When Bianca Schwartpaul, the 319th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, travelled from her native Germany to Australia for a working holiday, her parents had just one instruction: don't meet a man. A month after arriving, Bianca met a man. That was a decade ago. They're still together and Bianca [...]
Jodie Wainwright, the 318th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, wants the world to be a better place, so she works for an organisation where she can effect change, even if it’s just one person at a time. Jodie started out in traditional corporate roles, but always felt like something [...]
Dr Linah Joudeh, the 316th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has been defined by the power of problems. Linah has had some big problems to overcome during her life, but has always chosen to grow up rather than give up. While Linah was in her early twenties, and living [...]
Latha Karthigaa, the 315th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is proof of how much we can achieve if we choose to view setbacks as feedback rather than failure. Today, Latha is the owner of a successful digital marketing agency, Brandupwise, which employs 15 staff in three countries and has [...]
When Jackson Aces, the 314th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, was in Year 7, his life changed forever. During a geography lesson, a student surprised the class by showing them a cool card trick. Jackson was so impressed that all he could think about was learning an even better [...]
Tony Warner, the 313th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is so proud of the work his organisation does that he glows with pride when he speaks. Tony is the CEO of The Humour Foundation, an organisation that provides much-needed joy and distraction for children in hospitals and people living [...]
Wendy Lloyd Curley, the 312th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, became so good at networking that she decided to do it professionally. Back in 2005, after building a successful career in the telecommunications industry, Wendy happily accepted a redundancy, knowing that she wanted a change but having no idea [...]
Simone Daher, the 311th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, feels blessed she gets to serve others and do work that makes a meaningful difference. Simone is the CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney, which provides accommodation for sick and injured children, and their families, who have to travel [...]
Hannah Watts, the 310th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, works for a not-for-profit organisation that does vital work. Plumtree Children's Services provides therapies and support for young children who have a disability or developmental delay, and their families. One of the ways Plumtree helps children is by visiting them [...]
Anna Bashkirova, the 309th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, was so perturbed by how little she knew about human behaviour that she embarked on what proved to be a life-changing quest. Anna spent four years soaking up information. The more she learned, the more gaps she realised needed to [...]
