All creative work is a remix of something else.

Creators should celebrate impact when they see someone else do something with the inspiration they provided. Passive consumption is good, but active consumption means you created something worth using!

In Austin Kleon’s book Steal Like An Artist, he cleverly talks about each one of us having a creative family tree. It is the lineage of creators that have inspired your creative approaches.

Who are the artistic ancestors that make up your unique style?

I remember being incredibly entertained by this thought exercise and came up with my first creative family tree.

You can leverage this family tree anytime you need movement on any of your work. You can mix and match your creative family members’ body of work to develop your own.

How would Coco Chanel design the first version of this prototype?

How would Richard Feynman explain this technology to a non-technical audience?

How would Henry David Thoreau approach the copy for this opening statement?

When I have a blocker on a creative idea, I imagine my family tree members at a small round table discussing how they would contribute to what I am working on.

It is outsourcing my creative challenges with the context of how other great creators developed their body of work. It is even better than stealing ideas!

I would be so pumped to dive into a place like IDEO and recruit new members for my creative family tree. I am glad that Jake Knapp is getting the opportunity, and look forward to understanding what he finds out!