Forget The Noun, Do The Verb

I used to be a self-help junkie.

Always coming back for more but never quite implementing the information before hopping on the bandwagon of another book, just to read through, underline thoroughly, nod my head vigorously in agreement, and then still be dissatisfied the next day.

A perpetual loop, no action.

These days I’ve culled and curated through the noise and established my Arsenal of Inspiration — books with quotes and actionable suggestions to help any creative person get unstuck.

But the winner, for me, has to be Austin Kleon’s trio of books, Steal Like An Artist, Share Your Work! and Keep Going. They’ve been referenced extensively online because they’re that good — they’re easily digestible, short, fun reads that deliver.

Most of you functioning writers are probably past needing them, but I come back to them again and again, and in truth, the emphatic command found in his second book’s title propelled me onto Vocal Media to claim my space as a writer — Share Your Work! (Notice the exclamation point).

I’m not a schmoozer and always had disdain for those who were good at it. But Austin cuts to the chase and points out the true benefits of getting your work out there now, as you’re working on it before it’s perfect.

A few gems —

• Imagine if your next boss didn’t have to read your resume because he already reads your blog.

• One little blog post is nothing on its own, but publish a thousand blog posts over a decade, and it turns into your life’s work.

• Before we’re ready to take the leap and share our own work with the world, we can share our tastes in the work of others…Who’s done work you admire? Who do you steal ideas from? Do you have any heroes? Share your reading list.

I’m embarrassed to admit it took me almost ten years to take his advice. Show Your Work! was published in 2014, and I didn’t start writing publicly until 2022.

I guess I had to marinate in it.

I was so afraid of becoming one of “those people” — the ones on social media who’re always promoting something, pointing at themselves all the time — look, more of me, more me, and a bit more of me!!

Austin taught me you can stand out from the crowd if you remain true to yourself, share your failings, where you’re struggling, how you’re growing and succeeding. By sharing your passions, your crowd will find you.

His first book, Steal Like An Artist, gave me permission to stop trying to be original, to stop procrastinating in saying, “Oh, it’s all been done before by writers who are better than me.”

He presents an easy path through wonderment and curiosity —

There is no secret formula — do good work and share it with people. There are no shortcuts. Make stuff every day. Know you’re going to suck for a while. Fail. Get better.

STEP 1 — Wonder at Something.

STEP 2 — Invite others to wonder with you…if everybody’s wondering about apples, go wonder about oranges. The more open you are about sharing your passions, the closer people will feel to your work.

But my favorite Kleon simple mantra?

Forget The Noun, Do The Verb

For years I wanted to “be” an actor. And while I loved every moment of doing theatre, I didn’t like the Hollywood life of taking acting classes, creating characters, doing improv, sharing my work in front of an audience, being in the moment — you know, acting.

I wanted to be called an actor, to be an actor, but without doing the acting, without putting in the time and doing the work. Turns out, I didn’t really enjoy acting anymore — I just wanted to be one, to be known as one.

Thankfully I found writing and now doing the verb isn’t quite as difficult. In Keep Going, he reminds us -

Let go of the thing you’re trying to be (the noun) and focus on the actual work you need to be doing (the verb). Doing the verb will take you someplace further and far more interesting. If you wait for someone to give you a job title before you do the work, you might never get to do the work at all.

It’s like the declaration from the musical A Chorus Line —

“God, I’m a dancer; a dancer dances!”

God, I’m a writer; a writer writes!

As I sit here in the present, this very-present 2024, I’m a writer.

But I may not have taken the steps without the gentle nudges from Austin Kleon’s three little treasures — Steal Like An Artist, Share Your Work! and Keep Going. They are absolutely the stepping stones that brought me into this world, and I’m beyond grateful I took the time.

Decade of procrastination, yes, but I’m nothing if not a late bloomer.

Thanks for reading. This story was originally published here on Medium.com.