#294: Beyond 500 Lunches with Strangers: Lessons on Achieving Anything – Nick Bendel

The Toastmasters Podcast with Greg Gazin

The Toastmasters Podcast is like a radio talk show featuring interviews with Toastmasters usually featured in the Toastmaster magazine. The purpose of the podcast is to amplify the magazine - to dig deeper or to put a voice to a face or written wordBut unlike a radio show, a podcast is on the Internet, and available, for free, to anyone in the world with an Internet connection, and a connected device capable of playing audio. 260+ episodes are at ToastmastersPodcast.comThe Toastmasters Podcast is co-produced by Toastmasters International and Archieboy Holdings, LLC, for our global audience of Toastmasters and those interested in public speaking and leadership.

[36:05] What would happen if you committed to having lunch with 500 strangers? In this episode, host Greg Gazin reconnects with Nick Bendel (Episode #250), who not only reached that goal, he surpassed it. What began as a business experiment to improve social skills became something much deeper, a lesson in confidence, curiosity and personal growth. This episode isn’t really about lunch. It’s about what happens when you choose discomfort long enough to grow.

Now, at 516 lunches and counting, Nick reflects on what changed, not just in his network, but in himself, and in the ordinary people with extraordinary stories he’s met along the way.

More importantly, he discovered something about human nature: we’re all riddled with insecurities. Once you understand that, it becomes easier to do the very things that scare you.

In this follow-up to our first interview, you will hear:

• Why achieving 500 lunches was satisfying, but not the real win

• How meeting strangers strengthened Nick’s social skills and mindset

• How his conversations evolved from trying to impress to truly listening

• How a quarterly coffee meetup sparked an unexpected matchmaking idea

• Why confidence comes after action, not before

Nick also shares a practical framework he discovered through experience and his four keys to achieving anything. It’s simple, but grounded in lived experience.

Referenced in this episode:

500 More Lunches with Strangers: This Toastmaster Is Hungry to Continue — Toastmaster Magazine, January 2026,

500 Lunches with Strangers — Toastmaster Magazine, April 2024,

#250: 500 Lunches with Strangers: Breaking Bread for Personal Growth — The Toastmasters Podcast,

#275 & #276: Better Conversations, One Question at a Time – Dr. Alison Wood Brooks — The Toastmasters Podcast.

About Nick Bendel

Nick Bendel is from Sydney, Australia, and is the owner of Hunter & Scribe, a copywriting agency serving property and finance businesses. A Toastmaster since 2016, he is a member of Dynamic North Shore Toastmasters Club in Sydney, Australia.

Nick can be reached via LinkedIn.