WORLDVIEW: The hidden benefits of starting afresh

By Alec Hogg.Experience teaches us much good can come from starting afresh. Whether it's changing a job, a city, even a country, if properly approached a change is more rejuvenating than any holiday. And such lifestyle adjustments don't always have to be in a forward direction. At least not immediately..Quite a few times in my career a conscious step backwards created a platform for a leapfrog. Like when, in my 20s, the magazine I was editing closed down. The safe move was back into newspapers. Instead, indignation at losing my job this way became the spark for self-employment..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Running a business was a steep learning curve. With many sleepless nights, too. But without that, I'd never have been able to spot the "fat pitch" opportunity a decade later. The privilege of being able to get into the Internet on the ground floor..It was a similar story when giving up a safe, well-paid job to start at the bottom in broadcasting. And when resigning after 15 years at my online publishing business to launch our re-engineered disruptor called Biznews.com..Each radical switch required a dollop of faith. But it also got easier. And without fail, prioritising learning above comfort produced handsome dividends..A Chinese entrepreneur once shared that in his country prospective employees always put learning ahead of pay. When recruiting staff showing what you can teach them is a bigger magnet than a fat salary. On the flip side, once they've learnt all you have to share, cash will never hold them..As a rule, the most successful people are those who are the most reliable. In both a business and social setting. Rebuilding networks is a powerful reminder of things easy to forget when nestled in a comfort zone..Since moving to London, the practical manifestations of reliability are again important. Once again, I prepare properly for meetings. Arrive ahead of time. And am the one emailing meeting reminders to ensure there's no confusion. Important disciplines that somehow got forgotten in Johannesburg..It is good to have a rhythm. Life works better that way. But every so often it is even better to be shaken out of the daily routine. Because bad habits tend to creep in for all of us. They are part of the human condition..So if there is one thing worth sharing from my most recent jolt, it's this reminder: the poisons of arrogance and complacency thrive in stagnant waters. Our best defence against them is to shake up the pool. A fresh start is a great agitator of a bracken environment. Getting to be a better, more interesting person is an unexpected bonus.

WORLDVIEW: The hidden benefits of starting afresh

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