We are going to be in Thailand in November...stay 56 days, gone for 2 weeks, then back in Thailand for < 60 days. Will we be able to do Visa Exempt for both of those visits, or should we do a visa for the first one and then come back Visa Exempt? Where we are going for those 2 weeks do not have a Thai embassy, so if we have to have at least 1 real visa we would need to do it first. Thanks.

FYI…knowing stuff and being kind don’t have to be mutually exclusive skills. I have worked as an engineer at large US companies for over 30 years, and yeah, I have to get along with some pretty smart folks with limited people skills (and they wear that as a badge of honor) to do what I need to do, but the ones I remember (and admire…beyond the immediate transaction of whatever I was able to get from them) are the ones that can do both.

Looking back at my career, as I prepare to retire, I thought I was pretty hot stuff for the first 15-20 years (maybe I was, probably I wasn’t, but I definitely thought I was, and treated people like I was…they needed to “pay the price” of accommodating me to get my advice and attention…and a surprising number of people did) until someone (very undiplomatically!) pointed that out to me.

Long story short, 10 years later, I have dialed it back on the technical knowledge and spent time improving my people skills. And I am absolutely sure I have been both more effective and valuable to my team members and business partners. And I am much happier.

Re-reading this before posting…maybe I should start my next career as a life coach? Everyone else seems to be doing it.

😉