I first learnt about the impostor syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing in 2011.  A Stanford student asked a question during "Q&A time about the Conference" on what the Conference was doing to encourage more women into the field, and so I approached her afterwards to have a chat to tell her about Robogals.

She told me about the impostor syndrome, which is commonly felt by women and especially those in senior positions in academia who don't feel like they deserve their achievements.

As soon as I learnt about it, I knew I had it.

From that day on, I could acknowledge those feelings as the impostor syndrome and rather than let them linger and let them waste my time feeling bad about myself, I could just say to myself, "that's just the impostor syndrome" and discount those feelings.  I now never suffer from the impostor syndrome because I've trained myself not to.

That lesson taught me that we need to talk about these issues and give them light so that women know what they're feeling is ok and that they're not alone.

Knowing about these issues means you can identify when they're coming up and stop them in their place.

I have a wall in my room where the artwork is sheets of paper blu-tacked next to each other, forming a rectangle.  I call it my "Wall of Change"

My wall of change reminds me of my priorities for the year; my goals within my priorities for the year, has space for me to document the number of hours I've studied each week, the number of times I've completed each of my tutorials, my goals for the next 3 months, words that inspire me and quotes that inspire me.

I created my wall of change because I know that the best way to achieve your goals is to constantly remind yourself of them.  I wanted a time-efficient, clear way to remember my goals, and I wanted my goals to always be near me to reference whenever I wanted.  I love my wall of change.  It inspires me everyday by showing me the person I want to become.

My 2011 Wall of Change wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.  I started with A4 sheets of paper.

I made my 2012 Wall of Change prettier.  It uses origami papers.  I actually like the 2011 one better because it was bigger, and white, so I could read it easier.

I was thinking and plotting and planning my startup.

When to begin.  Was it too early?  Was the market ready?  Would I waste my time?  Would I waste my money?  I thought about MakerBot.  It all seemed to work out so perfectly for them.  They primed it so perfectly it seemed.  Even Chris Anderson from Wired Magazine was getting on the 3D printing revolution bandwagon.  Not to mention Barack Obama.  Why was it so easy for them?

But then I realised that it probably wasn't that easy for them.  That they probably had to put in lots of work and energy such that MakerBot was the market leader in consumer 3D printing.  They had to set up relationships, establish communities and create their own opportunities.

When I realised that, I realised that the time for me to launch is now.

The stars aren't aligned and they never will be.  But if I launch my company now and build up my vision, even if it's not a success now, this year, or next year, if I just build it up slowly, bit by bit, I will get there.

Bill Gates had to spend three years in a house in Albuquerque before he hit the big time.

I don't need to be successful now, but I will get there.

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 attendant (cleaner) everyday so that she could send me to a Catholic school and give me piano, maths and Japanese lessons, because her children, my older brother and I, were her highest priority.

Working on your highest priority could mean a number of things.  For example, a parent's highest priority could be their children, but that doesn't mean they need to spend all their time with their kids.

One day, as if overnight, all the airport check-in people and desks disappeared.  In their place appeared computerised self-tagging stations.  Across the expanse where people would usually queue was a scattering of self- check-in stations.  Some were solely Club card activated, and all of the others allowed for a number of inputs.  Result?  Hardly anyone ever needs to wait to check themselves in and get through the process.

The difference is particularly noticeable when you don't travel with QANTAS and have to wait for 30 minutes to check your bag in, amongst a crowd of people that barely moves.

By giving the power to the passengers to check themselves in, attach their own bags tags and answer questions about their luggage, it has made the process of travelling easy.

I saw a talk given by the guy who designed this system a few months after it was implemented.  He said that travelling is painful, and he wanted to make it less painful.

What can you do to make something painful, less painful?