• 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

  • Australian Office in Taipei

    In March this year, I was invited to the Australian Office in Taipei, Taiwan, to give a speech for International Women’s Day.   During my 10-hour...

  • Why you need a break

    Life gets busy.  You say 'yes' to things to fill up your life and your time and pretty soon your days are filled with back-to-back commitments.  And...

  • Pebble Beach Authors & Ideas Festival

    I was invited to speak at the Pebble Beach Authors & Ideas Festival (PBAIF) in Pebble Beach.  What a stunning part of the world!  Most other speakers...

  • Show up

    Woody Allen once said that "eighty percent of success is showing up." To me, that means, you go to the meeting about the project.  You're there...

  • Being your word

    If you tell people you are going to be at X location at X time, people take your word for that. If you’re not there, they decide that next time,...

  • Doing things with integrity

    When you do something, do it whole and completely so that it's done to the best of your ability, then ship.  Your attention to detail shows that you...

  • A co-founder worth fighting for

    My co-founder didn't want to work on my next start-up idea with me because he was too tired. I didn't want to work on his next start-up idea because I...

  • I have what Barack Obama and Steve Jobs have

    Yeah, I know. I’m so cool, and I’m so lucky. I have DNA, flesh, blood and bones. Barack Obama and Steve Jobs are truly two icons of our time - men...

  • Non-profit founder critics

    Why are people so critical when young people start non-profits? Time and time again, I hear people say, "there are enough non-profits out there....

  • The most important thing

    … isn’t the car you drive, whether you earn more money than your neighbour, who you know, or what you know;  it is your health.  Without your health, you...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top