through life.
It has made me appreciate that the quality of connections matters more than the quantity; developing an audience and/or friends that matter to you based on mutual interest and values is more important.
Developing a space online to document your process and share is one of the best decisions you can ever make for your career.

✍️ My Top 3 Quotes

“On the spectrum of creative work, the difference between the mediocre and the good is vast. Mediocrity is, however, still on the spectrum; you can move from mediocre to good in increments. The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something.” Amateurs know that contributing something is better than contributing nothing.”
“The best way to get started on the path to sharing your work is to think about what you want to learn, and make a commitment to learning it in front of others. Find a scenius, pay attention to what others are sharing, and then start taking note of what they’re not sharing. Be on the lookout for voids that you can fill with your own efforts, no matter how bad they are at first. Don’t worry, for now, about how you’ll make money or a career off it. Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.”
“Be ambitious. Keep yourself busy. Think bigger. Expand your audience. Don’t hobble yourself in the name of “keeping it real,” or “not selling out.” Try new things. If an opportunity comes along that will allow you to do more of the kind of work you want to do, say Yes. If an opportunity comes along that would mean more money, but less of the kind of work you want to do, say No.”

📒 Summary + Notes

You don’t have to network to build a network. By creating things you love, sharing your curiosities and works-in-progress, telling stories, and teaching what you know, you’re inviting others to acquaint themselves with your work – and with you. In the process, you’ll attract people who love the same things, gaining indispensable fellowship and feedback.

As soon as you share your work with the world, you’re going to get some feedback. There will be wonderful comments of support. There will also be trolls. Don’t feed them, and learn to take a punch. To do this, first you need to relax and breathe. Practice getting hit to become immune to criticism. That means continually putting out a lot of work. Or take it further, and lean into the criticism; view it as an opportunity for a new work approach. Finally, keep in mind that your work isn’t who you are – it’s just something you do!

Read the obituaries every morning. Get inspired by the people who came before you. They were all amateurs at some point in their lives – and they were all courageous enough to put themselves out there, to reinvent themselves, to persevere through thick and thin.
Make a point of learning in the open so others can learn from your failures and successes. Find a Scenius, and talk about the things you love. That way, you will figure out what you’re doing and where you’re going - you will find your voice. Start sharing, and the rest will follow.
Documenting your work can also help you figure out what you’re doing. The more you share, the more you will start to see patterns and themes in your process.
As the saying goes, take it day by day. Every day, after you finish your work, share a snapshot of where you’re at in your process. That could be something that’s inspiring you, a work-in-progress, or even just some discarded scraps.
Treat your website as a machine for self-invention rather than self-promotion. It’s an environment you’ve created for yourself to become who you want to be. So, use it as a meeting point for everything you care about, including your work, ideas, and inspirations.
Sharing your true interests and inspirations lets others really know who you are and what you do. Sometimes, it does this more effectively than your actual work. So stay honest and open about what you like. It’ll increase your chances of finding people who want the same things, if nothing else.
The story of your work can be as powerful as the work itself. And to tell that story, you'll have to do some speaking.
So how do you tell a good story? First off, learn how to structure one. Almost all stories follow this universal formula: First, there’s a problem. Then you work to solve the problem. Finally, you arrive at a solution.
Also, practice talking about yourself. If you’re at a party and someone asks you what you do, you should be able to give an explanation, with humility and self-respect. And this explanation should be clear to anyone – whether it’s your niece, an elderly neighbor, or the guy sitting next to you at a bar. Be honest, always. If you’re unemployed, for example, don’t beat around the bush. Plainly state that fact, and then mention what kind of work you’re interested in pursuing. The same goes for writing a bio. Stick to the facts, and don’t try to be cute. Short and sweet is the name of the game.
Another way to expand your learning is by turning down your own volume and justlistening. No one wants to be human spam – the kind of person who isn’t interested in anything but himself. And we know that powerful art is never made in a vacuum. So while you’re honing your craft, ask questions, be a fan, be thoughtful, and look to connect. In short, be what the author calls an “open node.”
Instead, when it comes to followers, prioritize real connections, and organically build a network of people who are actually invested in you. These are the people who share your passions and obsessions. Nurture your friendships with them, support them, and collaborate with them whenever possible.
Which brings us to a final note: banish the vampires in your life. To the people and things that suck out your energy, leaving you feeling drained and exhausted, say – once and for all.
Every career has its ups and downs. Luck certainly plays a part – but grit plays a larger one. Often, the people who achieve their goals are the ones who’ve simply stuck it out. So, as the author says, “Don’t quit your show.” Instead, ask yourself, What’s next?
Literal chain-smoking is disastrous for your health, but if you apply the concept to your work process, you’ll never lose momentum. “Light up” your next project with the embers of your last one, reflecting on what you weren’t able to get to or what you could’ve done better.
That said, eventually you might burn out and need to search for a match. Taking a sabbatical can rekindle your flame and give you the chance to regroup and recharge. Of course, we don’t all have the luxury of being able to walk away from our normal lives for a year. A practical sabbatical, however, can also do the trick.