More from Sharyn Alfonsi

Don't get comfortable. Ever. If you're not too comfortable, it's always easier to leave, to move on, and hopefully to move up.

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Sharyn Alfonsi

University of Mississippi Meek School of Journalism Commencement 2013, 2013

10:04

Video starts at 10:04 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Alfonsi's second piece of advice was counterintuitive: never settle into comfort, even when — especially when — you've achieved something you're proud of. She described being offered anchor positions in local news that would have meant more money, more prestige, and her face on a bus. But she knew that anchoring would take her off the streets and away from the reporting she loved. She passed up every offer, to the bewilderment of her bosses. Even after landing her dream job at '60 Minutes Sports,' she refused to relax, knowing that working down the hall from legends like Scott Pelley and Lesley Stahl meant she was probably 'the admissions mistake.' The admission wasn't false modesty — it was a strategy. Comfort, she argued, was the enemy of growth.

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