Toastmasters International -500 More?

Two men sitting at a table in a restaurant, enjoying a meal and drinks. The background includes a brick wall with a framed artwork and other decor elements.

Nick Bendel (on right) enjoys his 500th lunch.

In 2019, Nick Bendel set a goal to have lunch with 500 strangers as a way to improve his social skills, meet more people, and attract opportunities into his life. In August 2025, he completed his quest. And yet, that wasn’t enough. He decided to continue lunching with people he doesn’t know.

“I met so many fascinating people during my 500 lunches—from chefs, chocolatiers, and comedians to priests, psychologists, and political prisoners—so why would I stop now?” Bendel explains. “There are still millions of remarkable people waiting to be discovered, and I can’t wait to meet them.

“I learned so much from my remarkable lunch dates. Like everyone else, I’m a flawed human being, but with each stranger I meet, I become a little more intelligent, self-aware, and open-minded.”

Bendel writes about his lunches on social media and enjoys sharing them, so much so that he is writing a book. “I had a very personal motivation, which was to create a permanent record of my life-changing adventure, which I can read whenever I want to reflect on the experience and re-learn the lessons.”

Accomplishing these big goals has taught Bendel how to follow through on his plans. He says there are four keys to achieving anything:

Have enough time, money, and bandwidth to complete the goal.
Form new habits and new relationships.
Ignore self-doubt.
Make sure the goal aligns with your values.

“Achieving a big goal does wonders for your confidence and makes you realize how much untapped potential you have,” he says.

Bendel has had 508 lunches at the time of this publication and is looking forward to many more. When asked who his ideal lunch date would be, he said, “I’d love to meet Esther Perel, the psychotherapist, because I’m fascinated by relationships, social skills, and human behavior. She’d have so much to teach me. If you’re reading this, Esther—have your people call my people.”