In a world obsessed with specialisation and clear-cut career paths, being a multi-passionate creative can feel like swimming against the tide. But what if the conventional wisdom about focus and niching down isn't the whole story? What if your diverse interests and seemingly scattered approach to creativity aren't flaws to be fixed, but strengths to be harnessed? This article challenges the one-size-fits-all approach to creative practice and invites you to reimagine how you work… on your own terms.
You’ve probably heard the advice: Niche down. Pick a lane. Focus.
But what if your creativity doesn’t work like that?
What if your ideas sprawl? What if your interests don’t fit in a tidy box? What if your brain is more jazz than classical?
Here’s a radical thought:
What if your creative practice isn’t something you need to fit into?
What if it’s something you get to design… from scratch, around you?
At Make Happen, we’ve got a phrase for this:
You are the brief.
Not your industry.
Not your algorithm.
Not what’s trending.
You.
Your quirks, your contradictions, your weird career history, your scattergun passions - those aren’t distractions. They’re raw material.
The myth of the right way
Traditional creative education loves structure. Rubrics. Modules. Outcomes.
That can be helpful. But it also trains us to shape ourselves around the system.
The Make Happen approach flips it. We don’t ask, “How do I fit into this?”
We ask: “What am I really trying to make? And how do I need to work to make that happen?”
This isn’t about indulging every whim. It’s about designing a practice that’s sustainable, focused and free. A practice that energises you instead of exhausting you.
Clues in the chaos
Start here: zoom out.
Look at your projects, your patterns, your procrastinations. Where’s the heat? What have you abandoned (and why)? What do you keep coming back to, even when no one’s watching?
Maybe you need slow mornings and quick deadlines.
Maybe your ideas always come in pairs - a podcast and a performance.
Maybe you work best in deep solitude, then share in bursts.
Maybe your “focus problem” is actually a superpower of synthesis.
Your job isn’t to fix that.
Your job is to work with it.
You’re not the problem. The system is.
We don’t say that flippantly. Most systems are built for people with linear paths and neatly labelled talents. If you’re a multi-hyphenate, a shape-shifter, a creative oddball… you’re going to feel boxed in unless you build something of your own.
That’s what the Make Happen MA is all about.
Not shoving you into a structure, but helping you create one that actually works.
Not teaching you how to do creativity, but helping you define and refine your own way of doing it.
Three good questions
If you’re ready to reclaim your brief, start with these:
What gives me creative energy?
What patterns keep repeating?
What would my practice look like if it was truly mine?
💥 Creative Exercise: Design Your Practice Blueprint
Draw a map of your ideal creative week.
Label each activity with a feeling.
Circle the ones that feel most you.
Write this sentence:
When you stop trying to meet someone else’s brief, something powerful happens:
You start making the kind of work only you can make.
And that’s when things really get interesting.
