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"I should have picked up Steal Like an Artist a long time ago."

That was the thought that ran through my mind as I read the 10th anniversary edition of this work by Austin Kleon from cover to cover to prepare for this very special bonus episode of A Productive Conversation.

Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, The Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs, and Keep Going. His work has been translated into over twenty languages and featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. New York magazine called his work “brilliant,” the Atlantic called him “positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet,” and the New Yorker said his poems “resurrect the newspaper when everybody else is declaring it dead.” He speaks about creativity in the digital age for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and the Economist.

I only had a short time to speak with Austin this time around, but we made the most of it. I think you'll agree.

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If this episode resonated, I’m exploring ideas like these more deeply in my upcoming book, Productiveness. You can follow along as it takes shape at mikevardy.com/productiveness.