A nice feel good read, perfect during a day off :)

Not the typical self-help, encouragement book for creative folks. More straightforward and down to earth, with visuals that keep you interested. Short, definitely worth a look.

To quote the book:
‘Bad art makes you say, “Wow! Huh?”
Good art makes you say, “Huh? Wow!”’

Well, this book did make me go ‘Wow’ a lot, but it was usually followed by something a lot more vulgar than ‘huh’. Just what the world needed, another Baby Boomer yelling about young people wanting such frivolities as not being homeless. (Section 14 in the book, lest you think I’m joking.)

I don’t know this guy’s life, but it’s obvious that he had some robust fall-back position in case of complete failure when he was starting out — maybe mooching off the girlfriend who eventually got sick of all the eviction notices, maybe crashing in his parents’ basement, but something — and shows no inkling that this might not be in the case for everyone. I mean, his worst case, absolutely catastrophic ‘your life completely implodes’ scenario in section 41 ends with “a lonely death in a trailer park.” Wow. Huh. Not in a ditch as the traditional phrase goes, not on the streets, but in a trailer park. Yeah, that wasn’t stuck up at all.

He shows no awareness whatsoever of how much privilege has supported his hard work in creating his success. In fact, he literally states that society’s unwritten rules of behavior are “unisex and one-rule-fits-all.” Wow. Huh. I would love to live in a society where we’re all judged by the same metrics regardless of sex, race, class, religion, sexual orientation, etc., but only an oblivious fool thinks we’re already there.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. A person can absolutely achieve a creative, satisfying life without Victore’s level of privilege. You’re just not going to find much good advice on how to do it in here. If you’re looking for a good alternative to this book, I recommend Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist and its sequels. Kleon’s work is much more flexible and universally applicable. He is not exasperated by his readers’ desire to eat food on occasion and maybe live inside a building. (And if that building happens to be a trailer home, Kleon does give advice on how to foster creativity in a small living space.) He understands that you may need a day job and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, especially when you’re starting out and finding your voice, that can be a very good thing because it keeps your art intrinsically motivated, which makes better art. “If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do.”

Every now and then I just need a boost of positive creative attitude and some pep talk. I wasn't expecting actionable steps or thought out processes from this book, I just wanted some insight and some "you can do it attitude" which I need every fucking now and then.

I still found some good ideas and stuff that I can use in my life and I think even gleaming a few positive ideas or new outlooks is way more than more people have in their books so fucking kudos on that.

Thought - provoking. One which I'll come back to time and again when I need a creative boost.

For me it was a wonderful to the point refresher of important lessons we should remember. I really liked the writing style!

Some of the best advice I’ve ever read. This should be required reading for everyone, especially teens who are trying to figure out what they want to do.