• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

When?

Published: Saturday, 28 February 2009

When are you going to apply for that grant?
When are you going to start your assignment?
When are you going to start your advertising campaign?
When are you going to start studying for your exam?
When are you going to quit your crummy job and go out and apply for your dream job?

When are you going to start doing things now, like your timetable says, instead of rescheduling it?
When are you going to call your mother?
When are you going to call your old piano teacher?
When are you going to tell your friends all the things you love about them?

When are you going to apologise to your enemy, even if it wasn’t your fault?
When are you going to give up being right?
When are you going to let go and move on?
When are you going to sign up for that salsa class?

When are you going to start learning Chinese?
When are you going to learn how to cook French food?
When are you going to start your bucket list?
When are you going to start your company?

When are you going to write your book?
When are you going to start eating healthily?
When are you going to start training for your marathon?
When are you going to pay off all your debts?

When are you going to do the things that have been in your to-do list for 3 months?
When are you going to read War and Peace?
When are you going to organise your big party?
When are you going to go to the Great Barrier Reef?

There is a lack of urgency in life. We say we want to scale the world and achieve all our dreams, but we somehow never get around to it. We keep putting stuff off until our assignment is due that afternoon, the application submission date is tomorrow, someone else creates an opportunity for us, or we are about to die.

When? Now.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Australian of the Year Award winners video

    The Australian Department of Home Affairs decided to celebrate the Australian of the Year awards with this short animated video of past award...

  • The Year of a Young Australian of the Year

    In 2008, I founded Robogals as a response to there being hardly any other women in my engineering classes. Our organisation is run by university...

  • Choose Maths

    Choose Maths is an exciting 5 year, national project designed to empower and encourage Australian students (in particular girls) to pursue...

  • Shell Eco-marathon Asia Wrap-up

    It was a whirlwind of a week in Malaysia at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. The air was constantly buzzing with intense excitement and anticipation, mixed...

  • Seek, not given

    I used to think that someone with my character, with my determination, my ambition and my IQ would mean that I would be successful in life because...

  • I'm average

    I used to think I was brilliant.  That I was different.  That I was special.  But then I realised a lot of people feel that way about themselves.  And...

  • Accolades: Sonya and Harry

    I'm so proud of Sonya Chan and Harry Eakins, who were both recognised by their faculty at Imperial College for Services to the Community. Sonya Chan...

  • Playing with robots

    Playing with robots in the office with Kyle van Dordrecht.  We timed ourselves putting a robotics kit together...  then we modified the kit.  

  • Who says yes?

    I think it's important to have one person that says the final 'yes' to all the decisions in a start-up. That one person should be the visionary...

  • You admire the things you can't do

    I've noticed in contests I've been on the judging panel for that those who have an expertise in a field, are more critical of entries that cross...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top