Describe the book in three sentences:

The book, “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon is a personal development book that provides lots of great tips for beginners to really give them that push to share their work out in the world But it’s not enough to just share everything you do—you need to be intentional about it, especially if you want to curate an audience of real fans deprived of fakes and trolls. He also shared ways to keep the momentum going when it gets tough.

My annotations

Page 5

Almost all of the people I look up to and try to steal from today regardless of their profession, have built sharing into their routine.

It’s the same concept as building in public. Also, on the topic of how to share your work when you suck or hate self promotion, don’t think of it as self promotion but simply sharing your work for fun. I like this. Fun concept to apply to my YouTube channel and for my personal development. And overtime you build trust, so people naturally will come to you because you’re the expert in XYZ.

Page 6

Instead of wasting their time “networking,” they’re taking advantage of the network.”

You build that trust overtime and gain an audience overtime because you’re building in public.

Sharing their ideas and their knowledge, they often gain an audience that they can then leverage when they need it—for fellowship, feedback, or patronage.

Again, it’s a good concept to start applying to my YouTube channel that I’m doing where I share highlights about the books I read.

1. You Don’t Have to Be a Genius.

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The enthusiast who pursues her work in the spirit of love (in French, the word means “lover”), regardless of the potential for fame, money, or career.

I can see this being the case but this is not necessarily true. There’s a lot of people out there like me who are doing things because they want to make money out of it. However, I do agree that pursuing something just because you enjoy it will give you the drive you need in the long run. It’ll keep you going when you hit the slumps and bouts of stagnation. I’m doing this now with my blog. To make money, yes, as a secondary objective, but first and foremost, it’s because it’s fun!

Page 13

Because they have little to lose, amateurs are willing to try anything and share the results. They take chances, experiment, and follow their whims.

I like this because I always think I need to wait until the perfect moment to start. Or until I have the necessary experience before I can pursue something. Which can be a crutch when it comes to personal development.

But I often forget that I’ve got nothing to lose when I’m doing something new. What does this mean for me? For my blog and my YouTube channel, just start experimenting until I find that mix between my passion and what will allow me to have a sustainable career.

Amateurs know that contributing something is better than contributing nothing.

Yep. I’m learning to give myself some grace. When I started my blog this year, even if i didn’t hit my daily goal of writing for one hour and could only do five minutes, I still count that as a win. I stopped being so harsh on myself because ultimately, progress is progress no matter how small.

Page 15

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.

Yes. This is the focus of my upcoming YT channel. I want to learn how to grow my wealth but I’m not an expert. I’m simply sharing my personal thoughts and opinions and how I’m going to apply what I’m reading to real life. My goal is that by doing so, I can help at least one person who is also struggling to better their finances.

Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.

I love this and this is the ideal dream goal. I see this a lot on Tik Tok. People be sharing and talking about the most interesting things and the crazy part? There’s people out there who are actually interested in what they’re sharing! But that’s amazing news for me because it ascertains that if I keep sharing what I enjoy, I know I’ll find an audience out there.

Page 16

But now I realize that the only way to find your voice is to use it.

I agree. It’s the same concept as finding your dream job or dream career. You want to find that dream job, but how would you know what you’re good at and what you enjoy unless you put yourself out there and experiment? I know the setback is that I don’t want to waste my time doing things only to find out I don’t like it, but how could I single out the one if I don’t try them all out? That’s why I’m putting this into practice by putting myself out there through my blog and YouTube channel. I find that I don’t like writing about technical stuff, but if it’s the stuff I enjoy, then I don’t mind writing. Talk about personal development!

Page 18

If you want people to know about what you do and the things you care about, you have to share.

Starting my blog is how I am putting this into action. It’s scary and I know no one’s going to read it, but I keep doing it because it’s fun! I hope in the next few years people who love the things I do will also find comfort and entertainment in my work!

Page 20

Start reading the obituaries every morning. Take inspiration from the people who muddled through life before you—they all started out as amateurs, and they got where they were going by making do with what they were given, and having the guts to put themselves out there.

I won’t red obituaries because I just don’t feel like it. But I do like the idea of putting myself out there. I’m not sure where this will go, but I have a good feeling it’ll be good.

2. Think Process, Not Product.

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By putting things out there, consistently, you can form a relationship with your customers.

I like the sound of this. I do this through my blog and (future) YT channel hehehe.

Page 27

By letting go of our egos and sharing our process, we allow for the possibility of people having an ongoing connection with us and our work, which helps us move more of our product.

Yes. Building in public for example, helps build trust first. But more than that, it’s where you’ll get to hear your customers’ feedback, and what better way to get those feedback than this way? Especially if you’re making a product that will solve a problem for your customer.

In fact, sharing your process might actually be most valuable if the products of your work aren’t easily shared, if you’re still in the apprentice stage of your work, if you can’t just slap up a portfolio and call it a day, or if your process doesn’t necessarily lead to tangible finished products.

Hm…interesting and why is that so I wonder? This is great because I’m not an expert in personal finance. I just want to expand my knowledge and share what I’m learning with others in the hope of inspiring or educating them too. Too often we see the finished result, the finished product, or the expert talking about how they became an expert. So I want to switch it up and turn it into a “Follow me along on my journey” to show that no, you don’t need that prior experience or that perfect time to start. I’m just a normal human being like you, and if I can do it you can, too.

It’ll be fun to one day in the future like five years from now look back at where I started and how far I’ve gotten.

The first step is to scoop up the scraps and the residue of your process and shape them into some interesting bit of media that you can share.

Agree. You can’t just throw it out there and hope to be successful. You’ve gotta be strategic about how you’re sharing that content and do it in a way that makes sense that will resonate with your audience.

3. Share Something Small Everyday.

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We don’t always know what’s good and what sucks. That’s why it’s important to get things in front of others and see how they react.

Exactly. You don’t know what will stick so its important to just put it out there and let it simmer. This is good for me because then I can experiment with multiple topics and ideas when I do my YT channel.

Page 36

“How do you find the time for all this?” And I answer, “I look for it.”

There’s no excuse. If you want something, you gotta make time for it. If it’s important to you, you will find the time.

Be open, share imperfect and unfinished work that you want feedback on, but don’t share absolutely everything. There’s a big, big difference between sharing and over-sharing.

For sure. You wouldn’t want to share everything you do. I don’t think it matters that much in the beginning when you’re just starting out and trying to figure out your niche, what you like, what your audience responds to etc. But after that, it’s important to think more strategically—what should I share and how should I share it in a way that will resonate with my audience the most? Is it helping someone? Does it serve a purpose?

Page 40

Once you make sharing part of your daily routine, you’ll notice themes and trends emerging in what you share. You’ll find patterns in your flow.

I’ve experienced this with my blog. When I first started, I didn’t really know what to write about, so I just started writing once per day on any topic within my niche. I already know my niche but I wasn’t sure what to write about, so I just chose whatever was remotely interesting to me. It’s only been three months and I’ve already found that I like writing about certain topics more than others, interesting ideas I keep seeing in my research, and refining my process so I can be more efficient. This step takes time—you can’t rush it.

Page 42

The beauty of owning your own turf is that you can do whatever you want with it . Your domain name is your domain.

My domain is my blog, and I can do whatever I want with it. What a good reminder. Sometimes we get so bogged down on what we should write and share for the audience (which is important too!) that we lose sight of the other more important stuff like trying a new idea or writing a new topic just because we want to. In my opinion, this is super important to me because it really helps get my creative juices flowing. So remember once in a while that this is your turf, your blog, your domain, your product etc., and you can do whatever you want.

4. Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosities.

Page 47

For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer.

So basically Kleon is saying the first couple of years your work won’t be that good but you develop it overtime and they compound into something big. Very good takeaway on personal development!

Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things, too.

I like.

5. Tell Good Stories.

Page 56

Human beings want to know where things came from, how they were made, and who made them. The stories you tell about the work you do have a huge effect on how people feel and what they understand about your work, and how people feel and what they understand about your work affects how they value it.

Yes, and this is also something I’ve noticed while scrolling through Tik Tok and social media. The videos with the most interactions shows the business owner telling the story of how they got started or what events occurred in their life that led them to start a business. Like the owner of the XL Crunchy Tik Tok business owner who told her story about how she started her business with her parents etc. The story matters and how you tell the story matters.

These are crazy good because they’re telling a story and that’s what draws people in. So it’s not just what content you push and how you push it, it’s also about what’s the story behind this and how you tell that story.

If you want to be more effective when sharing yourself and your work, you need to become a better storyteller.

100%. It will take practice and time, but it is oh so important.

Page 59

You get a great idea, you go through the hard work of executing the idea, and then you release the idea out into the world, coming to a win, lose, or draw. Sometimes the idea succeeds, sometimes it fails, and more often than not, it does nothing at all.

This concept might have worked when Austin wrote the book, but things have changed and we need to change with the tide, so while it still works to a certain extent, it’s not the most efficient way of going about it. Now, there’s what you want to do is rapidly release a product or idea out there for a few weeks or days, gather feedback to see if there’s traction or not, and then either reiterate if there’s a customer base or move on to the next idea/product if there’s no reaction at all. This way, you can dive down into what really works, saving time and money.

Page 64

The way to get over the awkwardness in these situations is to stop treating them as interrogations, and start treating them as opportunities to connect with somebody by honestly and humbly explaining what it is that you do.

This is similar to the way I’ve changed my thinking around to avoid getting nervous when doing public speaking. Instead of thinking, “This sucks. I’m going to embarrass myself. I don’t know what I’m going to talk about. Everyone’s going to think my presentation is dumb,” I turn it around and think of this as an opportunity to improve my public speaking skills or take on new projects outside my comfort zone, or a chance to learn about XYZ topic and this kind of reverse thinking has allowed me to overcome a lot of my fears (but ofc they’re not really gone. Duh.)

6. Teach What You Know.

Page 69

Teaching doesn’t mean instant competition. Just because you know the master’s technique doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to emulate it right away.

Oh…good quote! One of my worst fears about putting myself out there is, what if somebody steals my idea? You just gotta be one step ahead of the competition and do better than them.

Page 70

The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others.

Like the idea for my YouTube channel even if I suck. Even if I’m an amateur at what I’m talking about—but at least I’m transparent, I make it fun, and everyone knows I’m not an expert at this.

7. Don’t Turn Into Human Spam.

Page 77

Stop worrying about how many people follow you online and start worrying about the quality of people who follow you .

I agree. It’s like being on Tik Tok and going viral. If you follow trends, you might blow up and gain a lot of followers, but many—almost all of these new followers will not be your target audience. You should focus more on building a sustainable business—and through that, personal development.

Page 81

Brancusi practiced what I call The Vampire Test. It’s a simple way to know who you should let in and out of your life. If , after hanging out with someone you feel worn out and depleted, that person is a vampire. If, after hanging out with someone you still feel full of energy, that person is not a vampire .

Such a simple idea that we often forget to put into practice if we want to develop ourselves more.

8. Learn to Take a Punch.

Page 88

When you put your work out into the world, you have to be ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly. The more people come across your work, the more criticism you’ll face.

One of the fears stopping me from doing YouTube.

Page 89

…make even more work and keep putting it out there. The more criticism you take, the more you realize it can’t hurt you.

Noted. Just keep creating despite setbacks.

Roll with the punches. Keep moving. Every piece of criticism is an opportunity for new work.

I love this. It’s like taking feedback to improve my art.

Page 92

Do you have a troll problem? Use the block button on social media sites. Delete nasty comments.

Haha so simple. But yes it is super important to block trolls and put up a mental barrier.

9. Sell Out.

Page 95

Don’t write off your friends because they’ve had a little bit of success. Don’t be jealous when the people you like do well—celebrate their victory as if it’s your own.

If you are jealous of someone else’s success it tells you a lot about yourself. Be kind. Turn this into fuel to keep you going. Personal developing is about that—developing yourself personally.

Page 103

…help along the work of the people who’ve helped you get to where you are.

It is all about paying it forward.

10. Stick Around.

Page 107

The people who get what they’re after are very often the ones who just stick around long enough. It’s very important not to quit prematurely.

Yeah man! My blog’s only been active for two months. You gotta keep going.

Page 109

They all have been able to persevere, regardless of success or failure.

When it comes to personal development and wanting to improve, you gotta keep moving even when it gets tough. For example, a YouTube video might go viral but that does not guarantee the next one will.

Page 110

You avoid stalling out in your career by never losing momentum. Here’s how you do it: Instead of taking a break in between projects, waiting for feedback, and worrying about what’s next, use the end of one project to light up the next one. Just do the work that’s in front of you, and when it’s finished, ask yourself what you missed, what you could’ve done better, or what you couldn’t get to, and jump right into the next project.

Good idea to apply to my blog. I need this when I start losing momentum (and motivation) with my personal projects.

Page 116

Don’t think of it as starting over. Think of it as beginning again. Go back to chapter one—literally!—and become an amateur. Look for something new to learn, and when you find it, dedicate yourself to learning it out in the open.

A personal lesson for me. Do not think of it as starting over, but as beginning again.

My overall verdict: ⭐⭐⭐(3.5/5)

Although this personal development book is a great starter to help someone who’s very new to putting themselves out there, I feel like personally there wasn’t anything revelation-worthy from the book for me to act upon. There’s a lot of great concepts that I’ll be able to take away from the book, but it’s not anything that I don’t already know.

The biggest personal development tip:

Just do it. Even if you’re scare. Even if your work is crappy. You will get better over time and if you keep sharing what you love, people will find you. Actually, being a newbie is great because you get to share your journey and grow along with your audience. If you want to follow him or read more of his books, check out his blog, AustinKleon.com.