There is so much more about this story to tell, some of it we already wrote down in our blog posts. For us our TH-cam channel is also a sort of journal, and with sharing our stories this helps us in so many ways. This felt for us really as an ending of a chapter. The last time we shared this story, because it is time for a new book to write. This means that if you want to know more about this period in our lives, we recommend reading these three blogpost of 2020, which were written after our first year of sailing in 2019: www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-living-their-dreams-after-a-bankruptcy-part-1-3 www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-surviving-the-first-3-year-after-the-bankruptcy-part-2-3 www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-and-plan-to-keep-on-doing-it-living-their-dream-life-part-3-3 If you are in a similar situation, 2 years ago we made a free 1,5 hour masterclass (Dutch with English subs and workbook) where we share all the processes we went through and give practical tips on: - how to keep your energy high, - a clear mind even with all the financial stress, and - Mindset hacks to set you up in thinking in possibilities again Join via the link below: Dutch: www.feelthebreeze.nl/mc-help-mijn-bedrijf-gaat-faillliet English: www.feelthebreeze.nl/masterclass-eng-bankruptcy And we share a lot more behind the scene stories and things we have learned on Patreon and especially in our monthly mastermind sessions - to join see here: www.patreon.com/feelthebreeze
Thanks for all the amazing reactions and emails! We will dedicate an episode in the future to the learnings from Gerben with setting up a start up and crossing that thin line towards failure. The mistakes that were made and what he would do differently. But that is just not what this episode is about. This is about the emotional impact on us 🙏💙 Thank you all for being tremendously supportive! And we did make mistake as everyone does, but mistakes aren’t the same as breaking the law - which we call playing by the books.
PS calling someone a fraud is in the Netherlands a criminal act, it is slander. Something we should not take lightly or expres easily towards others. During the bankruptcy several parties did investigations (curator, independent research commission, and consultant of one of the investors) and they all came to the conclusion there were no fraudulent activities.
@@davidlong3262 Once many, many years ago when I was about 22 years old and in charge of a construction project at the Boston, MA U.S. Coast Guard station, the project Lieutenant said, in response to something my project superintendent said, "hindsight is always 20, 20.
What I admire most about you two is, despite all the hardships, you have not given up on your relationship. You are doing the right thing raising your son together and working on your relationship. In these modern times the popular thing to do is walk away and find a different partner.
I've been bankrupt ... a very long time ago. It was hard. This is s very insightful episode expanding on what you have already communicated....thank you for your transparency and honesty ... your integrity shines through. Little Benjamin is very lucky to have you as parents. Hugs and love xxx
We want to applaud you both for being open and discussing this very difficult trial in your lives. My husband and I went through an near bankruptcy nearly 30 years ago. We both had been executives in US Corporations when my entrepreneurial husband opened several Computerland stores at the beginning of the boom of the IBM PC. We were personally signed for everything as you were Gerben, and, had to start all over again with three small children at the age of 40 yr. when we lost everything except our home. Our most difficult challenge was to reinvent ourselves, which my husband did after another 10 yr stint in a corporate role. He was laid off at 50 yrs old so he opened another business designing & building outdoor living spaces which he ran successfully for 20 years. As we look back, we know that believing in yourself is key to making it through. The hard work is always necessary but learning to live with your mistakes or unfortunate events that happen is all part of reinventing yourself. We admire your honesty and integrity. We watch your show because we have been sailors all of our married years. We raised our 3 kids vacationing on our sailboats and taught them the love of life balance , nature, and consideration for their fellow man. We see the lessons you are teaching Benjamin and we are constantly noting how wonderful you are to allow him to learn & participate in caring for the boat. These experiences will form a deep love for you three as well as enjoying life as an adventure to be embraced. May God Bless & protect you as you continue on your journey together. Cathy & John
Thank you for sharing your story with us, very heartwarming. The biggest challenge is indeed reinventing yourself and find that absolute certainty again. So great to hear you raised your 3 kids on a sailboat too and importance of a good life balance close to nature. Much love from all of us dear Cathy & John, a pleasure to have you onboard our journey.
Thank you for sharing the story. You are very open and honest about your life. Albert Einstein once said, Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Keep moving forward and inspiring people to live their lives. Thx :-)
I think this was very admirable and sincere for you to share this. Often with start ups and just in life some people want to see people fail for whatever crazy reasons. Call it envy, Being Jealous, Failure within there own Failure. Love you both and stay strong. xxxx
Considering the high number of bankruptcies registered every year, it's somewhat ironic that there is no masterclass for failure. So, you’ve touched on a subject rarely talked about. As you’ve so honestly outlined, the real cost of a business failure cannot only be counted in dollars and cents. I have no doubt, resurrecting yourself from bankruptcy takes more courage than any tech startup. Respect.
You two prove that even through the rockiest of times, true love and trust in each other will see you though it all. All the best to the three of you. Stay groovy and stay safe.
Wow!! Thank you for sharing your story!! No one understands what its like to Try your best, be all in and then fail at business, unless they have been in the same place. To share your story with the word like you did is very encouraging to us poor sob's trying to keep going with our own life. People who have never been self employed have no understanding of the risk we take. Maybe they lose a paycheck but we loose everything when a business fails. My business was closed for 13 months during Covid-19 cost me everything I had just to keep the building rented. We had a nest egg saved for a house which was used for business expenses and my wife and I wound up homeless while paying business bills. We did manage to buy an RV and have lived in it for 2 years now bouncing around and finally parked it in our sons driveway expecting any day to have move! Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing story fighting for your business, just watched you and your lady driving the trimaran and your energy is amazing, we wish you all the best and keep going. All best from all of us!
Thank you for sharing, Rianne and Gerben. As your story unfolded it reached down into the depths of my soul and reminded me of the pain of failure. We can put it behind us, but it is always there, hopefully, it has made us stronger and smarter. Unfortunately, there are some things that can't be fixed, people believe what they believe, some will want to hurt you, ignorance is rampant in this world. What an amazing bunch of followers you have, such intelligent and caring people. Hugs for you both.
Dear Richard, thank you for your beautiful message and sharing your feelings with us, really appreciate it. The pain of failure will always be there and I try to use it as leverage to create something new. We are very blessed with our followers and you are absolutely one of them. Much love from all of us.
You’re such an inspiration! Thank you so much for really bearing the truth and being so open. I had wondered how you managed to keep the boat but never thought it would’ve been anything illegal as you both appear to be some of the most genuine people on TH-cam. Be proud of yourselves and the joy, positivity and inspiration you are bringing to so many-as well as the amazing childhood you are giving to Benjamin and the ‘bump’😁.(Huge congratulations btw).Wishing you fair winds and calm anchorages and can’t wait to come along with you!❤️🙏😁⛵️
Thank you Rebecca... really appreciate you taking the time to comment and sharing this with us. When we started our channel we decided to share the real deal, raw and honest, not only the nice shots. We are proud of ourselves and fill ourselves with pride and joy and yesterday we pinched each other again and said, what a wonderful life we are living. Now with Benjamin getting his energy back and a new wonder on her/his way. We wish you a wonderful day and would love to welcome you onboard one day. Much love from all of us.
Been there and done similar, but bounced back - Never Ever feel guilty about TRYING to be the best you can be - many people will not relate to or understand your mindset as they 'stay in their lane and never take risks'. You have been and are being true to who you are and that is what is important to you! Onwards and Upwards to us all in 2022 and beyond. ;)
Much respect to you both and the little one of course. As a retired business owner it is of no surprise to me about people, banks and self in-portent officials , especially when they have no clue on what they are talking about , but they have to try and justify their boring lives. I wish you well and all the success for the future 👍
The truth is that you were lucky enough to have an incredibly strong and highly supportive wife by your side, who, in addition to fully supporting you throughout the catastrophic bankruptcy, did also proved how much she believes in your abilities. This became evident from the key initiatives she undertook and the choices she made, movements that ultimately managed to stabilize the family, leading you safely towards more calm waters. It's amazing what a family with strength and tight bonds amongst each other can achieve and how capable it can be in overcoming tough situations. I wish you that from now on you'll only be experiencing nice and uneventful moments.
Absolutely true Nikolas, I could say, without Rianne I wasn't there anymore. For me life at that moment was enough after my fight with cancer and later the bankruptcy was at that moment just too much for me. Luckily there was Rianne, she took all the rocks together and started re-moddeling, giving me strenght and showcased the opportunities again. Reading your message again and can say, spot on! Impressive and well said. Much love from us.
Thankyou for sharing your story. Everyone knows that an investment can be completely lost, but we always hope for the best and it sometimes works out. Life is too short to hold on to the feelings of failure and regret. We must always look to living a fulfilling life, and I applaud you for pushing through and continuing on a new dream.
Thank yo Michael for your wonderful message. Life is indeed too short but sometimes we have to embrace the waves of life to get on another wave for a great surf again.
Hi guy's it's been a great pleasure in seeing how ya'll live, your experience, all the things that ya'll have been through, to see the smiles on your faces, to see Ben having fun everyday you guys holding it together in a positive way , been bankruptcy would through anyone into a frenzy but what I love about you guys you pushed it aside, keep enjoying yourselves, living your lives is a brave thing to do, keeping it together is priceless your a trouper, a great team so keep going, let those joker's stay baffled because life is about living love ya'll energy, drive to keep thing's together for Ben. So keep living your dream 💯👌
You are very welcome Arnè, sorry to hear you experienced kind of the same, 2017 was the year for me... Keep your head high, in the end succes is just one more time stepping up than falling.
Hi guys thank you for the great episode again what ever happened in your life before does not matter it is what you make of it now people will always in life have negative things to say but you just stand tall and show them you are better they probably cannot handle that you are a fighter in life keep safe and have a awesome trip regards from 🇿🇦
Ik vind jullie bijzonder dapper. Ik hoop (met jullie) dat hiermee het meteen "oordelen" verstomd. Vele genieten wekelijks van jullie vlogs. Daar maar aan vast houden en veel van de wereld gaan zien met jullie prachtige boot.
Well done - - - such a difficult topic to unwrap. From my perspective, you are a beautiful family, bravely sharing your lives on an open forum. Considering all you face - even more deserving of respect. I take joy in watching your adventures in places I’ll likely never go - and I admire little Ben as he learns the ropes of life. Looking forward to following your big plans for circumnavigation and the things you will show us!!
As someone facing bankruptcy due to Covid and having to surrender my home as part of that I appreciate your openness and honesty. I plan to move onto a sailboat and make a new life for myself and a boat is a way to reinvent life, hopefully with a happier outlook. The bankruptcy process is debilitating.
Hi Travis, sorry to hear about the bankruptcy, we understand and know the bankruptcy process is debilitating. In the end you will get out stronger than before, I (Gerben) had to learn and understand this as well and it takes time. In every setback there is a present and life is always happening for you. We wish you all the best with reinventing life, please have a look at our website www. feelthebreeze.nl where you can find some free tools to help you and we start in November with a new Mentor programme about reinventing life as well. All the best and much love from all of us.
Tough road you have been on. Hope you have an easy sail around the world. I can tell the culture in the Netherlands is the same as in Denmark. But always remember - Those who do not play, do not win. Those who lose playing, still come out wiser and winners. Do not feel judged by people whom have never played the game.
In 2008 when economics collapsed we lost almost everything, fortunately we sold our beloved yacht, sold our gorgeous apartment, and paid every penny to our employees and vendors. We didn’t go for bankruptcy. We got back on our feet, maybe no boat ( yet ), but no stress, no lawsuits, and so far very happy life. We wish you the best.
Thanks Jacek for sharing your story and much respect you were able to do so, this would have bern my preferred way as well. Instead of doing this I put all the money I had and took loans on my assets to pay my employees and vendors because I never imagined it would collapse till the moment the bank withdrew the credit line when the investment came in. So for me there was nothing more to sell. We wish you all the best and a boat to feel the breeze.
Always happy to see a new vlog laugh and smile about Benjamin. But the seriuse conversations sometimes with tears in my eyes so I empathize with the story.
What you did is very courageous and honorable! If I would have been in your shoes I wouldn't give anyone any explanation about this personal situation. 1. Business is business, sometimes the shit hits the fan and the majority of the people don't understand this because they lack in business & economics education. 2. There is always someone behind a keyboard, behind a window, or behind a curtain who is frustrated and jealous of what other people achieve. I call them cowards and I feel sad for them! In my interest in sailing and learning about it as much as possible, I started watching your videos a couple of days ago and I almost watched half of them. The most incredible thing for me is that you had the power to stay together and get over your sickness and bankruptcy! You are a SPARTAN! And both of you are amazing! The level of motivation and energy to start everything from scratch and the commitment to happiness that both of you have are miraculous. This is what 99%of the people don't have the power to understand. Keep doing what you do and PLEASE STOP APOLOGIZING AND STOP EXPLAINING...people who like you don't pay attention to this bullshit and don't listen to what the keyboard warriors have to say. Keep it rockin' 🤙🏻✊🏻 Stay Strong! Much love! Sail safe and have fun! Alex
Good morning Alex, Thank you so much for your message and welcome onboard our journey where we started from minus while living our most desired life. In this episode we decided to explain the whole situation to help as many people as possible who are in a similar situation and show them they are not alone. This episode was also an ending of a chapter for us. We wish you a wonderful Sunday and looking forward to hear more from you along the journey. Much love from all of us.
The biggest take away from this is the fact that you made it through with having experienced a lot of pain.... well done, and take solice in that a lot of people are wishing you well. 💙
I am Blessed to have gotten to know you. 🙏 Thank you for all the time you have dedicated to helping others and myself. I'm better and hopeful and working towards my goals! Feeling the Breeze business helps others. That's a wonderful adventure! God Bless You Rianne, Gerben and Benjamin ❤️
Keep on going Gerben and Rianne. You don’t need to defend against ignorance, prejudice, jealousy and gossip. It is annoying, but stick to positive energy, your life and your beautiful family. I enjoy watching your video’s, and realize that live is what we make out of it! And so are you! Please Enjoy!
We will Jules, we just wanted to share our story to help people in similar situations and for us it's an end of an era in our life and keep going. Great to hear you enjoy watching and realise you are in control of your best life. Have a great weekend!
Bankruptcy is a horrible process. I was involved as a creditor in over 50 in my career and only 3 were frauds. I never took it personally, it was the cost of doing business which we covered with reserves. It’s good you were willing to open up and explain what happened. That takes courage and is also therapeutic for you. People will always misunderstand bankruptcy. You’re a very strong couple who compliment each other in many ways. This is why I love your channel. Plus Benjamin is so cute.
Guys, this episode brought back so many feelings and mirrored many experiences I had in the past. Success when grown in honesty is so very much harder to bear when it turns to failure, and like you I experience huge personal responsibility to prove the doubters wrong and maintain my moral and financial obligations to them, even years later. The OVERRIDING factor here for you (Gerben) is the financial and emotional support that Rianne has given you, for this you really must be eternally grateful. When the shit hit the fan with me, and I fell from "master of the financial universe" to being unemployed, and the first thing my wife did ....was leave me. The marriage breakdown just multiplied all my problems and my self confidence has been beaten down, now even years later. What I do believe is that in these circumstances "failure" is more "experience" than anything else, and should make you stronger, which it clearly is in your case. As to your detractors, frankly whatever you say may not matter to them, and im sure you will see that even when you turn up and present them with their investment back they will grumble... that's just life and really don't take it to heart. The important thing is your heart is pure and the eventual closing of that period will feel good for you and your head will be held high. I love what you guys are doing, Thank you for helping me, mentally and emotionally, I know I'm not alone experiencing this stuff, and slowly my confidence is returning due to things I see on your channel. Im just sad im not (yet) in a financial position to support you as a patron.... but when I am, then I will be... May we meet one day on the high seas, somewhere warm hopefully, and I will be able to raise a glass to you all.... fair winds and safe landfall .. much love.
Dear Charlie, thank you so much for sharing your story and feeling with us. The overriding factor is indeed the unconditional support and love Rianne gave and gives me to keep fighting and standing up. So sorry to hear your wife left you and can imagine this multiplied your problems and losing self confidence is one of the worst feelings you can experience. I had to experience it both physical as mentally and two times a strong lady at my side. Such a pleasure to read we are helping you by sharing our story, you are not alone and know we are just a phone call away if you need it. You will survive, even the fact that you are writing it down and sharing it with the world makes you very strong. One day we raise the glass and talk about the waves of life. Much love from all of us.
Thank you for sharing with us this story. The truth is that such a situation is extremely depressing for the people who go through it and my sense is that only 3 - 5 % are able to finally recover mentally and restructure their life. The majority of the people who suspect that a failed entrepreneur was a scam are people who never tried to take their lives into their hands by establishing a business activity. Anyways, very well done, it seems that your conscious is clean and I wish you a nice life ahead. You are very young and you have all the seas to sail and lots of nice stories to write. Cheers from Greece.
Thank you Mitzano for your wise words, the reason we share it is to help and inspire people who are in a similar situation to keep going and moving forward. We keep sailing and sharing nice stories and can't wait to sail in Greek waters again.
Life is not without risk, no matter what we chose to do, there will always be some risk involved. The fact that you decided to build something that could possibly benefit many people was a challenge, the investors also knew it was a risk they themselves were taking. Failure is never easy, but sometimes we must fail to learn how to manage risk, for you will never succeed without it. Ask any successful Entrepeneur and you will find many have failed succeeding. The fact that you support each other and continue to move forward is most important. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for telling your story, as entrepreneurs ourselves, we have made some bad business decisions, I "Danielle" can really relate to the shame and failure aspect, in 2009 I invested into an existing Day Spa that literally went belly up in 2 years, I owed thousands, there where lawsuits and stuff, My husband "Chris" was the bread winner because I had to take all kinds of jobs to pay off all these debts and lawsuits, meaning I didn't bring any money in to the house for 3 years, that was hard and I felt like a loser. But we learned a lot and are living debt free now because we never wanted to be in that situation again. You have a lovely family and are building something bigger and better! P.S. we will be buying a boat soon and keep building our Brand and business as well! Living our dream in FL!
I went through a bankruptcy myself. Our business was destroyed by the “content-for-free” philosophy of the new digital/online technology. I regret most that many young people lost their job.
I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to be sharing your family and adventures on your channel and have the added burden of the dealing with all the haters out there spewing negativity and falsehoods. Without entrepreneurial spirits and risk takers, we would not have all the comforts in life that we all enjoy and anyone that’s jumped into the entrepreneurial pool, knows that it’s deep, it’s stormy and there is rarely a safety net. I appreciate your candor, and I’m sad that you had to go through it but it sounds like you’re focused on taking care of your creditors and employees that believed in the dream and have walked away with a lot of life lessons that you’ve incorporated into FTB. I wish you much success and thank you for being an inspiration to all: sailors, families, fathers and entrepreneurs! Fair Winds from Boston!!
I have great respect for your family. You did not have to share this, but you did. We all fail, but the greatest failure is not learning from those failures. I am sure this video will help others who are dealing with similar misfortune. Keep moving forward, you have learned from the past, but don’t continue living there. Be the example that your precious son Benjamin needs in order for him to grow and prosper and find happiness in his life. I loved your family before this video, but love you even more now. God bless you each and every day.
You have been on an incredible journey, I for one appreciate your honesty and integrity and the fact that you have been able to have moved forward with your new life and your beautiful son. Continue to be loving and kind to one another . Blessings to all of you 🙏🙏⛵️⛵️⛵️💕💕
Guys its always good to get it off your chest. Like I mentioned before in a comment, I too went through a similar experience, I lost my baby. Ten years of hard work crushed, I was burnt out. The grieving process still a little with me. I dealt with the judgement, the shame also. We have taken the risk of providing Jobs and creating Companies that I am sure our employees miss. Most people do not have that drive to go out there create something beautiful for all to enjoy, so keep the head held high. I took my failings as a very expensive education, mistakes were made and I will never make them again. A rest is good and when you are ready to get back up running you go for it 😁 Gerben you have an amazing woman beside you, very strong, great power team. The Phoenix always Rises 😁
Dear Christopher, reading your comment makes me really emotional because you write down what we experienced. And yes, the employees miss the company dearly. We both had a very expensive MBA called the roller coaster of an entrepreneur and take the valuable lessons. I feel I ready to go for it again and yes I am very grateful to have Rianne at my side, she was like a lioness and now it's time for her to relax a bit more, a real pleasure to have you onboard our journey and sharing your life experiences with all of us. Really appreciate it. Let's go Phoenix!
You are doing a great job, you never ran from your responsibilities which is brave . Many do but you haven’t . You are a smart man with a very smart partner and you will fight back . Enjoy your life together as a family and keep chipping away .
Thank you Darren for your support, yes I will fight back and very grateful to have a very smart partner at my side. Family time it is and we keep chipping ;) Have a great day!
Thank you so much for sharing your difficult but beautiful (life) travel ... We, humans, never have to forget a thought: When we judge others, we judge a part of ourselves that we do not accept (like) ... May Your soul, Your honesty and Your courage be blessed. Once again thank You The Breeze Family:)
Thank you very much for your open minded video and the deep insights into your reflections, motivations and origins of your journey. sticking together through all the storms of life distinguishes you, your personality and increases the joy of watching your videos and just accompanying you a bit on your journey of life. In such a fast-moving time, these deep connections that you create through experiencing common imponderables are a great source of power for the spirit, soul and body take care ....🐾🐾👣👣⛵🍀
Thank you dear Tortuga II crew for accompanying us on our journey of life, very much appreciated and it's a pleasure to have you onboard. Much love from all of us. Your words are very touching.
Great episode. Honestly this is only the second time I have viewed your channel - I typically follow 3-4 sailing channels and I stumbled on yours. Gerben I think you and your viewers would agree the best decision and “investment “ you ever made is getting together with Rianne- of course Benjamin was not a bad idea either… Kidding aside I think your episode reinforces the notion that humans can endure and overcome enormous challenges. It’s so important for individuals/couples to work together to get through a challenge and accept the idea that whatever setback is occurring in our life at the moment it’s only a fraction of time compared to the entire arc of our existence. Your bankruptcy experience lessons can be applied to so many of life’s challenges. I just wanted to say thank you for being courageous and sharing - you will probably never know how many people you have helped deal with their personal challenges.
Reading your comment reminds me to In the Air tonight from Phil Collins, thanks! Will put it on now and see how Benjamin reacts. All credits towards video production and soundtrack are for Pedro. He is our legend.
You have a beautiful family! We had to file bankruptcy and the day after we filed my Dad died and they took my inheritance and kept more than we owed because of filing when we had money the day after. Oh and your English is great!
Thank you Steven and sorry to hear you to file for bankruptcy as well and your father died one day later and took your inheritance, that must be heartbreaking. Luckily you are very fortunate with 8 grandchildren ;)
Glad you have gotten your lives back on track and have your family together. Life is all about getting back up after falling down. It would be good to hear what caused the company to fail, I'm sure many are interested. I get the impression that it was a cash flow issue but I'm left wondering. I assume the company was Tinker Travel and if so I commend you for trying to implement your ideas. I hope you get back fully on your feet soon and always remember the love and support you have for each other.
So true, in the end it is just one more time stepping up than falling. We will explain the cause of the bankruptcy in detail the moment the court case is finished, the company was indeed Tinker Travel and your impression was right, when the agreed investment did not came in we got into deep trouble and within 3 months everything vaporised. Lost everything and gained even more now with Rianne at my side and Benjamin creating everything together as a family, the best feeling there is.
I can imagine that this was a difficult video to make after all the heartache you've both been through, I hope it was cathartic for you. Gerben, if I can offer any words, I'd say to forget what the world thinks, you did your best and were knocked down regardless. Unfortunately, when your such a success in entrepreneurialism, there's always a bigger fish looking to take you down. Perhaps you were a victim of your own success? Either way, it looks like you are finally learning to forgive yourself and in that process I wish you, Rianne and Benjamin a future of peace and joy.
Ik had het verhaal van Gerben al gelezen in de krant (online) toen ik jullie vlog net had ontdekt, maar super goed dat jullie dit nu ook via dit kanaal delen. Voor alle betrokken partijen moet het een enorm drama zijn geweest. Ik heb zelf ooit eens bij een bedrijf gewerkt dat failliet ging en dat heeft op mij persoonlijk veel impact gehad dus ik kan me levendig voorstellen wat het mentaal heeft gedaan met Gerben als oprichter van het bedrijf. Heel inspirerend om te zien hoe jullie hier mee om zijn gegaan en toch het diepe dal uitgekomen zijn. Wellicht waren de (harde) levenslessen nodig om de ware bestemming te vinden.
Dank je wel Rianne en Gerben voor deze indrukwekkende show deze keer. Het eerste moment dacht ik hadden jullie zoiets al niet eerder gedaan, Nou daar wordt je toch weer stil van pff onder tussen zeilen langs de mooie kust van Montenegro. Elke week kijk ik weer met bewondering naar jullie hoe jullie dat zo doen met de Kleine Benjamin er bij en dan tegelijkertijd zeilen petje af hoor en hoop elke week weer te kunnen genieten van jullie show
TY for sharing your story. Like the positive attitude. It is the bad and uncomfortable times in life when you find your true friends. Only comment about the bankruptcy is the why or what happen for it to fail? TY
Love your channel guys and your story. "it's good to be at anchor again" not "behind anchor"....I have lived outside the US for 30 years and am always helping my friends with the nuisances of English. Good luck to this beautiful family.
Great video and love your honesty with your challenges that you have clearly had, I wish you all the success in the future and i am quite sure you will be sucessful once again and this new chaptor will be free of the stresses of the past. all the best and kindest regards.
Thank you dear Kim for your wonderful message. We look into the future with bright eyes and can't wait to be fully free again. Much love from all of us.
You both really inspire me to not give up. Nor sit an wallow in the loss.. we must find a way to move forward to get past the hardship.. to a better life... Thanks for all you've shared an I am grateful for this openess an I honor you both... ✌🏼💗😊❣️
Thank you for sharing more detail of your personal voyage of loss, mental anguish, physical and health threats, and Spiritual challenges. I can identify with most of your situation, including devotion to hard and moral work ethics, financial and asset losses, bankruptcy. Etc at no fault of your own. You have also learned great lessons that change your hearts and thinking. Priorities change, what's important in life changes, what life is really about changes. I commend you for revealing the lessons and what you now know is the most important success you would not receive nor understand. I admire you for sticking together, no matter what, and rebuilding your life and future together. And no circumstances, nor worldly condition, nor threat can separate you. Bravo! Theses lessons are in the Bible and are the best way to live our lives! Look it up🤗
Thank you for sharing and the lessons I (Gerben) learned in life are endless, It changed indeed my way of thinking and my belief what’s really important in life.
Suddenly no more friends thats what I expirienced when I didnt had the money anymore. People that I helped before, suddenly were nowhere to be found. I tell you "the animal kingdom is nicer , then the human"
Thank you for share your life experience...to be authentic woman and man is your approach... You hit me deep with your story..everyone experiment bad situations during life but your example can help much People for live a good reaction inside... .thanks Thanks Thanks....you are very nice family. Francesco from Italy
Heel veel respect voor jullie, en het is moeilijk maar laat ze kletsen ze snappen er niets van. Geniet van het leven, het is al moeilijk genoeg! Grt Bram en Julia
What an incredible comeback. And fighting cancer on top of it, just to make things interesting. Adds credence to the old adage, "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" - Thanks, guys. Much respect!
Thank you so much! We just want to keep it real, share the failures and not only the successes. That is not reality. There are so many more failures before one succeeds. Great to have you here, is said always supportive, loving and kind 🙏
Your observations are deeply insightful, on how destructive to the soul a business failure can be for an honourable man. I have never heard the whole scope presented as “one piece” so clearly and it touched me to my core. I’ve not been there, quite, but avoided it by the narrowest of margins and it broke something in me. Self belief, self confidence, ability to learn and adapt, positivity, vision, future, dreams, aspirations, drive, gone. Simply, the business battleground beat me. I was the best at what I did as an engineer, hell, I invented what I did, but I was never a great or natural businessman and entrepreneur. I only started the business to allow me to do what I did, something that others didn’t really understand or see the application for initially. It was so successful that other players started playing, they were much bigger and had no morals whatsoever about how to go about taking what I’d built, so they simply crushed me. It’s taken a long time and a lot of love from my closest friends, but I’m healed now. I’m not the same person, but I’m beginning to be a person that I can like and cherish again, to a degree. Thank you for your candour, it’s refreshing and I respect you all the more for doing it on this very public forum. All the best to the three of you, I’ve just subscribed so you’d better keep on keeping on! R. 👍🍻
Thank you Rob for sharing your personal story with all of us, the business battleground is a tough one. Especially when you are smaller. So great to read you are healed now, you are a true hero and everything start with self love. I (Gerben) lost that feeling completely and had to rebuild myself from scratch, taking all the lessons, experiences from the past and transform it into my new self, still work in progress. A pleasure to have you onboard our journey and thanks again for sharing your story. All the best and Feel the Breeze
I lived in Amsterdam in the late seventies early eighties. We built a skate park in the sands of Waterlooplein and held up the building of the Opera Hall ‘Stopera’ for a few years.
Oh I fully understand your point of view. I’m 53 I was injured on the job, had gone through bankruptcy, I got three years back pay from SSDI ($36,000.00) I used it to buy 2000 TOZ silver at $13.25 toz. held it for three weeks and sold it for $18.25 toz to equal $10,000.00 profit a week later bought 3000 ounces and then repeated over 2010 I doubled the SSDI and took my money in US gold bullion/coins according to IRS tax code 1985-86 the buy sell or trade of US bullion is a tax free event. In 2011 I bought my second sailboat and lived on her for the next 12 years.
Hi Myron, thanks for sharing your story, really appreciate it and so glad it turned out the for you and you could start sailing as well. Life is beautiful.
Buenas amigos, no es la primera vez que me dirijo a Uds y esta vez es para decirles que comprendo perfectamente el "calvario" que debieron pasar. Como en mi anterior intervencion les insisto que la sinceridad y la honestidad con que lo exponen les hace grandes y sepan que ahora les toca compensar los malos tiempos pasados, y sobre todo disfrutar de esta familia que han creado. Un saludo afectuoso y a mirar hacia ADELANTE.
We have a term here in the States those who cast blame are called busy bodies. Another powerful psychological issue is call the US/THEM mentality. It’s real and it’s part of our culture here and everywhere. I hope your both charting better days and your family has found peace and blessings where you are. Stay safe!!
I know you do not want to go back to this subject again, but as a 65 year old embarking on a 4th career (counting carbon in construction) were you able to understand why it went wrong? Are you able to give tips on what to avoid? Or was it all outside of your control or understanding? Sorry to scratch at healing wounds.
Thanks Brian, first congratulations with your 4th career, sounds very interesting, counting carbon in construction. Of course I learned tonnes of lessons and would love to share it when the moment is there, still involved in a heavy court case and the ruling is postponed for 9 times in row now, so can't wait to share it. No sorry for scratching wounds, part of the healing process.
@@FeeltheBreeze Your whole life is on hold for 9 times. Do they not understand their responsibility to make a decision? Or is it difficult to get down from the fence? Or is no decision x 9 their punishment for you?
Thanks for sharing your personal story in your video. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Hope you have overcome your health issues and are doing well. Unless you have been through such problems as you have people don't understand. Always trying to do the right thing and having problems Sometimes makes one wonder what went wrong. Massive hospital bills and loosing everything you have worked for hurts personally. Glad you are bouncing back even stronger. Love watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
It hard to loose your baby you worked on I understand a little your feeling It fun running a business it hard when you get scammed Hopefully I don’t have to live a bankruptcy It takes lots of courage to share your story Thks for sharing
I wont go into all the details at this time, but let me say that I completely understand your position, the Bankruptcy and all that it entails. My Father was the first person to bring Mercedes Benz to Jamaica in 1952, the company was not Limited Company, because no Bank would give him a loan. Some family members did invest but by 1961 one of his competitors bought all his business debts, then demanded instant payment! He was forced to declare bankruptcy. We lost our house, furniture, the carpet even to the ashtrays, whatever my father and mother owned, I was 12 years old at that time. Like you, they checked on us constantly for the next 12 years, until we petitioned the court to release us, which they finally did when I was 25. I know about my parents friends who avoided us ... I dont have to tell you what it was like. There is a second chapter to my story, this time it was the Government that wanted to squash us. If you ever make it to the Caribbean I'd like to meet you. I am now 73 and thinking about building a boat to travel around the the relative 'Bathtub sized Sea' we call the Caribbean, Hurricanes and all. Enjoy your travels, may yo ave calm seas and fair winds ... Ignore the Assholes that try to surround us.
Thank you Lian and Kevin for watching and embarking on our journey, we just started and would love to talk with you soon about something really interesting ;)
Are you now in Montenegro? We are moving there in May. To herceg Novi and then to Tivat. If I don't meet you then it would be great when you are there again. Have an awesome time.
I lost a very successful business ( I thought ) due to COVID ..My dreams my aspirations gone except for my family..This touches home , We love you tomorrow is a new day
The past is over and now sits behind you. In life you will always find those who become judgemental through loss or just pure vindictiveness. It's good you can now talk about it and it shows in your demeanor of a great burden that has been lifted . Be happy in life and family because at the end it's all you have and make sure Captain Benjamin steers a straight course .Love you all there of you.Be safe 😘
To all the people calling you names, they are jealous. I bet none of them have their own successful company. I'm an entrepreneur and I have great respect for anyone who makes it, or for those who fail while trying. That is much more honourable than never trying. Good luck to you guys, and happy sailing!
You are very welcome, leaving the boat unattended behind anchor is almost never the case, only if we have some friends in the bay who keeps an eye on her. We trust our anchor more than mooring lines. When we really want to go we try to find a good place where we can leave the Perfect Sense.
There is so much more about this story to tell, some of it we already wrote down in our blog posts. For us our TH-cam channel is also a sort of journal, and with sharing our stories this helps us in so many ways. This felt for us really as an ending of a chapter. The last time we shared this story, because it is time for a new book to write. This means that if you want to know more about this period in our lives, we recommend reading these three blogpost of 2020, which were written after our first year of sailing in 2019:
www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-living-their-dreams-after-a-bankruptcy-part-1-3
www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-surviving-the-first-3-year-after-the-bankruptcy-part-2-3
www.feelthebreeze.nl/post/how-do-they-do-it-and-plan-to-keep-on-doing-it-living-their-dream-life-part-3-3
If you are in a similar situation, 2 years ago we made a free 1,5 hour masterclass (Dutch with English subs and workbook) where we share all the processes we went through and give practical tips on:
- how to keep your energy high,
- a clear mind even with all the financial stress, and
- Mindset hacks to set you up in thinking in possibilities again
Join via the link below:
Dutch: www.feelthebreeze.nl/mc-help-mijn-bedrijf-gaat-faillliet
English: www.feelthebreeze.nl/masterclass-eng-bankruptcy
And we share a lot more behind the scene stories and things we have learned on Patreon and especially in our monthly mastermind sessions - to join see here: www.patreon.com/feelthebreeze
Thanks for all the amazing reactions and emails!
We will dedicate an episode in the future to the learnings from Gerben with setting up a start up and crossing that thin line towards failure. The mistakes that were made and what he would do differently.
But that is just not what this episode is about. This is about the emotional impact on us 🙏💙
Thank you all for being tremendously supportive!
And we did make mistake as everyone does, but mistakes aren’t the same as breaking the law - which we call playing by the books.
PS calling someone a fraud is in the Netherlands a criminal act, it is slander. Something we should not take lightly or expres easily towards others.
During the bankruptcy several parties did investigations (curator, independent research commission, and consultant of one of the investors) and they all came to the conclusion there were no fraudulent activities.
@@FeeltheBreeze this would be very interesting, the mistakes
Keep going and Live your dreams together XXXxxx
@@davidlong3262 Once many, many years ago when I was about 22 years old and in charge of a construction project at the Boston, MA U.S. Coast Guard station, the project Lieutenant said, in response to something my project superintendent said, "hindsight is always 20, 20.
What I admire most about you two is, despite all the hardships, you have not given up on your relationship. You are doing the right thing raising your son together and working on your relationship. In these modern times the popular thing to do is walk away and find a different partner.
agree 100% with your statement...they're such beautiful people
I've been bankrupt ... a very long time ago. It was hard. This is s very insightful episode expanding on what you have already communicated....thank you for your transparency and honesty ... your integrity shines through. Little Benjamin is very lucky to have you as parents. Hugs and love xxx
We want to applaud you both for being open and discussing this very difficult trial in your lives. My husband and I went through an near bankruptcy nearly 30 years ago. We both had been executives in US Corporations when my entrepreneurial husband opened several Computerland stores at the beginning of the boom of the IBM PC. We were personally signed for everything as you were Gerben, and, had to start all over again with three small children at the age of 40 yr. when we lost everything except our home. Our most difficult challenge was to reinvent ourselves, which my husband did after another 10 yr stint in a corporate role. He was laid off at 50 yrs old so he opened another business designing & building outdoor living spaces which he ran successfully for 20 years. As we look back, we know that believing in yourself is key to making it through. The hard work is always necessary but learning to live with your mistakes or unfortunate events that happen is all part of reinventing yourself. We admire your honesty and integrity. We watch your show because we have been sailors all of our married years. We raised our 3 kids vacationing on our sailboats and taught them the love of life balance , nature, and consideration for their fellow man. We see the lessons you are teaching Benjamin and we are constantly noting how wonderful you are to allow him to learn & participate in caring for the boat. These experiences will form a deep love for you three as well as enjoying life as an adventure to be embraced. May God Bless & protect you as you continue on your journey together. Cathy & John
Thank you for sharing your story with us, very heartwarming. The biggest challenge is indeed reinventing yourself and find that absolute certainty again. So great to hear you raised your 3 kids on a sailboat too and importance of a good life balance close to nature. Much love from all of us dear Cathy & John, a pleasure to have you onboard our journey.
Thank you for sharing the story. You are very open and honest about your life.
Albert Einstein once said,
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
Keep moving forward and inspiring people to live their lives. Thx :-)
I think this was very admirable and sincere for you to share this. Often with start ups and just in life some people want to see people fail for whatever crazy reasons. Call it envy, Being Jealous, Failure within there own Failure. Love you both and stay strong. xxxx
Considering the high number of bankruptcies registered every year, it's somewhat ironic that there is no masterclass for failure. So, you’ve touched on a subject rarely talked about. As you’ve so honestly outlined, the real cost of a business failure cannot only be counted in dollars and cents. I have no doubt, resurrecting yourself from bankruptcy takes more courage than any tech startup. Respect.
Spot on!
You two prove that even through the rockiest of times, true love and trust in each other will see you though it all. All the best to the three of you. Stay groovy and stay safe.
Thank you so much, much love from all of us.
Wow!! Thank you for sharing your story!! No one understands what its like to Try your best, be all in and then fail at business, unless they have been in the same place. To share your story with the word like you did is very encouraging to us poor sob's trying to keep going with our own life. People who have never been self employed have no understanding of the risk we take. Maybe they lose a paycheck but we loose everything when a business fails. My business was closed for 13 months during Covid-19 cost me everything I had just to keep the building rented. We had a nest egg saved for a house which was used for business expenses and my wife and I wound up homeless while paying business bills. We did manage to buy an RV and have lived in it for 2 years now bouncing around and finally parked it in our sons driveway expecting any day to have move! Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing story fighting for your business, just watched you and your lady driving the trimaran and your energy is amazing, we wish you all the best and keep going. All best from all of us!
Thank you for sharing, Rianne and Gerben. As your story unfolded it reached down into the depths of my soul and reminded me of the pain of failure. We can put it behind us, but it is always there, hopefully, it has made us stronger and smarter. Unfortunately, there are some things that can't be fixed, people believe what they believe, some will want to hurt you, ignorance is rampant in this world. What an amazing bunch of followers you have, such intelligent and caring people. Hugs for you both.
Dear Richard, thank you for your beautiful message and sharing your feelings with us, really appreciate it. The pain of failure will always be there and I try to use it as leverage to create something new. We are very blessed with our followers and you are absolutely one of them. Much love from all of us.
From the Uk, What an inspiration you both are. I wish you good health, wealth and nothing but success !
You’re such an inspiration! Thank you so much for really bearing the truth and being so open. I had wondered how you managed to keep the boat but never thought it would’ve been anything illegal as you both appear to be some of the most genuine people on TH-cam.
Be proud of yourselves and the joy, positivity and inspiration you are bringing to so many-as well as the amazing childhood you are giving to Benjamin and the ‘bump’😁.(Huge congratulations btw).Wishing you fair winds and calm anchorages and can’t wait to come along with you!❤️🙏😁⛵️
Thank you Rebecca... really appreciate you taking the time to comment and sharing this with us. When we started our channel we decided to share the real deal, raw and honest, not only the nice shots. We are proud of ourselves and fill ourselves with pride and joy and yesterday we pinched each other again and said, what a wonderful life we are living. Now with Benjamin getting his energy back and a new wonder on her/his way. We wish you a wonderful day and would love to welcome you onboard one day. Much love from all of us.
Been there and done similar, but bounced back - Never Ever feel guilty about TRYING to be the best you can be - many people will not relate to or understand your mindset as they 'stay in their lane and never take risks'. You have been and are being true to who you are and that is what is important to you! Onwards and Upwards to us all in 2022 and beyond. ;)
Thanks Bill for your support, we go onwards and upwards and we are very happy to have you onboard our journey, 2022 will be a very interesting year ;)
Much respect to you both and the little one of course. As a retired business owner it is of no surprise to me about people, banks and self in-portent officials , especially when they have no clue on what they are talking about , but they have to try and justify their boring lives. I wish you well and all the success for the future 👍
I went thru a business bankruptcy 25 years ago and I have regrets every day still.
The truth is that you were lucky enough to have an incredibly strong and highly supportive wife by your side, who, in addition to fully supporting you throughout the catastrophic bankruptcy, did also proved how much she believes in your abilities. This became evident from the key initiatives she undertook and the choices she made, movements that ultimately managed to stabilize the family, leading you safely towards more calm waters. It's amazing what a family with strength and tight bonds amongst each other can achieve and how capable it can be in overcoming tough situations. I wish you that from now on you'll only be experiencing nice and uneventful moments.
Absolutely true Nikolas, I could say, without Rianne I wasn't there anymore. For me life at that moment was enough after my fight with cancer and later the bankruptcy was at that moment just too much for me. Luckily there was Rianne, she took all the rocks together and started re-moddeling, giving me strenght and showcased the opportunities again. Reading your message again and can say, spot on! Impressive and well said. Much love from us.
Thankyou for sharing your story. Everyone knows that an investment can be completely lost, but we always hope for the best and it sometimes works out. Life is too short to hold on to the feelings of failure and regret. We must always look to living a fulfilling life, and I applaud you for pushing through and continuing on a new dream.
Thank yo Michael for your wonderful message. Life is indeed too short but sometimes we have to embrace the waves of life to get on another wave for a great surf again.
Hi guy's it's been a great pleasure in seeing how ya'll live, your experience, all the things that ya'll have been through, to see the smiles on your faces, to see Ben having fun everyday you guys holding it together in a positive way , been bankruptcy would through anyone into a frenzy but what I love about you guys you pushed it aside, keep enjoying yourselves, living your lives is a brave thing to do, keeping it together is priceless your a trouper, a great team so keep going, let those joker's stay baffled because life is about living love ya'll energy, drive to keep thing's together for Ben. So keep living your dream 💯👌
Thank you for sharing and for giving hope to someone that has gone thru exactly the same in 2018
You are very welcome Arnè, sorry to hear you experienced kind of the same, 2017 was the year for me... Keep your head high, in the end succes is just one more time stepping up than falling.
Hi guys thank you for the great episode again what ever happened in your life before does not matter it is what you make of it now people will always in life have negative things to say but you just stand tall and show them you are better they probably cannot handle that you are a fighter in life keep safe and have a awesome trip regards from 🇿🇦
Hi Louis, thank you for your nice words, we keep standing close to each other and keep fighting. Much love from all of us.
Ik vind jullie bijzonder dapper. Ik hoop (met jullie) dat hiermee het meteen "oordelen" verstomd. Vele genieten wekelijks van jullie vlogs. Daar maar aan vast houden en veel van de wereld gaan zien met jullie prachtige boot.
Well done - - - such a difficult topic to unwrap. From my perspective, you are a beautiful family, bravely sharing your lives on an open forum. Considering all you face - even more deserving of respect. I take joy in watching your adventures in places I’ll likely never go - and I admire little Ben as he learns the ropes of life. Looking forward to following your big plans for circumnavigation and the things you will show us!!
As someone facing bankruptcy due to Covid and having to surrender my home as part of that I appreciate your openness and honesty. I plan to move onto a sailboat and make a new life for myself and a boat is a way to reinvent life, hopefully with a happier outlook. The bankruptcy process is debilitating.
Hi Travis, sorry to hear about the bankruptcy, we understand and know the bankruptcy process is debilitating. In the end you will get out stronger than before, I (Gerben) had to learn and understand this as well and it takes time. In every setback there is a present and life is always happening for you. We wish you all the best with reinventing life, please have a look at our website www. feelthebreeze.nl where you can find some free tools to help you and we start in November with a new Mentor programme about reinventing life as well. All the best and much love from all of us.
Tough road you have been on. Hope you have an easy sail around the world.
I can tell the culture in the Netherlands is the same as in Denmark. But always remember - Those who do not play, do not win. Those who lose playing, still come out wiser and winners. Do not feel judged by people whom have never played the game.
In 2008 when economics collapsed we lost almost everything, fortunately we sold our beloved yacht, sold our gorgeous apartment, and paid every penny to our employees and vendors. We didn’t go for bankruptcy. We got back on our feet, maybe no boat ( yet ), but no stress, no lawsuits, and so far very happy life. We wish you the best.
Respect
Thanks Jacek for sharing your story and much respect you were able to do so, this would have bern my preferred way as well. Instead of doing this I put all the money I had and took loans on my assets to pay my employees and vendors because I never imagined it would collapse till the moment the bank withdrew the credit line when the investment came in. So for me there was nothing more to sell. We wish you all the best and a boat to feel the breeze.
I suffered a spinal injury in 2008 and lost my business, I never declared bankruptcy and spent the next 10 years paying off my debts.
Always happy to see a new vlog laugh and smile about Benjamin. But the seriuse conversations sometimes with tears in my eyes so I empathize with the story.
And watching the ending…. That voiceover Rianne ☺️ absolutely gave me shivers. Well down again
What you did is very courageous and honorable! If I would have been in your shoes I wouldn't give anyone any explanation about this personal situation.
1. Business is business, sometimes the shit hits the fan and the majority of the people don't understand this because they lack in business & economics education.
2. There is always someone behind a keyboard, behind a window, or behind a curtain who is frustrated and jealous of what other people achieve. I call them cowards and I feel sad for them!
In my interest in sailing and learning about it as much as possible, I started watching your videos a couple of days ago and I almost watched half of them. The most incredible thing for me is that you had the power to stay together and get over your sickness and bankruptcy! You are a SPARTAN! And both of you are amazing! The level of motivation and energy to start everything from scratch and the commitment to happiness that both of you have are miraculous. This is what 99%of the people don't have the power to understand.
Keep doing what you do and PLEASE STOP APOLOGIZING AND STOP EXPLAINING...people who like you don't pay attention to this bullshit and don't listen to what the keyboard warriors have to say.
Keep it rockin' 🤙🏻✊🏻
Stay Strong!
Much love!
Sail safe and have fun!
Alex
Good morning Alex,
Thank you so much for your message and welcome onboard our journey where we started from minus while living our most desired life. In this episode we decided to explain the whole situation to help as many people as possible who are in a similar situation and show them they are not alone. This episode was also an ending of a chapter for us.
We wish you a wonderful Sunday and looking forward to hear more from you along the journey.
Much love from all of us.
The biggest take away from this is the fact that you made it through with having experienced a lot of pain.... well done, and take solice in that a lot of people are wishing you well. 💙
I am Blessed to have gotten to know you. 🙏 Thank you for all the time you have dedicated to helping others and myself. I'm better and hopeful and working towards my goals! Feeling the Breeze business helps others. That's a wonderful adventure! God Bless You Rianne, Gerben and Benjamin ❤️
Respect guys , you didnt have to share this but you did. Speaks volumes to your character.
Keep on going Gerben and Rianne. You don’t need to defend against ignorance, prejudice, jealousy and gossip. It is annoying, but stick to positive energy, your life and your beautiful family. I enjoy watching your video’s, and realize that live is what we make out of it! And so are you! Please Enjoy!
We will Jules, we just wanted to share our story to help people in similar situations and for us it's an end of an era in our life and keep going. Great to hear you enjoy watching and realise you are in control of your best life. Have a great weekend!
Bankruptcy is a horrible process. I was involved as a creditor in over 50 in my career and only 3 were frauds. I never took it personally, it was the cost of doing business which we covered with reserves. It’s good you were willing to open up and explain what happened. That takes courage and is also therapeutic for you. People will always misunderstand bankruptcy. You’re a very strong couple who compliment each other in many ways. This is why I love your channel. Plus Benjamin is so cute.
Guys, this episode brought back so many feelings and mirrored many experiences I had in the past. Success when grown in honesty is so very much harder to bear when it turns to failure, and like you I experience huge personal responsibility to prove the doubters wrong and maintain my moral and financial obligations to them, even years later. The OVERRIDING factor here for you (Gerben) is the financial and emotional support that Rianne has given you, for this you really must be eternally grateful. When the shit hit the fan with me, and I fell from "master of the financial universe" to being unemployed, and the first thing my wife did ....was leave me. The marriage breakdown just multiplied all my problems and my self confidence has been beaten down, now even years later.
What I do believe is that in these circumstances "failure" is more "experience" than anything else, and should make you stronger, which it clearly is in your case.
As to your detractors, frankly whatever you say may not matter to them, and im sure you will see that even when you turn up and present them with their investment back they will grumble... that's just life and really don't take it to heart. The important thing is your heart is pure and the eventual closing of that period will feel good for you and your head will be held high.
I love what you guys are doing, Thank you for helping me, mentally and emotionally, I know I'm not alone experiencing this stuff, and slowly my confidence is returning due to things I see on your channel. Im just sad im not (yet) in a financial position to support you as a patron.... but when I am, then I will be... May we meet one day on the high seas, somewhere warm hopefully, and I will be able to raise a glass to you all.... fair winds and safe landfall .. much love.
Dear Charlie, thank you so much for sharing your story and feeling with us. The overriding factor is indeed the unconditional support and love Rianne gave and gives me to keep fighting and standing up. So sorry to hear your wife left you and can imagine this multiplied your problems and losing self confidence is one of the worst feelings you can experience. I had to experience it both physical as mentally and two times a strong lady at my side. Such a pleasure to read we are helping you by sharing our story, you are not alone and know we are just a phone call away if you need it. You will survive, even the fact that you are writing it down and sharing it with the world makes you very strong. One day we raise the glass and talk about the waves of life. Much love from all of us.
Thank you for sharing with us this story. The truth is that such a situation is extremely depressing for the people who go through it and my sense is that only 3 - 5 % are able to finally recover mentally and restructure their life. The majority of the people who suspect that a failed entrepreneur was a scam are people who never tried to take their lives into their hands by establishing a business activity. Anyways, very well done, it seems that your conscious is clean and I wish you a nice life ahead. You are very young and you have all the seas to sail and lots of nice stories to write. Cheers from Greece.
Thank you Mitzano for your wise words, the reason we share it is to help and inspire people who are in a similar situation to keep going and moving forward. We keep sailing and sharing nice stories and can't wait to sail in Greek waters again.
Life is not without risk, no matter what we chose to do, there will always be some risk involved. The fact that you decided to build something that could possibly benefit many people was a challenge, the investors also knew it was a risk they themselves were taking. Failure is never easy, but sometimes we must fail to learn how to manage risk, for you will never succeed without it. Ask any successful Entrepeneur and you will find many have failed succeeding. The fact that you support each other and continue to move forward is most important. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for telling your story, as entrepreneurs ourselves, we have made some bad business decisions, I "Danielle" can really relate to the shame and failure aspect, in 2009 I invested into an existing Day Spa that literally went belly up in 2 years, I owed thousands, there where lawsuits and stuff, My husband "Chris" was the bread winner because I had to take all kinds of jobs to pay off all these debts and lawsuits, meaning I didn't bring any money in to the house for 3 years, that was hard and I felt like a loser. But we learned a lot and are living debt free now because we never wanted to be in that situation again. You have a lovely family and are building something bigger and better! P.S. we will be buying a boat soon and keep building our Brand and business as well! Living our dream in FL!
I went through a bankruptcy myself. Our business was destroyed by the “content-for-free” philosophy of the new digital/online technology. I regret most that many young people lost their job.
Wow! Total respect for you two, keep it up. all strength and success to you both.
I can’t imagine what it’s like for you to be sharing your family and adventures on your channel and have the added burden of the dealing with all the haters out there spewing negativity and falsehoods. Without entrepreneurial spirits and risk takers, we would not have all the comforts in life that we all enjoy and anyone that’s jumped into the entrepreneurial pool, knows that it’s deep, it’s stormy and there is rarely a safety net. I appreciate your candor, and I’m sad that you had to go through it but it sounds like you’re focused on taking care of your creditors and employees that believed in the dream and have walked away with a lot of life lessons that you’ve incorporated into FTB. I wish you much success and thank you for being an inspiration to all: sailors, families, fathers and entrepreneurs! Fair Winds from Boston!!
I have great respect for your family. You did not have to share this, but you did. We all fail, but the greatest failure is not learning from those failures. I am sure this video will help others who are dealing with similar misfortune. Keep moving forward, you have learned from the past, but don’t continue living there. Be the example that your precious son Benjamin needs in order for him to grow and prosper and find happiness in his life. I loved your family before this video, but love you even more now. God bless you each and every day.
You have been on an incredible journey, I for one appreciate your honesty and integrity and the fact that you have been able to have moved forward with your new life and your beautiful son. Continue to be loving and kind to one another .
Blessings to all of you 🙏🙏⛵️⛵️⛵️💕💕
Guys its always good to get it off your chest. Like I mentioned before in a comment, I too went through a similar experience, I lost my baby. Ten years of hard work crushed, I was burnt out. The grieving process still a little with me. I dealt with the judgement, the shame also. We have taken the risk of providing Jobs and creating Companies that I am sure our employees miss. Most people do not have that drive to go out there create something beautiful for all to enjoy, so keep the head held high. I took my failings as a very expensive education, mistakes were made and I will never make them again. A rest is good and when you are ready to get back up running you go for it 😁 Gerben you have an amazing woman beside you, very strong, great power team. The Phoenix always Rises 😁
Dear Christopher, reading your comment makes me really emotional because you write down what we experienced. And yes, the employees miss the company dearly. We both had a very expensive MBA called the roller coaster of an entrepreneur and take the valuable lessons. I feel I ready to go for it again and yes I am very grateful to have Rianne at my side, she was like a lioness and now it's time for her to relax a bit more, a real pleasure to have you onboard our journey and sharing your life experiences with all of us. Really appreciate it. Let's go Phoenix!
You are doing a great job, you never ran from your responsibilities which is brave . Many do but you haven’t . You are a smart man with a very smart partner and you will fight back . Enjoy your life together as a family and keep chipping away .
Thank you Darren for your support, yes I will fight back and very grateful to have a very smart partner at my side. Family time it is and we keep chipping ;) Have a great day!
Thank you so much for sharing your difficult but beautiful (life) travel ... We, humans, never have to forget a thought: When we judge others, we judge a part of ourselves that we do not accept (like) ... May Your soul, Your honesty and Your courage be blessed. Once again thank You The Breeze Family:)
Thank you very much for your open minded video and the deep insights into your reflections, motivations and origins of your journey. sticking together through all the storms of life distinguishes you, your personality and increases the joy of watching your videos and just accompanying you a bit on your journey of life.
In such a fast-moving time, these deep connections that you create through experiencing common imponderables are a great source of power for the spirit, soul and body take care ....🐾🐾👣👣⛵🍀
Thank you dear Tortuga II crew for accompanying us on our journey of life, very much appreciated and it's a pleasure to have you onboard. Much love from all of us. Your words are very touching.
Great episode. Honestly this is only the second time I have viewed your channel - I typically follow 3-4 sailing channels and I stumbled on yours. Gerben I think you and your viewers would agree the best decision and “investment “ you ever made is getting together with Rianne- of course Benjamin was not a bad idea either…
Kidding aside I think your episode reinforces the notion that humans can endure and overcome enormous challenges. It’s so important for individuals/couples to work together to get through a challenge and accept the idea that whatever setback is occurring in our life at the moment it’s only a fraction of time compared to the entire arc of our existence. Your bankruptcy experience lessons can be applied to so many of life’s challenges. I just wanted to say thank you for being courageous and sharing - you will probably never know how many people you have helped deal with their personal challenges.
I can smell the air in your videos... top notch video/soundtrack production, much appreciated!
Reading your comment reminds me to In the Air tonight from Phil Collins, thanks! Will put it on now and see how Benjamin reacts. All credits towards video production and soundtrack are for Pedro. He is our legend.
I know exactly what you have and are still going through, it is not fun at all. Stay strong and lift your heads, the truth shall set you free.
You have a beautiful family! We had to file bankruptcy and the day after we filed my Dad died and they took my inheritance and kept more than we owed because of filing when we had money the day after. Oh and your English is great!
Thank you Steven and sorry to hear you to file for bankruptcy as well and your father died one day later and took your inheritance, that must be heartbreaking. Luckily you are very fortunate with 8 grandchildren ;)
Glad you have gotten your lives back on track and have your family together. Life is all about getting back up after falling down. It would be good to hear what caused the company to fail, I'm sure many are interested. I get the impression that it was a cash flow issue but I'm left wondering. I assume the company was Tinker Travel and if so I commend you for trying to implement your ideas. I hope you get back fully on your feet soon and always remember the love and support you have for each other.
So true, in the end it is just one more time stepping up than falling. We will explain the cause of the bankruptcy in detail the moment the court case is finished, the company was indeed Tinker Travel and your impression was right, when the agreed investment did not came in we got into deep trouble and within 3 months everything vaporised. Lost everything and gained even more now with Rianne at my side and Benjamin creating everything together as a family, the best feeling there is.
I can imagine that this was a difficult video to make after all the heartache you've both been through, I hope it was cathartic for you. Gerben, if I can offer any words, I'd say to forget what the world thinks, you did your best and were knocked down regardless. Unfortunately, when your such a success in entrepreneurialism, there's always a bigger fish looking to take you down. Perhaps you were a victim of your own success? Either way, it looks like you are finally learning to forgive yourself and in that process I wish you, Rianne and Benjamin a future of peace and joy.
Ik had het verhaal van Gerben al gelezen in de krant (online) toen ik jullie vlog net had ontdekt, maar super goed dat jullie dit nu ook via dit kanaal delen. Voor alle betrokken partijen moet het een enorm drama zijn geweest. Ik heb zelf ooit eens bij een bedrijf gewerkt dat failliet ging en dat heeft op mij persoonlijk veel impact gehad dus ik kan me levendig voorstellen wat het mentaal heeft gedaan met Gerben als oprichter van het bedrijf. Heel inspirerend om te zien hoe jullie hier mee om zijn gegaan en toch het diepe dal uitgekomen zijn. Wellicht waren de (harde) levenslessen nodig om de ware bestemming te vinden.
Dank je wel Rianne en Gerben voor deze indrukwekkende show deze keer. Het eerste moment dacht ik hadden jullie zoiets al niet eerder gedaan, Nou daar wordt je toch weer stil van pff onder tussen zeilen langs de mooie kust van Montenegro. Elke week kijk ik weer met bewondering naar jullie hoe jullie dat zo doen met de Kleine Benjamin er bij en dan tegelijkertijd zeilen petje af hoor en hoop elke week weer te kunnen genieten van jullie show
TY for sharing your story. Like the positive attitude. It is the bad and uncomfortable times in life when you find your true friends. Only comment about the bankruptcy is the why or what happen for it to fail? TY
Wat een verhaal. Dankjewel voor het delen. Jullie zijn wel vechters. Keep up the good job. Groetn ut Drenthe
Thanks to share that story with us. Sail up the Adriatic to Izola, Slovenia and let's have a drink:)
Love your channel guys and your story. "it's good to be at anchor again" not "behind anchor"....I have lived outside the US for 30 years and am always helping my friends with the nuisances of English. Good luck to this beautiful family.
Wow your closing was so beautifully written. You should publish a book
My name is Raul, I am from Argentina. It is admirable how they faced adversity. Congratulations
Jajaj no pense encontrarme otro Argento aca, estamos en todos lados saludos!
Just discovered you guys, you showed up on my timeline. Right On! Looks like a nice family. We will catch up on your past videos. Fair Winds!
Oh welcome! Great to have you onboard! Looking forward to chatting more with you during our episodes. Have fun and see you soon!
Thanks for sharing your story. Continued success and joy. NC USA 🇺🇸
Thanks! You look like Katie Holmes...i enjoy your family and it's personality
How cool is this, thanks Bill. I know, I am a very lucky guy with with Katie, oh nooo Rianne at my side, much love from all of us.
Great video and love your honesty with your challenges that you have clearly had, I wish you all the success in the future and i am quite sure you will be sucessful once again and this new chaptor will be free of the stresses of the past. all the best and kindest regards.
Thank you dear Kim for your wonderful message. We look into the future with bright eyes and can't wait to be fully free again. Much love from all of us.
You both really inspire me to not give up. Nor sit an wallow in the loss.. we must find a way to move forward to get past the hardship.. to a better life... Thanks for all you've shared an I am grateful for this openess an I honor you both... ✌🏼💗😊❣️
Thank you Donna for sharing, your message is exactly the reason we shared our story, to find a way to move forward and feel the breeze again 💙
I just love watching and listen to your little family
Thank you for sharing more detail of your personal voyage of loss, mental anguish, physical and health threats, and Spiritual challenges.
I can identify with most of your situation, including devotion to hard and moral work ethics, financial and asset losses, bankruptcy. Etc at no fault of your own.
You have also learned great lessons that change your hearts and thinking. Priorities change, what's important in life changes, what life is really about changes.
I commend you for revealing the lessons and what you now know is the most important success you would not receive nor understand.
I admire you for sticking together, no matter what, and rebuilding your life and future together. And no circumstances, nor worldly condition, nor threat can separate you. Bravo!
Theses lessons are in the Bible and are the best way to live our lives! Look it up🤗
Thank you for sharing and the lessons I (Gerben) learned in life are endless, It changed indeed my way of thinking and my belief what’s really important in life.
Suddenly no more friends thats what I expirienced when I didnt had the money anymore. People that I helped before, suddenly were nowhere to be found. I tell you "the animal kingdom is nicer , then the human"
Thank you for share your life experience...to be authentic woman and man is your approach... You hit me deep with your story..everyone experiment bad situations during life but your example can help much People for live a good reaction inside... .thanks Thanks Thanks....you are very nice family. Francesco from Italy
Glad that’s all behind you and you can now move forward.
Fair winds ⛵️
Good luck ,there are many business do fail so dont worry just hold your head high and just carry on
I feel the breeze
I feel your love
I feel your truth
Thank you for sharing
Your my favourite sailing couple x
Heel veel respect voor jullie, en het is moeilijk maar laat ze kletsen ze snappen er niets van. Geniet van het leven, het is al moeilijk genoeg!
Grt Bram en Julia
What an incredible comeback. And fighting cancer on top of it, just to make things interesting.
Adds credence to the old adage, "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much" - Thanks, guys. Much respect!
Thank you so much! We just want to keep it real, share the failures and not only the successes. That is not reality. There are so many more failures before one succeeds. Great to have you here, is said always supportive, loving and kind 🙏
@@FeeltheBreeze 😇
Preciosa pareja y hermoso proyecto. Gracias por compartirlo. Y enhorabuena a Pedro por la postproducción.
Muchas gracias por tus bonitas palabras, Pedro es nuestra leyenda.
Your observations are deeply insightful, on how destructive to the soul a business failure can be for an honourable man.
I have never heard the whole scope presented as “one piece” so clearly and it touched me to my core.
I’ve not been there, quite, but avoided it by the narrowest of margins and it broke something in me.
Self belief, self confidence, ability to learn and adapt, positivity, vision, future, dreams, aspirations, drive, gone.
Simply, the business battleground beat me.
I was the best at what I did as an engineer, hell, I invented what I did, but I was never a great or natural businessman and entrepreneur. I only started the business to allow me to do what I did, something that others didn’t really understand or see the application for initially.
It was so successful that other players started playing, they were much bigger and had no morals whatsoever about how to go about taking what I’d built, so they simply crushed me.
It’s taken a long time and a lot of love from my closest friends, but I’m healed now. I’m not the same person, but I’m beginning to be a person that I can like and cherish again, to a degree.
Thank you for your candour, it’s refreshing and I respect you all the more for doing it on this very public forum.
All the best to the three of you, I’ve just subscribed so you’d better keep on keeping on!
R. 👍🍻
Thank you Rob for sharing your personal story with all of us, the business battleground is a tough one. Especially when you are smaller.
So great to read you are healed now, you are a true hero and everything start with self love. I (Gerben) lost that feeling completely and had to rebuild myself from scratch, taking all the lessons, experiences from the past and transform it into my new self, still work in progress.
A pleasure to have you onboard our journey and thanks again for sharing your story. All the best and Feel the Breeze
I lived in Amsterdam in the late seventies early eighties. We built a skate park in the sands of Waterlooplein and held up the building of the Opera Hall ‘Stopera’ for a few years.
Must be an amazing time to spent time in Amsterdam during the late seventies and early eighties.
Oh I fully understand your point of view. I’m 53 I was injured on the job, had gone through bankruptcy, I got three years back pay from SSDI ($36,000.00) I used it to buy 2000 TOZ silver at $13.25 toz. held it for three weeks and sold it for $18.25 toz to equal $10,000.00 profit a week later bought 3000 ounces and then repeated over 2010 I doubled the SSDI and took my money in US gold bullion/coins according to IRS tax code 1985-86 the buy sell or trade of US bullion is a tax free event. In 2011 I bought my second sailboat and lived on her for the next 12 years.
Hi Myron, thanks for sharing your story, really appreciate it and so glad it turned out the for you and you could start sailing as well. Life is beautiful.
Buenas amigos, no es la primera vez que me dirijo a Uds y esta vez es para decirles que comprendo perfectamente el "calvario" que debieron pasar. Como en mi anterior intervencion les insisto que la sinceridad y la honestidad con que lo exponen les hace grandes y sepan que ahora les toca compensar los malos tiempos pasados, y sobre todo disfrutar de esta familia que han creado. Un saludo afectuoso y a mirar hacia ADELANTE.
WoW Enric, muchas gracias por tus conmovedoras palabras. Significa mucho para nosotros y es un placer tenerte a bordo. Mucho amor de todos nosotros.
Congratulations for your perseverance. The best is in front of you.
Thank you Frederic... indeed... more to come ;)
When a door closes a new one opens ! Keep the dream alive what ever it may be cheers 🥂 thnx for sharing
You guys deserve happiness .. forgive yourself, don't live in the past ... move on and live your best life.
Thanks Martin for your nice words, we moved on ;)
A great video and obviously heartfelt. I do wish you would put of the Patagonia trip for a year and come visit us in Turkey
We have a term here in the States those who cast blame are called busy bodies. Another powerful psychological issue is call the US/THEM mentality. It’s real and it’s part of our culture here and everywhere. I hope your both charting better days and your family has found peace and blessings where you are. Stay safe!!
Great story . Now go places with that very fine sailboat . I lived in Amsterdam in the 90s, married a Dutch woman, love the Dutch take on life.
Thank you, so nice to read you lived in our beloved city and fell in love with the Dutch way of life. We will keep exploring ;)
Thanks for this video episode. I'm looking forward to many more adventures from you.
Thanks Chuck for your support, more adventures on your way
I know you do not want to go back to this subject again, but as a 65 year old embarking on a 4th career (counting carbon in construction) were you able to understand why it went wrong? Are you able to give tips on what to avoid? Or was it all outside of your control or understanding? Sorry to scratch at healing wounds.
Thanks Brian, first congratulations with your 4th career, sounds very interesting, counting carbon in construction. Of course I learned tonnes of lessons and would love to share it when the moment is there, still involved in a heavy court case and the ruling is postponed for 9 times in row now, so can't wait to share it. No sorry for scratching wounds, part of the healing process.
@@FeeltheBreeze Your whole life is on hold for 9 times. Do they not understand their responsibility to make a decision? Or is it difficult to get down from the fence? Or is no decision x 9 their punishment for you?
Thanks for sharing your personal story in your video. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Hope you have overcome your health issues and are doing well. Unless you have been through such problems as you have people don't understand. Always trying to do the right thing and having problems Sometimes makes one wonder what went wrong. Massive hospital bills and loosing everything you have worked for hurts personally. Glad you are bouncing back even stronger. Love watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Bill for your support and the line what doesn’t kills you makes you stronger, right?
Two Thumbs up to you both and Benjamin.
Hahahaha thanks Pieter, a high five back from all of us
It hard to loose your baby you worked on I understand a little your feeling
It fun running a business it hard when you get scammed
Hopefully I don’t have to live a bankruptcy
It takes lots of courage to share your story Thks for sharing
I wont go into all the details at this time, but let me say that I completely understand your position, the Bankruptcy and all that it entails. My Father was the first person to bring Mercedes Benz to Jamaica in 1952, the company was not Limited Company, because no Bank would give him a loan. Some family members did invest but by 1961 one of his competitors bought all his business debts, then demanded instant payment! He was forced to declare bankruptcy. We lost our house, furniture, the carpet even to the ashtrays, whatever my father and mother owned, I was 12 years old at that time. Like you, they checked on us constantly for the next 12 years, until we petitioned the court to release us, which they finally did when I was 25. I know about my parents friends who avoided us ... I dont have to tell you what it was like. There is a second chapter to my story, this time it was the Government that wanted to squash us. If you ever make it to the Caribbean I'd like to meet you. I am now 73 and thinking about building a boat to travel around the the relative 'Bathtub sized Sea' we call the Caribbean, Hurricanes and all. Enjoy your travels, may yo ave calm seas and fair winds ... Ignore the Assholes that try to surround us.
Cool it's time to look ahead don't look back and have fun 👍⛵🍹🍻
Inspiring story from an incredibly inspiring family 🔥👊 Thank you for sharing, guys!!!
Thank you Lian and Kevin for watching and embarking on our journey, we just started and would love to talk with you soon about something really interesting ;)
Are you now in Montenegro? We are moving there in May. To herceg Novi and then to Tivat. If I don't meet you then it would be great when you are there again. Have an awesome time.
I lost a very successful business ( I thought ) due to COVID ..My dreams my aspirations gone except for my family..This touches home , We love you tomorrow is a new day
So sorry to hear Gil Glad to hear you keep your spirit high. Much love for you and your family.
The past is over and now sits behind you. In life you will always find those who become judgemental through loss or just pure vindictiveness. It's good you can now talk about it and it shows in your demeanor of a great burden that has been lifted . Be happy in life and family because at the end it's all you have and make sure Captain Benjamin steers a straight course .Love you all there of you.Be safe 😘
Welcome back to Montenegro :) When was the video recorded?
Well done both of you! Keep it going! you are an inspiartion to many peoplE
Thank you Friedrich, we will keep going and Feeling the Breeze and sharing as much as possible.
You guys are inspirational, thank you for being in my life
Thank you Paul, such a pleasure to be a tiny bit of your life.
To all the people calling you names, they are jealous. I bet none of them have their own successful company. I'm an entrepreneur and I have great respect for anyone who makes it, or for those who fail while trying. That is much more honourable than never trying. Good luck to you guys, and happy sailing!
You are very welcome, leaving the boat unattended behind anchor is almost never the case, only if we have some friends in the bay who keeps an eye on her. We trust our anchor more than mooring lines. When we really want to go we try to find a good place where we can leave the Perfect Sense.