Lenka Taylor, the 138th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has created a lifestyle a world removed from her childhood.

Lenka was born in communist Czechoslovakia. When she was 12, her family went on holiday to Greece; once there, her parents explained the trip was actually a ruse to escape the police state, and they were never returning home. 

They applied for a visa to Australia, where some of their close relatives were already living. So Lenka went to school and university in Sydney, and ultimately built a career. 

Five years ago, Lenka’s life changed again after she heard about foreign currency trading. Fascinated, she immersed herself in the field. She attended workshops, got coaching, tried different trading strategies, made lots of mistakes – and gradually perfected her craft.

Last year, Lenka launched a business, FX 2 Freedom; now, she teaches others how to do forex trading.

So instead of a fulltime job in some Czech office block, Lenka has created a flexible life that involves trading for a few hours per week, coaching for a few hours, doing business-building activities, spending time with her family … and having lunch with strangers.