“Do not try to become a person of success, but try to become a person of value,” Albert Einstein famously said. I thought of this quote as I was chatting with Aubrey Bent, the 14th person I’ve met as part of my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. Aubrey has definitely achieved success in his [...]
Thomas Williams is from the town of Ballina. When he was 20, he went out one night, got back the next day, and found the family home was empty and his belongings had been boxed up. His father had left him a note telling him it was time to strike out on his own and make something [...]
One of the reasons I’m having lunch with 500 strangers is because I want to improve my interpersonal skills. Hence my meeting in Circular Quay with the wonderful Stephanie Poole, who was my 12th lunch. Stephanie is kind, smart and a great listener. We bonded over a couple of coincidences. First, Stephanie also wants to become [...]
I can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to have lunch with people like Chris Mikhael. Chris was the 11th person I’ve met on my journey to have lunch with 500 strangers. Chris has an incredible amount of sales and business knowledge – and he was so generous in sharing it that I felt [...]
A few months ago, my life changed after reading Kaley Chu's wonderful book, 100 Lunches With Strangers. Inspired by Kaley, I decided to have lunch with 500 strangers in five years – with Kaley being my first. As I was having lunch with my 10th stranger, Ram Sundaram, I learned three delightful facts: Ram had also [...]
“What’s your plan?” That was the question I was asked soon after meeting Paul Harper, the ninth person I met as part of my project to have lunch with 500 strangers. I wasn’t sure how to answer. The two of us hit it off, which is why our conversation went so deep so fast. It’s not [...]
Jimmy Pan impresses you the moment you meet him. He’s athletic, he’s confident, he’s engaging. Yet he turns out to be even more impressive as you get to know him. Jimmy was the eighth person I met as part of my project to have lunch with 500 strangers. Jimmy works as a premium client manager for [...]
Brendan Rogers is a gun. He’s smart, insightful, empathetic. It makes sense when you know what Brendan does for a living – he’s a leadership and team performance coach with BR Consulting. Brendan was the seventh person I’ve met as part of my project to have lunch with 500 strangers in five years. We spent two [...]
I’ve set myself the goal of having lunch with 500 strangers. Part of the reason is that I want to be inspired by the people I meet – which is what happened when I met Andrew Third for lunch number 6. After 13 years in IT, Andrew wanted a change. So, in 2017, he opened Be [...]
I was astonished to discover that Elias Francis is only 24. He’s so smart, driven and ambitious that I thought he had to be in his thirties. Elias was the fifth person I’ve met as part of my #500lunches project. By 2025, his plan is to transition from his banking job in Sydney to a human rights [...]
