The last word: The lost art of starting over

Reinvention isn’t always about upgrades and optimisation. Sometimes, it’s about starting from scratch. 

For most people, the idea of starting over carries a sense of failure. It feels like admitting defeat, like discarding years of work and experience. We celebrate persistence, reward those who stick it out, and admire companies that ‘stay the course’.  

But history tells a different story. Those who truly last the course are those who know when to walk away and begin again. 

The myth of continuity 

There’s a deep cultural bias in favour of sticking with things. Careers are expected to follow a logical trajectory, success is meant to build on past achievements, and personal reinvention is often seen as a last resort rather than a proactive choice.  

But the reality is, sticking with the wrong thing is far riskier than starting over. 

Some of the most extraordinary success stories come from those who abandoned what wasn’t working—not because they failed, but because they recognised it was time to move on. 

Christian Dior is a perfect example. Before he became one of the most influential designers in history, he ran an art gallery in Paris. The business thrived in the 1920s, but when the Great Depression hit, he was forced to sell it.  

At 41, he had to start again. He turned to fashion illustration, then to designing, and eventually, to launching his own couture house. The Dior name became synonymous with elegance, luxury, and reinvention itself. Had he clung to his past, convinced that starting over was a failure, the world might never have known him as the designer who redefined post-war fashion. 

Take Julia Child. Before she became one of the most influential chefs of the 20th century, she was working in intelligence during World War II, far from the world of French cuisine. She didn’t even learn to cook until her late 30s. Reinvention wasn’t forced upon her—she actively embraced it, moving into an industry where she had no prior experience. Decades later, her legacy remains stronger than ever. 

Or look at Vera Wang. She didn’t enter the fashion world until she was 40. Before that, she was a professional figure skater, then a journalist and editor at Vogue. It would have been easy to stay in publishing, to keep climbing a ladder she had already spent years ascending. But she pivoted completely, launching what would become one of the most recognisable bridal fashion brands in the world. 

Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, didn’t franchise KFC until he was in his 60s. Before that, he had worked as a farmhand, a steam engine stoker, an insurance salesman—none of which led him to lasting success. It took a complete reset late in life for him to find the thing that truly worked. 

And then there’s Steve Jobs, who was fired from his own company, only to reinvent himself through Pixar before returning to Apple and reshaping the industry once again. He didn’t try to claw his way back immediately. He stepped away, built something new, and proved that walking away doesn’t have to mean stepping back. 

Feeling like a failure 

People hesitate to start over because it means letting go of an identity. A career invested in. A reputation formed. Walking away from something that once worked feels like admitting it was a mistake. But this thinking is flawed. 

Starting over isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about recognising when what worked before won’t work anymore. 

Athletes understand this better than most. They don’t try to stretch a career beyond its natural limits. They move into coaching, media, business. They reinvent early, using past experience as a foundation, not as a limitation. Why should it be any different in business or life? 

Starting over isn’t a failure—it’s a strategy. It’s not about what’s lost, but what’s possible. Those who embrace reinvention before they are forced to do it will always be ahead of those who wait until they have no choice. 

The world is shifting faster than ever. Careers won’t follow straight lines. Businesses won’t survive by protecting past successes. Reinvention is no longer about making small changes. It’s about knowing when to tear it all down and start again. 

The ones who do it early? They win. The ones who wait? They don’t. 

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash.

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