No overnight success: Geoffrey Rush

Published: Monday, 11 March 2013

When I was touring schools with Geoffrey Rush and we were answering questions in front of hundreds of kids, lots of them said, "I really what to be an actor".

Geoffrey Rush started working in the theatre at 20.  He won his first Oscar and international acclaim when he was 45.  He trained for 25 years before he was internationally recognised at the highest level.

If you want to be an actor, then be prepared to work for 25 years and not get an Oscar.  If you're happy with the thought of that, then be an actor, otherwise don't.

Similarly, if you want to be an entrepreneur, be prepared to work 24/7 and have no life for many, many years, living on minimum wage.  If you're happy with the thought of that, then be an entrepreneur, otherwise, don't.

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...

  • 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...

  • American Australian Association: Next Generation Leadership Award

    I received an award in New York City from the American Australian Association:  the Next Generation Leadership Award.  As a result, they're planting a...

  • My relationship with money

    You don't need that much money.  Just enough to pay the rent, utilities and food. My plan I created for myself post-uni when I was in 3rd year uni...

  • 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...

  • Eyesight on technology

    When I was growing up, I read voraciously - for hours and hours a day.  When I was in year 7, my mum even went to my parent-teacher interview and...

  • 24 hours and QANTAS Magazine

    I did an interview at the beginning of the year about 24 hours in the life of me.  I've copied and pasted the text here below.  Enjoy! For robotics...

  • MBN Y Forum, South Korea

    I’m fortunate to be invited all around the world to deliver speeches. In February, I was invited to the MBN Y Forum in Seoul, South Korea for a...

  • The worst that can happen

    When I was growing up, my mum earned about $20,000 a year to support herself, my brother and I.  By living very frugally and only spending money on...

  • My lockdown life

    Lockdown is certainly a change of pace for me. I used to fly around the world twice a month! Now I’m stuck inside my 768 sq ft apartment for months...