One reason I’m having lunch with 500 strangers is because I want to make new friends. Another reason is that I want to learn. I got to tick both boxes when I had lunch with James Killick, the 24th person I’ve met on my #500lunches journey. One thing that struck me about James was his generosity. [...]
Andrew Squires, the 23rd person I’ve met on my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers, is proof that one moment can change your life. Andrew became a qualified painter after leaving school. After a few years of working for others, and then running his own successful small business, his curiosity of the world led him [...]
You know that thing your gut tells you is definitely true? Well, what if it isn’t? Our gut is often wrong: either because we don’t have enough data to reach an informed decision or because our cognitive biases skew our analysis. That’s why businesses need high-quality researchers to collect the right data and analyse it correctly. [...]
During my years as a journalist, I became adept at extracting information from people. To get the right answers, you need to ask the right questions – and then shut up. You also need to be curious and keen to learn, because that’s what inspires you to ask questions and really listen to the answers. That [...]
One of the reasons I'm having lunch with 500 strangers is because I want to learn new things. My 20th lunch companion, Sandro Hogan, taught me a lot of new things – about cybersecurity. Sandro, who owns IT Awareness, knows cybersecurity inside out. His company protects clients from attacks from all over the world. Most originate [...]
It’s always nice to meet someone who’s making their community a better place. Enter Greg Twemlow, the 19th person I’ve met on my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. Eleven months ago, Greg founded SEVENmile Venture Lab, a not-for-profit start-up accelerator in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. SEVENmile is the perfect project for someone who [...]
The wonderful thing about having lunch with a business coach is that you get free business tips as a side order. That was just one of the reasons why I so enjoyed dining with Julian White, the 18th person I’ve met on my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. It also doesn’t hurt that Julian [...]
It never hurts to ask. That’s the mantra of Julie Trell, the 17th person I’ve met on my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. You might be asking for help, Julie says, or you might be asking for business – but just ask. Getting into the asking habit not only increases your chances of hearing [...]
Carl Gough has revolutionised the world of corporate philanthropy. Carl – the 16th person I met as part of my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers – created an organisation in 2017 called Meetmagic that has changed the way businesspeople do charity. The traditional model involves companies being hounded for money, scattering some donations here [...]
Feeling unloved, unworthy or unsafe? You might not be feeling any of these emotions on a conscious level – but there’s a good chance you’re feeling at least one of them on an unconscious level, according to Greg Gillies, the 15th person I met as part of my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. Greg [...]
