Melissa Neighbour, the 341st person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a free thinker who believes in pushing her boundaries, embracing new experiences and campaigning for causes that are dear to her heart. When Melissa was 18, she was working odd jobs, with no idea what she wanted to do [...]
Julian (Jolly) Day, the 340th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a consummate networker, an inveterate entrepreneur and a man who makes things happen. On the professional front, Jolly is one of Australia’s leading IT professionals, having founded a technology awards business, Consensus, and an industry association, the Australian [...]
Adeel Rizvi, the 339th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is someone whose life revolves around relationships, numbers and property. Back in 2011, Adeel moved from Pakistan to Australia with dreams of building a better life. Within two years, thanks to their hard work and diligent saving, Adeel and his [...]
Oliver Essex, the 338th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, feels blessed to now call Sydney home. Oliver arrived earlier this year, courtesy of a change of career, several changes of location and a marriage. Oliver grew up in England. He excelled in sprinting when he was younger and loved [...]
Diana Olsberg, the 337th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is proud that almost all workers are now covered by Australia’s superannuation system. Diana was one of the architects of our super system and has since advised different governments on how to set up their own retirement savings schemes. One [...]
Death, taxes … and repressing our emotions. Sherrie Laryse, the 336th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, says all of us repress emotions over the course of our life – which affects us not only mentally but also physically. Repressed emotions can seek a physical outlet, she says, which might [...]
Kylie Sturday, the 335th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a textbook example of the virtues of having a growth mindset and stepping outside your comfort zone. During an earlier phase of her career, Kylie was suddenly asked to give a training presentation at work, because she’d developed a [...]
Claudia Brooks, the 334th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, loved property from an early age. For most children, attending a property inspection would be the height of boredom. But when Claudia’s family was in the market for a property, she loved joining them at the open homes. So when [...]
Lou Pollard, the 333rd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is part performer, part medical aide and part (to use her words) “quack”. Lou works as a clown doctor, which involves distracting and entertaining sick patients (generally children) with jokes, music and art. To do her job well, Lou (who [...]
If you want to know whether somebody is lying, look at their feet. That was one of the gems I learned from Ray Ramsay, the 332nd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. Ray has spent almost three decades working in risk management and fraud detection, which has given him an [...]
