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

Be a fool

Published: Monday, 23 February 2009

When you learn something for the first time, everything is new to you.

So you explore, you try different things, you fall down, you fail, you fail, and you fail some more… But you keep persevering and you get up again and again and give it another go. There are no expectations and there are no critics, there’s only you and the work you are toiling away at. Then, people start to notice your work, comment and compliment you.

And suddenly, people begin to expect a certain style and excellence from your work in that field. You’re recognised and you can no longer be a fool - you’re an expert!

Now that you’ve learnt how to make it in that field, your once steep learning curve plateaus and your learning step increments shrink.

When this happens, find something new. Start something you can be arrogant about for not knowing, something where there is no expectation, where the only person whose curiosity you want to satiate is your own. Be playful, rejoice from and learn so that you grow. Branch out into something new and dare to create genius in what you know not.

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

  • EmTech Singapore

    Spoke at MIT's conference in Singapore, EmTech.  Other speakers in my session spoke about autonomous robotic cargo ships, advances in drones and...

  • Foxconn H.Spectrum Taiwan and M.A.P CEO Philippines

    On 28 August 2016, I was invited to Taiwan by Foxconn to speak at the H.Spectrum by Yonglin Healthcare Startup Conference.  I gave a 15-minute...

  • Don't kid yourself on your priorities

    What are your priorities?  Work?  Family?  Relationship?  Start-up?  9-5?  Non-profit?  Volunteering?  Watching television?  Reading blogs?  Eating?  Meetings? Don't...

  • No Electronics Day

    Sometimes I like to take a day to think and reflect. So I get someone else to take away my computer, phone and any electronics in the house - so I...

  • A critical analysis

    Critics are those who stand on the sidelines waiting for you to muck up so they can laugh at you, point out your mistakes gleefully and then...

  • Global Summit of Women in Tokyo

    I attended the Global Summit of Women in Tokyo, Japan 11-13 May and gave a presentation about aubot, then spoke on a panel.  It was live-translated...

  • Robot repairs

    Robot troubleshooting on the fly in Sydney.

  • In the news: Entrepreneurship in Australian universities

    My business partner Mark Parncutt was quoted in this article in StartUp Smart about the state of entrepreneurship in Australian universities.  Happy...

  • Ogilvy

    A lot of successful entrepreneurs dropped out of school (Richard Branson) or university (Bill Gates).  But Ogilvy, who went on to become a famous ad...

  • Remembering my piano teacher Mrs Langtree

    When people ask me abut my influences growing up, I tell them about my piano teacher, Mrs Langtree. I went to my first piano lesson when I was 7...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top