Paul McFarlane learned many valuable lessons about people during his 21 years as a chaplain for NSW Ambulance, 11 of them as senior chaplain. Paul, the 248th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, spoke with thousands of paramedics and members of the public during that time, many of whom had [...]
Jo Natoli, the 247th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has built an incredible career in property management through a stroke of luck, a leap of faith and a lot of hard work. When Jo was just 17 and unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, she [...]
The key to being a successful leader is to prioritise relationships over results, according to Brett White, the 246th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. That doesn't mean Brett thinks results aren't important – he does. Rather, he thinks the best way to get those results is for leaders to [...]
Rose Herceg, the 245th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had an important lesson drummed into her during her childhood – to be fearless. Don’t worry about jumping off cliffs, her parents taught her, because you’ll find a parachute on the way down. So Rose grew up to be confident, [...]
Louise Mooney, the 244th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has a fascinating business. Louise owns the Sutherland Shire franchise for The Alternative Board Australia, an organisation that brings non-competing business owners together in a group setting, to discuss the challenges and opportunities each of them are facing. So every [...]
Joseph Coorey is an accountant who specialises in insolvency. So, ironically, he's learned the most important thing you need to get right if you want to succeed in business – which is knowing your numbers. Joseph, the 243rd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, said many of the failed companies [...]
Terry Brown, the 242nd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has a job that makes people very, very happy. Terry is the co-owner of Tax Assure, a specialist taxation debt advisory business that helps companies, directors and business owners manage tax debt problems with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Often, [...]
Some people who have troubled childhoods never get over the experience. Others, though, use their misfortune as motivation to achieve great things. Farzana Khan, the 241st person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, fits into that second category. Farzana went through a lot of instability when she was growing up, moving [...]
Ellie Pittorino, the 240th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is living proof of how a relationship you make today can change your life tomorrow. After leaving school, Ellie became a legal secretary for several law firms. Later, with her husband, she bought a patisserie and then an espresso bar. [...]
What do all successful small businesses have in common? That was something I asked David Gava, the 239th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. David is very qualified to answer the question, because he owns an accounting and business strategy firm, Omnia Business Solutions. In other words, he’s looked at [...]
