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Sometimes when people mess up their lives and want to make a fresh start, the way they do it is to go somewhere nobody knows them. You can be a different person, because nobody remembers the mistakes you made or how nasty you used to be. It's just like erasing a computer's memory. Once you reformat the memory drive, nobody knows what used to be there; all they care is what's on the drive now

Orson Scott Card#704

IdentityReputationLocation

About this quote

What does it mean?
Moving to a new place allows people to reinvent themselves by escaping their past reputation.
In plain terms
Starting over somewhere new erases your mistakes and lets you change.
What can you take from it?
A fresh start can help reset your identity.

Where it applies

  • career change
  • moving cities
  • leaving town

Putting it to work

  • move locations
  • rebrand
  • build anew

Questions to consider

  • Can you truly erase your past?
  • How do you start over?

Another view

Past behaviors often follow us regardless of location.

More from Orson Scott Card

  1. As long as my body did their bidding, what did it matter what I thought?

    Permalink to quote #703
  2. Wishes are a waste of time... They only make you unhappy

    Permalink to quote #705
  3. They gave me powers of thought and memory far beyond anything natural evolution would have given me, but that doesn't give them the right to decide the meaning…

    Permalink to quote #702

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