“I don’t see obstacles, I only see dreams,” Sree Sathish told me.

Wow.

I was so impressed by Sree, the 28th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers.

Sree exudes strength and determination. She’s also extremely friendly and positive. We spent only an hour together, but I came away convinced that Sree would achieve all her dreams.

Sree, who is from India, really started honing this mindset in 2017, when she began a two-year process to achieve permanent residency in Australia. There were countless obstacles along the way. Many people would’ve quit at the first or the 10th or the 26th obstacle, but Sree decided to focus not on the obstacles but the dream. So every time she encountered an obstacle, she forced herself to think and work her way around the problem.

For inspiration, Sree and her family created a vision board that featured Australian imagery such as kangaroos, Bondi Beach and Luna Park.

As of June, they’ve been living in Sydney and building a new life for themselves.

Sree works in recruitment. Her personality seems ideally suited to the role – she’s got the grit to chase new clients and the warmth to bond with candidates.