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Thanks to completely draconian US-led regulation, opening a bank account anywhere is about as fun as a barium enema. Opening a foreign bank account can be an even greater nightmare. Most of the time, a foreign bank will want you standing there, in person, to open an account, as well as to provide
March 1, 2010 Pattaya, Thailand There’s something not right with the world. Yes, I’m dismayed by this weekend’s earthquake in Chile (I really adore the country), and am quite disgusted by the US government’s extension of the PATRIOT Act. Fortunately, I know the Chileans will pull through just fine, and the US government
February 26, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand It’s “Judgment Day” in Thailand. I wrote about this on Monday– a Thai high court will rule today on the disposition of ousted former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s frozen assets valued at several billion dollars. According to the mainstream media, the entire country is supposed to erupt in chaotic
The daily articles for February 24, 2010 and February 25, 2010 will not be posted to the website; they will only be circulated to email subscribers. Make sure you receive these articles by signing up for my daily e-letter, Notes from the Field.
February 22, 2010 Pattaya, Thailand I was in the back of a black sedan on Friday morning speeding along Highway 7 from Pattaya to Bangkok when my driver’s phone rang. He picked up, jabbered for a few seconds, and then said to me: “Sir, my friend call me from Bangkok; he say big
February 19, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand I really need to start out today’s letter by expressing how truly humbled I am to be part of such a fantastic community. Matt and I have spent much of the last few days combing through resumes (200+ so far) for the job openings that I posted on
February 17, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand I couldn’t believe what I was hearing… and I found myself wondering out loud- “Are these people insane??” Apparently, yes. I was watching Richard Edelman this morning on Bloomberg Television discussing the latest results of his research and PR firm’s annual “trust survey.” Edelman takes a scientific poll
February 16, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand The popular press has been bandying a lot of cute acronyms for the ‘sick’ European countries. I have seen PIIGS, STUPIDs, and DUHs… and while the individual circumstances of each country are different, they all have one thing in common– Their obligations far exceed their assets, and they
February 12, 2010 Pattaya, Thailand I’m happy to report that I seem to be in the final throes of my Asian jet lag– I finally managed to go to bed and wake up at a reasonable hour. I appreciate the emails that I received giving me advice about how to deal with it
February 11, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand Years ago, when I was a bright-eyed lieutenant anxious to defend the world against evil and tyranny, the government decided to ship me off to become an intelligence officer. I remember a lot of the classroom training, learning about the enemy’s order of battle and maneuver capabilities. Ironically,
February 10, 2010 Pattaya, Thailand A few months ago I wrote a short series about better networking. The theme was simple: “who you know” absolutely, positively counts, and getting ahead often requires investing in relationships. I thought the topic was so important that I wrote a free 20-page special report on the subject.
February 9, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand Money is just a tool… nothing more. It’s not the only tool, but it’s certainly a useful one that can be leveraged to acquire more freedom; we can trade money for time, money for health, money for experience, and money for assets that safeguard ourselves and our families.
February 8, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand I’ve tried just about everything in the book… but I’ve never figured out a way to beat Asian jet lag. I landed in Thailand very late last night, and despite having hardly slept on the flight, I couldn’t manage to fall asleep. The good news is that I
February 5, 2010 Mexico City, Mexico Greetings once again from Mexico; I’m sure many who listen to the mainstream press would be amazed to find that I have spent 48 hours on the ground here with nary a swine flu infection nor simple mugging to report. I did, however, miss my flight to
February 4, 2010 Teotihuacan, Mexico Today I’m writing to you from the base of an ancient, Pre-Colombian pyramid in Central Mexico that pre-dates the Aztecs. Frankly this wasn’t part of my plan at all, but the reason I ended up here has a lot to do with living free. Freedom is something that
