Location: United States
Member Since:
Feb. 08, 2014
Paul Stark
Biography
I grew up in New York City, rural New England about an hour's drive from the City, and in a New Jersey suburb of the City. I went to college at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. After college I founded a small business that grossed over $1 million in its first year of operation (and that was back when $1 million was really worth something!) The company developed turn-key microcomputer solutions for small business.
I sold the business and invested in oil wells and lost all my money. I was recruited to work at a Government think tank in the Virginia Suburbs of Washington D.C. I held a Top Secret security clearance with the Department of Defense and worked on highly classified projects. I was entrusted with some of this Country’s most highly guarded secrets and once acted as a liaison to NATO in Belgium, and the Netherlands.
I left the think tank to become a business executive, climbing the ladder until I was vice president of a 1,000 employee company. In this capacity I brought in contracts worth up to $120 million. I was also a confidential informant for the FBI, and represented products to the Royal Saudi Air Force in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What no one knew is that I had an unseen and growing mental illness that would one day be my downfall. Through my decline in business I was in an out of psychiatric hospitals. Finally, in 2001, I suffered a major psychotic breakdown. After that event I became permanently disabled.
My illness stems from the misfortunes of bad biology coupled with a childhood during which I was abused. My first suicide attempt was at the tender age of 8. My illness grew and fueled both my success and failures throughout my career. I now spend much of my time writing, searching for peace in a spiritual life, balanced with dedication to family. I have tour the books of mental illness in the works along with a novel which will be part 1 of 3 part series. I hope to publish my 2nd book on mental illness within the year. This next book is for those who love someone with mental illness and who, by circumstances, are charged with the responsibility of caring for them.
I try to keep my life in balance, with my greatest emphasis on relationships. I am a friend, brother, father, husband, and grandfather. I pursue these roles with the energy that I once reserved for my work.
I sold the business and invested in oil wells and lost all my money. I was recruited to work at a Government think tank in the Virginia Suburbs of Washington D.C. I held a Top Secret security clearance with the Department of Defense and worked on highly classified projects. I was entrusted with some of this Country’s most highly guarded secrets and once acted as a liaison to NATO in Belgium, and the Netherlands.
I left the think tank to become a business executive, climbing the ladder until I was vice president of a 1,000 employee company. In this capacity I brought in contracts worth up to $120 million. I was also a confidential informant for the FBI, and represented products to the Royal Saudi Air Force in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What no one knew is that I had an unseen and growing mental illness that would one day be my downfall. Through my decline in business I was in an out of psychiatric hospitals. Finally, in 2001, I suffered a major psychotic breakdown. After that event I became permanently disabled.
My illness stems from the misfortunes of bad biology coupled with a childhood during which I was abused. My first suicide attempt was at the tender age of 8. My illness grew and fueled both my success and failures throughout my career. I now spend much of my time writing, searching for peace in a spiritual life, balanced with dedication to family. I have tour the books of mental illness in the works along with a novel which will be part 1 of 3 part series. I hope to publish my 2nd book on mental illness within the year. This next book is for those who love someone with mental illness and who, by circumstances, are charged with the responsibility of caring for them.
I try to keep my life in balance, with my greatest emphasis on relationships. I am a friend, brother, father, husband, and grandfather. I pursue these roles with the energy that I once reserved for my work.