What’s the secret to creativity? How do great product designers, artists, and content marketers create original work that’s unlike anything consumers have seen before?

They don’t.

This week’s Must-Read book for the entrepreneur, Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist, debunks the myth of originality and explains how all great creations are the products of the creator’s influences, not divine inspiration from within.

Creating and marketing art, products, and writings has less to do with “creating” and more to do with something else: reinterpreting.

So we’re clear, we’re not talking about plagiarism or copyright violations. We’re talking about using inspiration from others to build something of your own, something rooted in greatness but unique nonetheless. From fine art to clothing designs to great blogs, we’re all just taking the baton, not making the baton from scratch!

Nothing is created in a vacuum. If you can master your influences — and make sure your influences are of a high quality — you can make something truly (but not entirely) new. You can create something that will live up to the creators before you, while making your own name in the business world.

Find out how. Click play at the top of the page!

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon