FBC – 316 – Happy birthday to me!

Well today I am the birthday boy! Happy birthday to me! Just a quick update on what I did today and all the fun I had!

Thanks to all the people who sent me some really nice birthday wishes!

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So I hope you guys are doing great. Well, today we'll have a special day, my birthday. So happy birthday to me. It was a pretty good day.

I got to go and celebrate a little bit. So, yeah, another few surprises. I woke up. I had some balloons and like presents and all that stuff waiting for me. And then I opened the birthday cards that I got from the kids yesterday. Yeah, it was really cool. A little bit emotional. Some of the kids just said, like, really, really nice things.

Then afterwards I went out with friends to have lunch and eventually my brother stopped by. My brother actually lives here in Bali and we spent some time together, which was really cool. So I'm actually very happy about this birthday. You know, there are some birthdays when I have absolutely no idea what I did. But here in this case, there's no way I can forget this particular birthday. You know, it's a new chapter.

I want to tell you a lovely story. I had a buddy when I was in the elementary school in Italy. We were like brothers and we were inseparable, like honestly. When I left Italy, I was sent to boarding school in France. I was eleven when I left. And I haven't seen him since.

And then one day by complete accident, I met one of the little girls who was in the elementary with us. And actually, I mean, when you're a kid you hate girls and stuff. I think I kind of liked her for whatever but I was the in the whole, like, elementary. But she was the second fastest. And I think she hated my guts because she couldn't beat me.

And I was like seven or eight, like, I hated girls. So we actually kind of like hated each other something. I don't think it was like an actual hatred. But now that I think about it, I think back in the day in the beginning, I thought she was kind of cute, but. Yeah you have a street cred to maintain. Right.

But anyway one day I was looking for a book and I went on this this website. At the very bottom of the page on this website, there was a name and she had a very unusual name. So this combination, I mean, it could have been only her.

So I sent an email saying, well, I'm really sorry if, you know, if it's not you, but I was in school with someone who had the same name as you back in Rome. If it's not you, please forgive me. And then she was like, yeah, it's me, how's it going? And blah, blah, blah. So you know what? There is a reunion for the ten years of graduations in a week.

And I was like, wow, really? So I booked a ticket and I went back to Rome and I hadn't been back to in Rome since I left when I was 11. So I came back, I was like twenty eight or something.

So I still hadn't seen my buddy either, so I went there and for whatever reason he couldn't make it. So I didn't get to see him there. And then by complete accident, a few months later I was in New York and I was talking to my buddy Max. Oh man. It was really bad that I missed you in there.

And so and I was like, gee, I'm in New York now. And he said, you’re kidding me! I’m in New York too!

And so I got to spend time with my like my buddy. And it was crazy. After, like, 18 years, we met like randomly in New York. He was born on the 9th of March and me on the 9th of April. So basically one month before me. So every time we have a birthday, we'll just like, you know, wish each other happy birthday. But to meet him like that was absolutely awesome.

Happy birthday to me!

Anyway, so today I was working on something really cool. I mean, this is the coolest thing. It's awesome. And there was one part that I was missing in terms of like automation and stuff, because, you know me, I like to automate stuff. And my brother was actually working on something in parallel where he managed to automate whatever I was trying to automate.

But the rest he couldn't automate it and I actually have. And so we started talking about this today. I told him, dude, you should stop by at the house. We're going to compare notes and put our brains together and create something really cool that can just run, you know. I think we can actually get this stuff to work really well.

But, you know, anyway, I had like a really, really good time, fantastic time. People have been awesome. And again, as I said, I usually don't celebrate my birthday too much because, uh, yeah I don't know, I just don't like the attention, and this time I got attention, but I'm actually quite happy about it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Martin spend his actual birthday in Bali?

He woke up to balloons and presents, read birthday cards from the kids at the local orphanage, had lunch with friends, and spent time with his brother who also lives in Bali. Martin describes it as one of the most memorable birthdays of his life because of the people involved.

How can old friendships from childhood unexpectedly resurface later in life?

Through chance encounters and shared networks. Martin shares the story of an inseparable elementary-school friend in Italy he had not seen since leaving for boarding school in France at age eleven. A random meeting with a mutual contact decades later reopened the connection in a completely unexpected way.

Why does Martin value relationships from his time in Italy and France?

Because they shaped his identity before business success was ever on his radar. Martin grew up between Italy and France, attending boarding school from age eleven, which forced him to build deep friendships fast. Those early bonds remain some of the strongest in his personal network today.

What is the importance of staying open to reconnecting with old contacts?

Old contacts often become new opportunities. Martin's advice is to never write off a friendship because of distance or time apart, since a single reconnection can unlock a job, a partnership, or a market you would never have reached through cold outreach. Keep the door open by default.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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