Therese Oneill, the 87th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a force of nature. Therese is full of personality and utterly unafraid to be different. When Therese held her 50th birthday, the guests got a shock when they found out the party was doubling as a wedding. After proposing [...]
One of the reasons I’m having lunch with 500 strangers is so I can get more opportunities in life. After all, the bigger your network, the more opportunities that come your way. Since meeting the amazing Mario Bekes at the start of the year, he’s been generous enough to send several opportunities my way. In January, [...]
Dilip Girglani, the 86th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had a wonderful routine he would follow when he was helping to run his family business. Every day, he would visit clients – but never to discuss business. If a client tried to place an order with Dilip, he would [...]
The great thing about meeting someone from a different background is that you get to look at old issues through new eyes. Take leadership and politics. Torben Soelvsteen, the 85th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has interesting views on both these issues. Torben moved from Denmark to Australia in [...]
It’s hard not to be impressed by Lu Nan, the 84th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. The moment you meet Lu, it’s obvious she’s smart and driven, yet also warm and engaging. That positive mindset partly comes from Lu’s parents, who taught her that even when times are bad, [...]
About half of Australians will experience workplace bullying at least once in their career, according to Jessica Hickman, the 83rd person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. Jess was one of them. For three-and-a-half years, Jess was bullied by an insecure boss who resented her skill, emotional intelligence, confidence and success. [...]
Adam Kramer, the 82nd person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, made it there. New York, that is. Adam grew up in Johannesburg, moved to New York two decades ago, met a girl from Australia … and relocated to Melbourne in March. Adam’s first job in New York was as a [...]
Ben Price, the 81st person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, sure gives you value for money. Because when you meet Ben, you don’t only meet Ben. You also meet Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr Phil, Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott, Robert DeNiro, Tom Cruise, Christopher Walken and a host [...]
Where does personal responsibility end and community responsibility begin? I had a fascinating discussion about this tricky issue with Scott Langford, the 80th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. Scott is the group CEO of SGCH, a community housing provider that houses about 11,000 people in over 6,300 properties throughout [...]
Rajesh Kumar is a man of so many talents, it’s hard to know where to begin. Raj, the 79th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, holds a photography world record, after taking 1,010 individual portraits in eight hours. This was a PR stunt Raj did in a past life, when [...]
