Originality is Overrated ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hi friends, and welcome back to the Open Note! Today, we’ll dive into the idea of originality—and why it’s overrated. I’m basing my insights on a book that anyone who ever needs to “create” anything should read (yep, including you! 🙃).

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Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

• It’s important to preface this work by clarifying that by “steal like an artist,” Kleon does not literally mean to steal someone else’s work. 😄 You always want to give credit where it’s due. What he does mean is that nothing is original, and that art builds upon previous artists. This can be applied to any discipline.

• Kleon gives the example in his TED Talk that he thought his “newspaper blackout poems” (super cool, you can check them out here) were original. But as it turns out, an artist in the 1960s did something similar. When Kleon dug even further, he found that this type of artwork had a 250 year-old history!

Interestingly, my TA (let’s call him “B”) for one of my most recent classes said something that echoed this last bullet point. I was meeting with “B” about my research paper when I asked a question along the lines of “How exciting does my discovery have to be?” He replied that instead of seeking to discover something completely groundbreaking, it may be more helpful to focus on contributing a new lens to an existing issue. That shift in thinking—from seeking complete originality to “remixing and reimagining” a new lens—may be helpful to you as well!

Another big take-away from Kleon’s book: we don’t have to write about what we know. We should write about what we want to read. Similar to the “dress for the job you want” manta, this piece of advice really helps you get out of your own way when starting something new.

Oh yes! The question of being “good enough” (see Issue #1) is once again pacified. A lot of people may think that being “good enough” means having something completely original to say. But true originality does not exist, and the best we can do is contribute our personal lens to help others reimagine the world.

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A continuation of my Q&A series about Columbia. I feel like a lot of the advice in this video can be applied to other schools/aspects of life as well. Especially the productive procrastination point. 😉

Here’s the full playlist of advice videos if you’re interested. That’s it for this issue. Go forth and “steal like an artist!” And as always, cheers to being inbox buddies!

❤️ Caroline

P.S. If you have any feedback/comments for me, please reply to this email or contact me on my website: carolinechen.me. I’m always happy to hear your thoughts on content, what you find useful, and what can be improved with some “re-thinking.” :D