With less than a month away, a bunch of subscribers have asked me: what do you want for your Birthday this year?

Well, last year, everyone brought me booze from their home country, which was amazing, buttttt if I drank as much booze as I was given, I would never get any work done...

This year, I had a fun idea instead; I think it would be cool if you chose a book that had some special meaning in your life, something that really affected who you are, or maybe a book that is lesser known that you think I really should read and would leave an impact.

When I was chatting with my friend Alex Voss around New Year this year, we were comparing the books we read in 2023. Alex is a beast and finished over 150 books last year; for me, I finished only 79 books, but I also have kids, which Alex doesn't ;)

Anyways, when I was looking back on my notes, of the top 5 most impactful books of the year, 4 were biographies or autobiographies.

So this year, I would for sure love to read more biographies or autobiographies about real people who did real things.

I also love books on:

• History
• Economics
• Geopolitics
• Business
• Management & leadership

Basically, anything except fiction - what, Mikkel, you don't like fiction!?!

I love reading fiction, but I am super particular about what I read, and if I am reading fiction, then I have my favourite authors I want to read and have stacks of things I want to get through already.

But how would you know what to get me? How do you know what I have already read?

Well, I would say you can't really know. You have to take a bit of a risk, but if you choose something more obscure, then the chances are higher I will not have read it.

Also, consider that I do more than 50% of my reading through audiobooks and another maybe 15% on Kindle, so you have a solid chance that even if I have read it, I will not have a physical copy of it for my library.

My goal is to have the most eccentric and extensive library in the English language in Panama.

Since the books will be going into my library, I am going to ask two things of you; both are optional but would be appreciated...

First, if possible, do a hardcover copy over a mass media paperback. It's nicer.

Second, if you can write on the inside cover something about yourself, a quick note of where you are from, your name, and maybe a quick happy 41st birthday so that I always remember who gave it to me and when.

The personal note would really mean a lot to me.

Why am I going to all this trouble to tell you what I want for my Birthday?

Well, if I tell everyone not to get me a birthday present, people will not listen as no one wants to show up empty-handed, so I figure I am doing everyone a favour by being super specific and helping you choose something you know I will really love.

What if I can't make it live to the Birthday Party on March 9th?

Well, if you are still keen to send me a gift, here is my freight forwarder in Miami. If you send a book here (books only please), they will make sure I get it:

Mikkel Thorup

2292 NW 82ND AVE HB-4494

MIAMI, FL 33198-1525

United States

Phone number: ‪+13055939350‬

I hope to see as many of you as possible on March 9th; it's going to be an epic weekend in Panama with clients and subscribers coming in from all over the globe.

See you there!

Mikkel

PS. Here are the details for the event; it's an amazing excuse to get everyone together; you can watch the videos from the last few years on the page. I would love to see you there: https://expatmoney.com/beach-birthday-bash-panama-2024

PPS. This Saturday, we have a big webinar on Paraguay. Registration is currently open: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ejQp5QMTT1a_CgvxmhN1uQ

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