With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, I was reading this blog post the other day about entrepreneurs sharing the best advice ever given to them by their fathers. I started to wonder what my answer would have been if I was part of the article, and when it occurred to me, it made me realize it has been the best career advice I ever received.

The advice my father gave me can be summed up into one word: adapt.

If I recall correctly, his full advice was something along the lines of “You have to adapt to survive.” That advice rings so true for the world of artists, illustrators and designers. There was once a point in time when you could stake your claim as a “print designer” or “layout artist” and stick to that niche and make yourself a nice living. Those days are long gone.

With technology changing more rapidly with each passing day, you have to adapt to ensure your success in the field of art and design. You must adapt and learn how to design for a variety of mediums: print, web, mobile and social platforms. You must adapt and learn new skills in the world of the arts. You can be a designer, but it helps to know how to code on the web as well, sprinkled in with some photography experience and some exposure to video production.

Showing your clients or employer that you can change with the times and not remain stagnant in your skills and education will only increase your value to them. By adapting and changing with the times, you ensure yourself success.

Adapt…and survive.

Adapt…and learn.

Adapt…and succeed.

Thanks, Dad!

(The photo above is of my father fishing at Myrtle Beach, SC!)