• 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

  • giddy, giddy, giddy

    Why create linear goals when life isn't linear? Don't create goals that are 1 -> 2 -> 3 Create goals that make leaps ad bounds, like 6 -> 14 -> 28...

  • Robogals 10-Year Anniversary Gala

    On 14 July 2008, I founded Robogals. At the Robogals 10-year anniversary gala in Melbourne, I gave a speech alongside Mark Parncutt, co-founder of...

  • Aubot Instagram

    Aubot has created an instagram page with fun photos of Teleport!  Check them out here!...

  • Nail painting robot

    A robot friend suggested we go and get our nails painted by a robot!  So we went and did that!  The first time I saw a nail painting robot was at CES...

  • A Tech Schools Update

    A building collapse warning system, a pancreatic cancer detection kit and a self-inflating shirt to stop young children drowning if they fall into a...

  • Plane screens

    Walking down the aisle on an international flight, everyone is watching something different.  Whether it's the most popular television drama,...

  • Dividing time - most time spent on highest priority item

    If you're not spending most of your time working on your highest priority, then it's time to reevaluate what you're doing. My mum worked as a hotel room...

  • A Day in the Life at Singularity University

    From June 13 - August 23, I am staying at NASA AMES Research Park, funded by Google, studying with 80 people from around the world in Singularity...

  • Australian of the Year Awards 60th anniversary

    My last, large, in-person networking event I went to in Australia since before the pandemic was the 60th anniversary celebrations for the Australian of the...

  • Worse than procrastination

    One of the biggest muscles to exercise shouldn't be getting yourself motivated to not procrasinate.  Sure, procrastination is a big issue, and...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top