The book "Show your work" has 10 chapters where author talks about why a person needs to document and share his journey and why building a community is important to welcome serendipity.

Highlights of the book:

👉 You don't have to be genius: 

There's no such thing as Genius ( Geni-in-us ), where a person creates something in a vacuum and enlightens everyone.

Think of the world in terms of Scenius i.e., everyone is connected in a network, people share each other work, copy each other, work together and accumulation of everything from everyone leads to creative work. 

To be a part of the Scenius and contribute, one need not be a genius. 

" Give what you have. To someone it may be better than you dare to think " - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

👉 Be an amateur: 

To put your work out there you don't have to be a professional. Many people think they are not qualified enough to put themselves out there and express their ideas, but do remember that only a beginner's can teach fellow beginner how to begin, because experience is fresh and vivid. A professional is reluctant to get back to basic and will never be able to explain the way amateur does, This is called as 'Curse of Knowledge' or 'Curse of expertise'.

👉 You won't be recognized , if you don't let yourself out in public, where people can discover you.

👉  Stick around:- Don't quit your show, when results start to disappear.

👉 Chain smoke:- Once your done with specific work, move on and figure out your next work.

 Don't sit and wait to see results of your previous work. People may accept it, reject it, or in most of the cases ignore it, but it has got nothing to do with your next work. 

So pick experience from your prev work and and start executing next work.

Impressions:-

When I started to think through the lens of the Scenius , I realized that how important it is for anyone to share what one has acquired.

Many time we do feel why would anyone be interested in what a amateur does, but when we think of whole Scenius network, we realize how sharing our amateur work could create a spark in someone journey, which eventually could guide them to whole new serendipity.

So I started to think, if I share this work, will it have an impact on 1 among billions of people, if the answer is yes, then just share it. 

Doesn't matter even if its not reaching anyone just don't quit, you never know when the quake happens after years of tectonic plates grinding against each other.

I realized anything could be shared like my work, my process behind the work, learnings, experience, even if its a YouTube link or a podcast link, which I felt it had impact on me and will surely influence someone else.

Top quotes from the book:

1). In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

2). Find your voice, shout it from the rooftops and keep doing it until the day people that you're looking for, will find you. 

3). Amateur knows that contributing something is better than contributing nothing.

4). Compulsive avoidance of embarrassment is a form of suicide- Colin Marshall.

5). Don't spend your life avoiding taking a punch. If you do, you and your work will never connect with people. 



Notes/ Summary of the book:

“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.” —John Cleese


chapter 1: You don't have to be genius
Scenius:

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
If we think that only a genius has the qualifications to influence someone by creating something, then we're are thinking wrong.
There are no genius ( Geni in us) who can magically create whatever we wish for.
Basically we are group of people connected and depending on each other in the ecosystem
So anyone who contributes to this eco system is a "Scenius".
creativity is always, in some sense, a collaboration, the result of a mind connected to other minds.

Be an amateur:

To put out content u don't have to be a professional.
Sometimes, in the process of doing things in an unprofessional way, they( amateurs)  make new discoveries.
 “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities,” said Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki. “In the expert’s mind, there are few.”
 And very important to note is only a beginner can help fellow beginner to understand the basic funda not by professionals. This is called curse of knowledge coz once u know to much u are reluctant to get back at basics.

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.
 Find a Scenius, pay attention to what others are sharing, and then start taking note of what they’re not sharing. Be on the lookout for voids that you can fill with your own efforts, no matter how bad they are at first. Don’t worry, for now, about how you’ll make money or a career off it. Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.
 
 You can't find your voice if u don't use it.:

“Find your voice, shout it from the rooftops, and keep doing it until the
people that are looking for you find you.” — Dan Harmon

Know one knows the art of mind reading 
So If u want people to know that you are a artist, businessman etc. u need to make people hear it by telling them.

Read obituaries( biography of dead person) :-

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment
or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are
already naked.” —Steve Jobs

Everyone is gonna leave this place one day.
That thing that matters is for whom are u sacrificing this life before it's gone.
Is it for the people embarrassing you
Or people caring u
When you know your gonna leave at any moment.
Why waste this potential sitting idle in fear of losing, embarrassment.


Chapter 2: Think process not product 

Take people behind the process:

We always think of end product and forget to appreciate the process behind the product.
Many people would love to know the process, as it provides insights to learn
So sharing our process by letting go our ego will help people in understanding the pain and procedures behind creating something.
“By putting things out there, consistently, you can form a relationship with your customers. It allows them to see the person behind the products.” Audiences not only want to stumble across great work, but they, too, long to be creative and part of the creative process. 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.
• Thereby increasing the relationship with ur audience by showing your messy work.

Become a documentarian of what you do:

“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen—
really seen.” — Brené Brown
When u start documenting you become more aware of your work and also have a visual cue which will eventually help you to remember from huge set of collection in our brain. And this accumulation would help u to come up with ideas in future to create content.
Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording your process as you go along has its own rewards: You’ll start to see the work you’re doing more clearly and feel like you’re making progress. And when you’re ready to share, you’ll have a surplus of material to choose from.

Chapter 3: Share something every day
Send out a daily dispatch:

“Put yourself, and your work, out there every day, and you’ll start meeting
some amazing people.” —Bobby Solomon
A daily dispatch is even better than a résumé or a portfolio, because it shows what we’re working on right now. When the artist Ze Frank was interviewing job candidates, he complained, “When I ask them to show me work, they show me things from school, or from another job, but I’m more interested in what they did last weekend.”
Don’t worry about everything you post being perfect.

The "so what test":

Share your every progress doesn't mean sharing everything.
Overcoming imposter attitude and embarrassment is fine but make sure the things we share isn't hurting anyone.
We shouldn't be bothered about people opinions abt our work but should be bothered abt their emotions towards our work.
Eg:- while we share a picture on Instagram think twice if my mother sees it will it be okay.
Don't bother abt what they will say to your work instead think how they feel when they see your work.
( Ask yourself, “Is this helpful? Is it entertaining? Is it something I’d be comfortable with my boss or my mother seeing?” There’s nothing wrong with saving things for later. The save as draft button is like a prophylactic—it might not feel as good in the moment, but you’ll be glad you used it in the morning. )

Turn your flow into stock:

Here flow means daily updates  and sub updates.( Things which we share everyday)
Stock is the accumulation of updates.
“If you work on something a little bit every day, you end up with something that is massive.” —Kenneth Goldsmith
Eg :- when I started to write I got into Twitter then book quotes which is flow.
Later accumulated all flows to create stock ie., Blog and LinkedIn content 

Build a good name:

Build a website or blog and document your journey.
Whether it brings traffic / money or not don't be bothered abt it. Cuz it'syour treasure of wisdom you always own it .
If others want it and come for it it's a bonus for you.

Chapter 4: Open your cabinet of curiosity

Don't be a hoarder:

If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. . . .
Somehow the more you give away, the more comes back to you.” —Paul Arden
( When u start creating content at some time u will run out of ideas, so to create more content u have to get out of ur comfort space expand your horizon and look for content , by which i become more aware and gain wisdom observing even smaller things.)
Where do you get your inspiration? What sorts of things do you fill your head with? What do you read? Do you subscribe to anything? What sites do you visit on the Internet? What music do you listen to? What movies do you see? Do you look at art? What do you collect? What’s inside your scrapbook? What do you pin to the corkboard above your desk? What do you stick on your refrigerator? Who’s done work that you admire? Who do you steal ideas from? Do you have any heroes? Who do you follow online? Who are the practitioners you look up to in your field?
Your influences are all worth sharing because they clue people in to who you are and what you do—sometimes even more than your own work.
“You’re only as good as your record collection.” —DJ Spooky

 No guilty Pleasure:

When u genuinely like doing something, just do it. Don't let POV of others make you feel guilty of the pleasure, which you get by doing it.
Just enjoy and celebrate your work
Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things, too.
“Do what you do best and link to the rest.” —Jeff Jarvis

Credit is always due:

We can share the content of others and theirs nothing wrong in it but make sure to provide proper attribution 
Like who is the creator , why are u sharing it, where can find more of the content from the original creator, how I came discovered the content.

Chapter 5: Tell good stories

Work doesn't speak for itself:

Even though we have genuinely made efforts in creating a product and we don't know the art of telling story then nobody gonna buy it.
If you want to be more effective when sharing yourself and your work, you need to become a better storyteller. You need to know what a good story is and how to tell one.

Structure is everything.:

A good story should have every element in it which can capture the audience
The story need to be structed, logical and brief respecting readers time.
Everybody loves a good story, but good storytelling doesn’t come easy to everybody. It’s a skill that takes a lifetime to master. So study the great stories and then go find some of your own. Your stories will get better the more you tell them.

Chapter 6: Teach what you know.

Share your trade secrets:

“The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly
becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.” —Annie Dillard
Teaching doesn't mean instant competition. Just bcoz someone knows the masters technique doesn't mean they will be able to emulate it instantly .
“Make people better at something they want to be better at.”

Chapter 7: Don't turn into human spam

Shut up and listen:

If u want people to accept your work , first u need to appreciate other work.
U can't say I want to be a writer but not a reader.
If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community. If you’re only pointing to your own stuff online, you’re doing it wrong. You have to be a connector. The writer Blake Butler calls this being an open node.

 You want hearts not eyeball:

U don't need to bother about how many connections u have or likes or follows etc what really matters is u out u best work out there and if people share common interest they will follow or else not.
Don’t be creepy. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t waste people’s time. Don’t ask too much. And don’t ever ever ask people to follow you. “Follow me back?” is the saddest question on the Internet.

Chapter 8: Learn to take a punch

Let' em take the best shot:

When u put your work out there there will be people who ignore it, appreciate it, and hate it.
Don't feed on ignore or hate.
“The trick is not caring what EVERYBODY thinks of you and just caring
about what the RIGHT people think of you.” —Brian Michael Bendis

Chapter 9: Sell out

Making sure you put a genuine tag and get payed if you work is really impacting someone. 

Chapter 10: Stick around

Don't quit ur show:

“Work is never finished, only abandoned.” —Paul Valéry
“You’re holding on to the ladder. When they cut off your hands, hold on with your elbow. When they cut off your arms, hold on with your teeth. You don’t quit because you don’t know where the next job is coming from.”

Chain smoke:

When your done with uploading one work start digging for next work to learn and then share if useful.
Don't sit there and hang out to see how the work shared first performs .
Use your prev work to shed light for your next work.
( 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. )

Go away so u can come back:

Even though we have to be a chain smoker doing things one after another, at some time we get exhausted. So taking breaks in between to get refreshed, have a clarity of wat to do is necessary.
Things break can be achieved by
Meditation
Exercise
Enjoying and appreciating nature
Travelling.

Final thoughts of the book:


Become an amateur. 
Look for something new to learn, and when you find it, dedicate yourself to learning it out in the open. 
Document your progress and share as you go so that others can learn along with you. 
Show your work, and when the right people show up, pay close attention to them, because they’ll have a lot to show you.

Carving out a space for yourself online, somewhere where you can express yourself and share your work, is still one of the best possible investments you can make with your time

The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Share your reading list. Point to helpful reference materials. Create some tutorials and post them online. Use pictures, words, and video. Take people step-by-step through part of your process.
As blogger Kathy Sierra says, “make people better at something they want to be better at”

" Document everything and
Share something useful everyday "