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

Where are you not looking?

Published: Tuesday, 10 February 2009

You’ve brainstormed and tried all the keywords that you could think of in Google, you’ve asked Jeeves, you’ve spoken to your lecturers and you’ve spoken to all the people you know - everyone you can think of! To no avail. No matter how hard you look, you can’t find anything.

 

So, you decide to set up something on your own accord. You brainstorm with your friends, talk to you lecturers about it, talk to other clubs and societies, set up a plan of attack and put the first steps into motion.

 

Then, something pops up - you get an email. Something that says, “I was here all along, what are you doing setting something up?”

 

I signed up to the entrepreneurs society at my university, and didn’t hear from them for the next four months. I emailed them at three different times, asked them how I could help, and whether I could set something up within them if they weren’t going to. I never heard back from them. So, I decided to set my own entrepreneurial community within the university. Two days later, I got an email from them about an initiative they are setting up. I clicked on their links and realised they had a website all along, as well as a blog! Where was I looking?

 

So, even if you’ve looked, researched, and spoken to everyone you can. Is there anything else you can do? Is there anywhere else you can look? Where are you not looking?

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

  • The Impostor Syndrome

    I first learnt about the impostor syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing in 2011.  A Stanford student asked a question...

  • Graduation!

    I finally graduated!  Stoked to give the valedictory speech at my graduation.  I received a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics) and a Bachelor of...

  • Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

    To my great surprise, I was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) this year, announced on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend. This means I now...

  • Al Jazeera Women Make Science Documentary

    From September to December 2019, Al Jazeera English followed me around and filmed an update on all my projects: Robogals, Aipoly, Teleport, my...

  • AI Most Influential Woman in Engineering 2000-2020

    This AI named me the 29th most influential woman in engineering from 2000-2020! It looked up frequency of my name being mentioned alongside an...

  • 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...

  • Don't career plan

    No one knows what will happen in the future.  Just do your best at what you're doing now.  Then consider your options at the end of this project....

  • A clean slate

    After I finished high school, I felt so much relief.  I'd finally finished high school.  I'd completed the KUMON Mathematic programme, done the...

  • Variety of media

    Myself and Teleport (with my business partner Alberto Rizzoli appearing on Teleport) got a really awesome page 2-3 spread in The Age. It looks rad!...

  • Delegating to not go crazy

    If you're delegating tasks and then pulling your hair out over it, then you're probably not doing it right. Anything that's insanely great requires a team...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top