The Power of Human Connection with Rob Lawless

On episode 94 of the Impact Makers podcast, I’m sharing a fascinating conversation that I had with my new friend – Rob Lawless.

Rob is on a mission to spend one hour, one-on-one with 10,000 different people, and over the last 8 years, he’s met almost 6,000 people across 90+ countries on the journey to complete that goal.

Rob shares their stories on his Instagram account – @robs10kfriends, and his humble project has gotten the attention of many in the media over the last few years, where he’s been invited to share about it on the Kelly Clarkson Show, the TODAY Show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest – and of course, on the Impact Makers podcast.

I was incredibly honored recently to become Rob’s five thousand eight hundred and twentieth new friend, after being introduced to him by 5,795, my friend Thom Monahan. It was so fun to just have a conversation to get to know someone new without any pressure to ask great questions, or to take notes like I would during an interview.

I truly admire Rob for his creativity and diligence to complete his goal – which will likely take him another 8 – 10 years to accomplish.

What started as a response to a harsh rejection email turned into a goal to meet new people for one hour to have a conversation with absolutely no agenda, and has turned into a career where in addition to meeting up to 4 new people each day, Rob is speaking on conference stages and at corporate events around the world. He’s also preparing to write his first book about the lessons he’s learned about the power of human connection.

I think after listening to this conversation, you’ll be inspired by Rob to be more intentional about connecting with others, and treating your interactions as experiences rather than transactions.

And, like me, you’ll probably have a greater appreciation for what applying yourself to something for 10,000 hours actually means, and the commitment that is required to achieve big goals.

Topics Discussed In Today’s Episode:

How Rob’s unique idea in 2015 to spend one hour one-on-one with 10,000 different people started as a project, and turned into a career.
Why Rob doesn’t call meetings with new friends “interviews”, and what his goal is for each conversation.
How COVID-19 affected Rob’s Meet 10,000 New Friends project, and how the changes that were required have opened up the opportunity to meet more new people.
How a suggestion from one of Rob’s new friends regarding public speaking has turned into a profitable revenue stream, and also a future book.
Rob’s FRIEND framework that he teaches to help people engage in meaningful conversations, and unpack other people’s stories.
What the project has taught Rob about gratitude and the value of human connection.
Who is the ideal person that Rob would like to meet, and will they be number 10k?
How long will it take for Rob to complete his mission of making 10,000 new friends?