Don’t get too comfortable in you niche. It’s a sprint that will be over all too soon. A niche is cozy but unpredictable and it can disappear at a moment’s notice. So, every once and a while, make sure to stretch.

Stay close to home, by all means. Just push at the boundaries a little, try something new, volunteer to do some work for a charity. Test your skills and grow your base. Stretch the borders of what you know.

Creative work is a marathon. It takes dedication and commitment. If we get stuck in the sprint, we get left without a path when it disappears. We have to make sure to stretch to keep options open, business growing, and opportunities flowing.

I will always need a route, because I do not want to run in every direction. I will need a map and a plan. I do not want to get stuck doing work that I don’t understand all of the time, with no opportunity to hone my craft. Mastering skills is definitely beneficial.

Part of master though is the challenge. It is trying new ideas and new perspectives. Stretching what we know into the unknown to make it familiar.

Always learning, always growing, incrementally helps you to stay fresh, and only makes the work that you are doing that much better. Increasing your expertise around your niche until it’s not a niche at all just gives you that much more leeway in the direction of your work.

Avoid always feeling safe. Deviate sometimes from the familiar. Run a new street along your route.

Whatever you do, make sure to stretch.