Who is Sylvanus Greybeard?

Before I begin writing about the experiences of Sylvanus Greybeard (Me), to advise my readers on what to do, how to do it, and what to avoid, I'd like to share a description of who I am and my life's journey. 

The many things that have gone wrong in my life have given me a unique perspective, allowing me to give good advice on what to do—and what not to do.

I was born in a Dutch village where my parents owned a medium-sized business. My father was extremely strict, and my mother was a wonderful person who was terrorized by him. We, as children, were also afraid of our father because he terrorized us too. In fact, everyone in his life feared him.

When I was 17, I started staying at my girlfriend's place, and at 18, I married her to escape my home life. I did, of course, love this woman, we were married for 13 years and had a son together. She and our child became the first victims of my upbringing. I wanted to be a good man, but the consequences of my childhood made that impossible. I went on to marry three more times and had three more children with my second wife.

I'm 69 now and no longer have a wife, a situation that has both advantages and disadvantages, like most things in life. My 32-year-old daughter, who suffered a brain hemorrhage, lived with me for two and a half years until her rehabilitation was as complete as possible. She now lives with her boyfriend. One of my three sons also lives with me, and we have a very good relationship.

A child is born like a soft lump of clay. As they grow older, up to around the age of 20, this clay hardens into a fixed shape, largely determining a person's character.

Fortunately, after elementary school, I was the youngest person to graduate from a commercial high school. I then went on to study management, with courses in Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Human Resources, Administration, and Marketing. In my exams, I scored four 9s and one 10.

When I was 32, two of my brothers and I took over the business after my father had a heart attack at 50. He had an operation and then retired from the business, which was facing heavy losses and a lot of debt.

Since I was the only child who had pursued higher education, I used my knowledge to turn the business around. It became a success. I applied the 4 P's of the Marketing Mix, with price being the most important element.

After 14 years, I left the business due to constant conflict between my brothers and me. As the saying goes, "three captains on one ship" doesn't work—one wanted to go right, the other wanted to go left, and the youngest was more focused on his horses than on the company.

After my first divorce, things really went downhill. I went on to marry and divorce three more times, became involved with drugs (cocaine), and have lived and traveled to nearly every country in Europe, as well as Morocco, Tunisia, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Cuba, Jamaica, Isla Margarita, the Dominican Republic, the United States, Thailand, and Indonesia.

The above gives you a good idea about Sylvanus Greybeard, that's me. In my next articles, I will go into more detail, with advice, on what you've been able to read in this article.