How to Connect with 10,000 People

Years ago, a friend of mine mentioned “speed dating” to me. The concept sounded great—meet 30 women in one night.

A few weeks later, I saw an ad for an event where I lived, so I signed up.

Speed dating is basically a press junket—you spend a few minutes with each person on the list, many times answering the same questions.

Like a press junket, you have to act like it’s the first time you’ve answered that question. You tell the same stories and laugh at the same jokes.

It’s exhausting.

I’ve seen a few people in podcasting do something similar. Engel Jones has done thousands of episodes of his #12minconvos Podcast. And John Lee Dumas basically created the “On Fire” podcast format, asking guests the same sequence of questions every episode, more or less turning podcast production into an assembly line that allows podcasters to create hundreds of episodes in just a few weeks, not years.

Even more people have tried similar things. Most have failed.

But … if you can show up to each person with fresh enthusiasm, the results can be amazing.

The Next Level?

In November 2015, Rob Lawless started Robs10kFriends, with the goal of meeting 10,000 different people for an hour each. It’s not an interview and there’s no agenda. There’s no recorder, no notes, or set of questions. He spends the time making a genuine connection. Afterwards, a memory of the meeting is posted to his Instagram account.

He began his career at Deloitte Consulting before moving to a sales role in a tech company. It was there, amidst cold calls and rejections, that he came up with the idea.

His goal was simple: meet people face-to-face, free from technology and without a fixed agenda.

From his site:

The Meetings

There is no structure or agenda to the hour meetings – it is simply two people spending an hour together, getting to know each other.

The Goal

My goal is simply to meet 10,000 strangers. I believe that genuine human connection is something important in today’s world and it’s also something that makes me happy. This journey is my way of leading by example. If anything, my hope is to encourage others to take the initiative to reach out to someone new and be open to establishing new relationships.

The Documentation

I document the project on my instagram @robs10kfriends. I take a picture with each person I meet and write a short post about our hour together. The account is a medium through which to complete the project and allows followers a glimpse into the hour we spent together.

Since 2016, after the startup he worked for was acquired, he’s been doing this full time, often doing multiple sessions per day. Robs10kFriends has had significant media attention and inspires others to prioritize face-to-face interactions in their daily lives.

This has opened up new career options, including keynote speaking work. He’s formed new relationships, created new possibilities, and gained new knowledge.

Rob is a good example that there are opportunities all around us if we’re willing to do the work it takes to unlock them. Talking to people is simple, but doing it at this level is difficult—you have to show up and put in the time and energy.

But think about what can come of it … new relationships, new opportunities, and new knowledge.

Think you’re up for something like this? I encourage you to jump in and find out.