I remember sitting there, head in hands, in disbelief that my bosses could be giving me such hell over a such a small mistake. It cost the company a few hundred dollars but my solid late working and relentless work ethic was saving them much more than my very occasional mistakes. After a few minutes of doing my best Klingon impression with my forehead I relaxed a little and knew where I was going.
I composed myself and took time out of my busy schedule to write my the bosses a letter to inform them I would no longer be working for them and that from that point my notice was officially in.
That was nearly 4 years ago now and shortly after I hit the road as a freelance artworker / graphic designer in London, my home town. This unleashed a new feeling of freedom inside of me and it soon led to me knowing I no longer wanted to sit in the same pit of despair as many young people do. Sticking to the same industry, the same job and the same town just getting by month to month. My flat, my debts, my life was just a facade, don’t get me wrong I was not unhappy as such but I was living a pre-fab life designed by the society I grew up in. I decided to sell my flat and get out.
The Move
I started by applying for a visa to go and live in Canada for a year. I had been to Canada once before and loved the friendly people, the rolling landscape and general feel of the country so it was a great place to start my new uprooted life. During the 8 month period of application and acceptance I arranged a trip to Canada, Montreal to be precise, to visit a friend who was there. Incidentally I met a young lady there who eventually ended up being my current partner. We have been together for 3 years now.
I loved Montreal and decided to make that my first stop when I finally got my acceptance for the Canadian Visa. So around 3 years ago I arrived in Montreal, ditched graphic design and started working in a pub kitchen for minimum wage. That didn’t last long and I decided (I had been dabbling) that I would give blogging for money and graphic design for online clients a try. After a few long hard months I was earning enough to survive and the rest is history! I ended up living happily in Montreal for 2 years and was fortunate after watching CBS one fine morning to start a frugal living blog that is now my pride and joy.
I now live in Egypt and have been here in Cairo for about 1 year. The blogging and online work gig gave me the freedom to simply say “Ok, that will be cool” when my partner asked if I would be interested in coming to Egypt with her if she got into grad school here. Egypt is nuts but amazing and I am in awe of the fact that I live here everyday! The pyramids are a $6 taxi ride away, crazy!
Finances….
Throughout this whole awesome life changing period my finances were a complete mess. Earlier than this whole story I had loaned money to some close relatives by using loans that I applied for under my name. Suffice to say they did not pay me back and I was left making monthly payments and covering costs in the hope that their payments would start coming in soon…. That hope was never realised.
I moved to Canada with this horrible debt bearing over me and then Egypt. I always made payments but was getting lost in a web of credit cards paying credit cards and things were going downhill. In November (2009) I finally admitted to myself that I had been stupid to let this go on so long and sought help from the UK National Debt Helpline Charity. They were fantastic and my debt is now being paid off with all interest frozen in a debt management program.
My online business is also going well and with the debt being managed I am making healthy progress. I would say that since March (2010) I have been very stable and in control for the first time in many many years. With the help and advice of my fellow Yakezie members I am absolutely certain I can pay the debt off early.
Frugality…..
I never used to be frugal. In fact I wasted more cash than I like to admit on DVD’s, Gadgets and Drinking. I left school and home at 16/17 and started full time work. Give a 16 year old money and freedom and bad things happen with money! In a weird way I am thankful for the debt situation my relatives thrust me into. I became frugal and clever with cash, learning to live on next to nothing and not hating it. This skill has enabled me to start my online business with little risk and I have no fear moving to a new country (may happen next year).
Frugal Zeitgeist and Yakezie
Frugal Zeitgeist was actually created for a competition to see who could build up the best blog in 30 days and then sell it. Whilst brainstorming for an idea I was watching CBS to see what was popular. Frugality was the order of the day and it hit me that it was an excellent topic for the competition. I could write all about it no problem and it would be fun. I wanted a quirky name and chose Frugal Zeitgeist (zeitgeist is a German word that approximately means “for the present time”), I snapped up the domain and got going. By the end of the competition the site was doing great, I was loving it and I could not face selling it. Luckily the competition had no clause that you HAD to sell the blog so I also won the prizes.
For a period of about 6 months I let Frugal Zeitgeist go to crap but gladly I picked the project back up and somewhere a few months after that time I discovered a post over at Deliver Away Debt about this Yakezie challenge. I ummed and arred about the time I had for a group and the pressure of writing content when people would be watching. I finally gave in and the rest is history. Before the challenge Alexa was around 348k and yesterday it just dipped below 100k for the first time. Full credit goes to the Yakezie and to Sam (Financial Samurai).
When Yakezie.com was announced and Sam was looking for leaders on verticals I didn’t see where I would fit it but wanted somehow to be involved. When the forums got going I was there reading and commenting every post where possible and Sam approached me about being the first moderator, of course I accepted. You guys are all well behaved (so far) so my job has been easy.
The Yakezie has been responsible for more than improving my Alexa ranking. It has improved my content because I am now accountable. I have met and found a ton of awesome bloggers and I look forward to seeing where we can help each other go in the coming days, months and years.
You can read more of my thoughts, tips and opinions on frugality, simple living and finance at Frugal Zeitgeist.
Thanks a million,
Forest
We invite you to read all the Member Posts and join us for further discussion in the Yakezie Forums.
Forest,
So good to learn more about your story! You have been an instrumental part of the Yakezie, and your technical expertise is invaluable to the community! It is AWESOME you are living in Cairo, and get to earn a good income from blogging
You are the ultimate PF/Lifestyle hybrid!
Cheers, Sam
ps hope you never sell your blog!
Thanks a million Sam… I have been working hard to keep up with all the goings on in the Yakezie and am proud to be a member. I believe we can all help each other a lot!
As for selling, unlikely right now!
Thanks for the compliments.
Don’t sell until you get to at least a $125,000 offer, OK? Promise? Thanks!
Cheers
That sounds like the sweet number :)….. Be able to start a nice new blog and relax for a while for that sum.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Daniel Packer, Yakezie. Yakezie said: #Yakezie Member Post – Forest from Frugal Zeitgeist | Yakezie.com http://t.co/Nz3gfOq by @FrugalZeitgeist -> May you never sell your blog! […]
Awesome story, Forest. It was fun to learn how you ended up in Cairo. I’ll have to see if I can gently bend a few rules in the forums and make you do some work… ;)
Ha ha, i’ll be keeping an eye on you!!!!
Thanks for reading.
Man I envy your freedom and talent when it comes to programming and graphic design.
Ha ha, my programming skills are pretty poor to be honest, I just wing it and do lots of Google searching when I need to get something done. Graphic design was my career but I seriously lost my passion for it and find it hard to create anything great these days… However as I roll down my client work I hope some of the passion comes back.
Hi Forest,
What a great story! Sounds like things are going well for you! It must be amazing to have the level of freedom that you have obtained! Your are no longer imprisoned in a cubicle imposed by the econonmy and bound by the shackles of a wage to earn a living!
Kudos to you!!!
Thanks for sharing, I had no idea what an exciting (and challenging) life you have had!!!
Yes thanks, things are going great and I am glad you liked the story. I thought most people wouldn’t read the whole post so nice to get the feedback I am getting.
Sadly I still have some attachment to the economy. My earnings come via USA for the most part and my savings are in UK…. The two currencies interact in weird ways these days, right now in my favour.
Hey Forest, what a great story; somehow I’d missed that you are from the UK! It’s great to read about someone actually quitting work and going out there and doing it.
Even though we’re moving to Portugal eventually, I’m very interested in Canada as a potential place to move to for a while, we’re even off to Vancouver next month to take a look around.
I never made it to Vancouver but always wanted to as met loads of awesome people from there. I plan to go back to Canada at least for a long vacation one day and Vancouver will be on my list…. Hopefully pop over the border to Seattle at the same time.
Great intro Forest. I give you a lot of credit for having the courage to leave “the pit of despair” behind. Glad to see your decision has worked out for you!
Ha ha, I was being a little melodramatic there!!!
Nah, I think you were spot on. Many people view their jobs as a pit of despair. You just had the guts to do something about it.
Awesome story forest! Sounds like you’ve got a lot of background and fit well into the lifestyle section. How long will you be in egypt for and where are you headed after?
Thanks Jeff, been here a year and likely got at least another 10 months but we may stay longer than that.
OK, had a glitch with commenting, so hopefully two comments won’t show up from me.
Anyway, what a great story, and so much more interesting than mine! How great that you have created a job you can take with you anywhere. I also envy your attitude about your family members that created so much debt for you- I would be so angry and resentful!
Love your site – have you thought of branching out and having multiple blogs?
Hey Everyday Tips, thanks, I try to turn all events into something positive otherwise I wold end up a mess. Life throws all sorts of crap at you and you need to keep moving forward no matter what it is.
I do have other websites but to be honest they are getting neglected as I like just having one base. As I earn online it will be sensible for me to get back to some of those sites at some point but I am having a lot of fun with Frugal Zeitgeist so I naturally concentrate on that.
Forest, I love your can do attitude. I enjoy getting to “know” you on twitter. Though I am not much for lentils….
Look forward to working with you here!
Ha ha, thanks Doc. I try and keep upbeat in my attitude.
As for lentils, I have been away for meat for so long that I swear lentils taste like chicken! When I ask “do these lentils taste like chicken” I always get very odd looks from my fellow diners!
So happy you’re a part of the Yakezie. Thanks for your help getting things organized.
It’s fascinating to hear how you’ve been able to travel while paying down debt. I hope you have many more years of travel!
Hey Elle, glad you are too. You are a fantastic professional blogger and it’s great to have blogs like yours to push my professionalism up a notch. I made a lot of bad decisions and maybe should not have left with the financial mess I was in but I am doing well now and way on the way to getting 100% straight and keeping on my feet around the world!
It’s great to get to know you a little better, Forest. I had wondered how you had ended up in Egypt. What an amazing place to be living!
Thanks Little House, been enjoying your blog and Wisebread articles very much.
Forest,
Fascinating journey from London to Montreal to Cairo and who knows where after that. It is amazing how many Yakezie members call planet Earth their home. Like others have voiced, I hope you never sell your blog. BTW, how is your partner doing in grad school?
Thanks Joe, it is amazing how many Yakezie members are that way. Inspires me!
She isn’t loving grad school to be honest. She just doesn’t enjoy studying anymore and she can’t wait to be done! Still she is studying gender studies in the Middle East and she is getting top grades so should come out of it with a very solid and useful masters that will help her with employment around the world. I’ll likely follow her but hopefully not USA or UK next stop! We like the idea of India and have talked about Germany or New Zealand.
Forest, If you ever plan to visit (or stay) India, drop me a line. I will introduce you to my folks, will make things a LOT easier :)
Thanks Suba, I am in love with Indian food (I grew up in a very Indian part of London) so would love to go to the source one day :).
Wow, it takes a lot of balls to get fed up with work and just walk out the door. But once you’re out, I know how liberating it can be (and terrifying at the same time). Sounds like you’ve had an incredible journey.
Thanks CNG, yes it took a lot of abuse (in the form of long hours, high stress) for me to crack but it’s the best break down I ever had :). It would have been too long to mention in the post but I had broken down and gone freelance one time a few years before that in a similar fashion so the freelance part wasn’t too scary but selling up my flat and leaving for an unspecified amount of time was!
Fascinating story, Forest! It’s great to learn more about you and your backstory, and I think it’s pretty cool that you’ve just been able to pick up and leave the “prefab” lifestyle behind. I’ve enjoyed your blog, and although we don’t see eye to eye on every topic, I’ve also enjoyed the discussions we’ve had together. I’ll sway you to my side someday! :P
Hey Kevin, thanks, I am still really pleased with my decision too :). Likewise on the discussion thing. If you just stick to reading and discussing with people who you totally agree with you never learn anything…. I’m unlikely to be swayed from my socialist ideals but I know that reality is a different beast to ideals and things work different in the real world so you have to find balance between your perfect world and the one that you exist in every day, sometimes they means swaying from and compromising on things that you feel are ultimately right….
Awesome man! You’ve got to be one of the coolest bloggers out there – and not just because you travel the world and live in Egypt!
I appreciate the emails we’ve exchanged – we’ve had some good dialogue!
What is your partner studying?
Wow thanks Jason! I don’t feel very cool :) but I have the internet to hide that! Thanks it’s always great to exchange mails with fellow bloggers and if anyone wants to mail me they can…. although I have to warn I like to ramble!
She is studying Gender and Women’s Studies at the American University in Cairo. Interesting program but from what I have seen the Canadian Education system was way ahead of American uni’s. She was educated at under grad in Montreal and a lot of readings she did as undergrad have not been done by her fellow class mates who studied in USA and are seen as “advanced” reading. It’s a shame as it’s sometimes wasted hours of her time reiterating stuff she already knows. The work load is very heavy though and I selfishly wish that would calm down :)…. The main point though is that she will have a good quality masters ideal for emplyment by next June…. It’s all about that silly bit of paper in the end :).
Great Story, Forest. Looks like you have had some educational and fulfilling life experiences, and have learned from them. I like your blog, and am glad that you’re a part of this group with the rest of us. We’re fortunate to have you here.
Thanks Squirellers, was attracted to your blog right away as I love squirrels :)…. Had to see what it was all about. Even though it’s not about squirrels you still have some great stuff! Every experience I have gone through has contributed both positive and negative. I choose to focus on the positive and it seems to work well :). Glad you are a part too.
Glad to have you as part of the Yakezie Network, Forest! I remember finding your blog back when you were in that 6 month lull, so I’m happy to see that you’ve picked it up again. You’re a writing machine!
Hey Paul,
Thanks :)…. Sorry you had to see it in that state!!! I don’t mean to write so much but now I have freed up some space by dispersing client work I mainly work on the blog, so why not write! I’m no perfectionist when it comes to publishing so don’t always produce great stuff but I enjoy what I do that’s what matters to me :).
You are so much more adventurous than me! That’s an awesome story! Well, except for the crappy family that left you their debt…they suck. I do hope to get to work with you even more. Have a good week!
Hope to be working with you too…. As for adventurous it can be measured in different ways. For me the idea of doing Karaoke is more terrifying than jumping on any plane anywhere!!!
Wow, Forest, what an awesome story! There’s a part of me that wishes I were that brave to just quit my job tomorrow. Thanks for sharing with us!! And thanks for setting up the forums to go to email by digest, that makes it a lot easier for me to stay in the loop.
Thanks Mrs Accountability. If you really can get by without the job and it’s a mutual decision with your partner then I say set a countdown and go for it! No probs about the forum, hope the digest is working well for everyone.
Awesome story Forest! I wondered how you ended up in Egypt. You have had a fascinating journey!
Love your blog, don’t know how you can write so much, I find it difficult to keep up with the reading :) Looking forward to working with you more!
Hey Suba, off to read and comment your member post shortly. I write a lot when I feel like it but go through lulls. I could schedule it and drag it out through the lulls but I find that it helps to just publish as I write…. I’m just like that :)…. A lull may be coming soon! Please feel free to criticise any crap posts I write!
Forest, I am amazed at the content you’ve been able to produce — and your cooking skills, haha!
Thanks for joining the Yakezie; I’ve already taken your advice and added adsense into the top of each post.
Hey Kay Lyn, how is the adsense going since the change? Ha ha, thanks for the compliments on the content and cooking. I wish I had a nicer looking kitchen to do more pro cooking vids…. Will do at some point.
Awesome story! Truly an example that we CAN follow our passions and we aren’t bound by 9-5 lives.
Thanks Craig, oddly I kind of set myself a schedule that almost mimics a normal job! We are but creatures of habit. The good thing is I can usually make quick changes to that schedule at the drop of a hat.
What an awesome story! Thanks for sharing. I was always wondering how you ended up in Egypt. How amazing. Your wife is really lucky to have someone like you who is committed to moving house to Egypt- somewhere so far away and so different! I love your picture with the pyramids :) Minimum wage in Montreal… eh? (Isn’t that really low? I think Montreals’ minimum wage is not very high, if I remember correctly) Did you learn some French while you were there? I loved Montreal (was only there for a few days visiting a friend in McGill)- party city!
Thanks young and thrifty, ha ha, I am lucky to have someone like her who likes to move around! Montreal was $8.50 an hour but it’s a pretty affordable city so it wasn’t too big of a deal.
Great Story Forest, I really admire how you were able to walk out of your job without having a plan B. I wouldn’t be able to do that.On the other hand, I would love nothing more than to build sufficient passive income to replace my job and work from home on my own stuff!
If you ever come by Canada (Montreal) again, drop me a line.
Cheers!
Ha ha, well actually that is one thing my partner bullies me about. I always have multiple layers of backup plans and it drives her crazy. In this case my backup was making sure my mother had a room ready and was good to take me in. I had some cash spare on the side for a ticket home after moving to Canada and kept relationships with the freelance agencies I was working with…..
Sure thing next time I am in Canada, My partner is from Burlington, Vermont so I am bound to be in the area sometimes next year and will have to visit my old pal’s in Montreal so hopefully make it then.
Wow, that is a story! I knew you were in Egypt, but I had no idea what route took you there. I am a bit jelous of the freedom your blog has given you. Maybe I will be there too someday. Enjoy those pyramids. They are very high on my list. I have made it to Petra and spent a ton of time in Israel. I even made it within a few kilometers of the Egyptian border, but I never made it across.
And be careful what you say about us behaving on the forums… I take that as a challenge!
Hey Narrowbridge, no need to be jealous, you have a great site. I started from nothing with a need to get somewhere and it happened. If you want it you will get it and with the yakezie all working together that will happen even faster.
Still not been to Petra or Israel yet! Ha ha, please behave :).
take-2 on the comment, pos akismet must have dumped my comment in spam the first time.
Great story Forest, I love how you took the decision to leave your job without looking back. Maybe one day i will be working on my own also! I would not be able to take the same step unless i have a plan B ready. I don’t know how you did it!
If you ever come by Montreal again, drop me a line and we can have a mini-yakezie meeting with investitwisely.
Cheers!
You are an inspiration to me, Forest. I admire folks that have the courage to drop their corporate job and go out on their own. With two kids and a wife to support, I currently still feel the need to stay attached to my corporate-job lifeline – although the way the economy is, for all I know they may end up cutting the cord for me before I am ready! Time will tell! I take comfort knowing through stories of folks like yourself that it can be done.
Best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
When the kids come along priorities have to shift. I don’t think I could handle the responsibility of kids…. Even holding a baby makes me hysterical, so I admire you on the other side being able to bring kids into this world and navigate them through it responsibly. Things are different these days when it comes to age so no reason why you can’t take off in a few years when the kids are all fine and you are not needed as a rock anymore.
Wow, so you just walked away? I’m sure that many of us have dreamed of doing this! I really enjoy your writing and you pump out so many articles that it’s hard to keep up!
Thanks for all of the support and encouragement!
Hey Khaleef, thanks :). I don’t mean to make people struggle so always just skim read the titles and never feel the pressure to comment, I know you are lurking :)….. I have a habit of just having enough and leaving things (not relationships by the way), just things in life that I suddenly decide are not right for me.
It takes a lot of guts to do what you did. It’s great to take a stand for yourself and live the life you always wanted.
I was just in Montreal a short time again to visit (I’m from Maine) and it’s a great place. But being 6 minutes away from the pyramids! Amazing. When I was thinking of vacationing in Egypt people I heard it wasn’t very safe for travelers. What are your thoughts on that?
Egypt in many ways is the safest place I have ever been. That is no exaggeration either. Terrorism is very rare, there was a bomb 2 years ago that killed 1 or 2 people. However theft is super low, murder (at least of foreigners, not sure about in the poor areas) is pretty non existant and people are EVERYWHERE all of the times so most of the time walking around at anytime of day and night is fine…. There was a time about 25 years ago when travelling in Egypt was dangerous (70 tourists were massacred at one point) but the country is mostly over that…. Saying that Elections happen next year in September and it could bring violence to the region as the same president has been in power since the late 70’s (I think), minimum wage has not changed in 30 years and emergency laws make it illegal to protest. Police brutality is out of control. It’s sad but you get treated like a kind as a foreigner and don’t have to worry about the crap locals have to go through :(.
I love Montreal :).
Wow. Just Wow. Throughout the day I saw a ton of tweets about this post. I said it would a read for me once I got home. But in no way did I expect THIS!!! Your story is just downright crazy. London to Montreal to…… CAIRO? Those three locations enough probably provide you with content to knock a readers socks off. But you story adds so much more with the money aspect.
I was in Montreal last month for a wedding, you speak of a $6 taxi ride to the pyramids for you? I took a damn $28 cab ride each way from our hotel to St. Catherine to party all night w/ my 19 year old brother. He was excited to be able to go out and drink!
Great story. Truly inspiring. Makes me want to drop everything and go relocate.
Ha ha, tanks Doctor @S.
Taxi’s in Montreal can be pretty pricey. I walked absolutely everywhere or took bus/metro if I really had to. Montreal has the biggest underground city in the world (apparently) so if you really need you can still get around in the winter.
Forest, your story is awesome and I think I speak for everyone in saying how awesome it is that you took the big leap and are now traveling the world while continuing to maintain an awesome blog and doing what you love. Really cool life you’re living!
Thanks very very much Andrew :). Nice to hear all these compliments.
Forest, your journey is amazing. I love what you have done and the outlook you have on life. Sometimes I wish I could just pick up and move, but there are things tying me down. You never let those stand in your way and I congratulate you on that bravery!
Thanks Jesse, obviously you have kids and that is always the main obstacle. A lot of people I met have moved here with kids but mainly for work. It’s amazing how quickly kids adapt. I was chatting to some parents the other day who just came back from visiting home (USA) and the mother was talking about how her 5 year old daughter refused to pay full price for anything in USA…. Even got a discount in Toys R Us because the manager thought her bargaining was cute!
Hi Forest. This story is amazing. I couldn’t stop reading. Your life should be made into a movie…. incredible. Oh, and btw, you look similar to how I imagined, I love the pyramids. Are more shots of Egypt coming?
Hey Barb, I have a few posts about Egypt with some shots. http://frugalzeitgeist.com/a-budget-egypt-vacation/ and http://frugalzeitgeist.com/garbage-city-now-thats-entreprenurialism/.
I should post some galleries and posts on my blog soon.
Ha ha, that photo is a bit serious but I wanted the Pyramids to be in it for this post :). I prefer to be smiling and looking silly (well I do look silly in the pic but you know what I mean!).
[…] Yakezie Member Post – Forest from Frugal Zeitgeist…….. […]
Great story! I was wondering how you got to Cairo. Very cool that you have the option to pick up and travel around to interesting new locales!
Hey Saved Quarter, thanks :). It is pretty cool. I do own some things here I would have to get rid of and have to give 2months notice to leave the apartment, but still can get out fairly quickly if I need to.
A little late to the game commenting but I am surprised that I learned something new about my fave Yakezie member Forest Parks! (One of the new things I learned is your last name! ;) I still think it’s wretched what your relatives did to you regarding that money you “loaned” them. (Wretched is a great English word, yes?) I’ll be interested to hear where your next adventure takes you and your partner. Great post and thanks for all of your Yakezie work!
Never too late to comment Jolyn :), Thanks for stopping by and am blushing that you called me your fave :)…. Hopefully fave on equal with everyone else! Ha ha wretched is a good English word and it is wretched what they did to me but I would go no where by dwelling on it.
Nice write up Forest. You are a great blogging role model my friend, and a great asset to have on the team. You’ve really helped take the Yakezie to the next step, you are the one who created our sweet a$$ recommended posts widget :-) And just think, it looks like I was the one who turned you on to the Yakezie. I wonder if I get a finders fee, hmmm.
Anyhow Brother, great job and thank you for your continued support.
Yep it was through your blog Jeff :)….. And glad I did too! Likewise you have been an awesome role model and you are going to make an excellent debt counseller / pizza shop owner :).
Wow! Such a really inspirational story. It’s interesting to me that the one incident with your former employer set you on this path. I’m almost jealous.
Thanks Yes I am Cheap :), it’s always interesting what sets people off on their path!
Awesome stuff Forest! I had no idea that it all began with such a bold move in regards to your office job. By the end of reading your post I couldn’t help but feel extremely happy for you. You seem to be living a lifestyle that you thoroughly enjoy and are starting to reap the benefits from it. A $6 taxi ride from the pyramids?? You know that piece of information caught my attention!
And I look forward to hopefully meeting up with you in Egypt if my upcoming adventure does lead me in that direction!
Hey Earl, I am pretty happy as a whole but living in Egypt means I face other issues as I live with my partner. She isn’t always super comfortable by herself and isn’t always the happiest of people because of it. Egyptian men have wandering eyes! Egypt is possibly the easiest place for a young man to live that I know of. A fair amount of work can be found (for foreigners, harder for locals), things are cheap and the Western life is available if you get homesick for a short while….. Maybe a lot like Mexico I guess.
Oh and hopefully you make it to Egypt, would be awesome to catch up over a Mango juice or an Egyptian Stella (local beer).
I knew I was going to really enjoy reading your story, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The fact that you have had that kind of success online is so motivational! Honestly, you were the reason why I joined Yakezie in the first place. When I saw you selflessly promote others, I was inspired. Thanks Forest!
Wow I didn’t know you joined because of me, that’s really cool to know. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I really don’t think I do enough promotion of others on my blog, I really do intend to step that up but I do make sure I do something for the community everyday I am working.
Forest, you know I joined because of you. You are an inspiration to many and i’m not sure you even realize it. Much continued success. And I am proud to call you a friend….even if we haven’t actually met in person.
Welcome Freddie, ha ha thanks for the kind words. I rejected the idea that anyone I had not met in real life could be a friend for a long time….. Changed my mind on that in the last year or two as I have met some awesome people…. Be good to share a beer one day.
Hello Forest!
What a great story–I am happy to hear that you were able to slough off the stress of making small mistakes (you learn from mistakes…if only more managers would understand that). What is your partner going to grad school for?
Keep up the great work!
Thank you Amanda :). Lara is studying Women and Gender Studies…. Pretty interesting in a Middle Eastern setting.
What an inspiring story! Are you still there in Egypt? What an amazing experience you must be having!
That’s an inspiring story – I love that you quit a job and a lifestyle that didn’t suit you, started doing what you love, and traveled the world. I also quit my job and went traveling for several years, so I can relate to a lot of what you’re saying. I spent 5 weeks in Egypt — fascinating place. It’s crazy how the city, crowds and chaos of Giza stretch almost to the base of the Pyramids! And the snorkeling in Dahab is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to go back!
Wow! I never realized that you are living in Egypt for that reason. I always thought that was where you were born. It’s interesting to learn how mobile you’ve been and your earnings thorougly impress me, to the point that I want to start anothor blog just to compete!