Swimming lessons, gambling, and financial success
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on October 10, 2025.
“When you’re young, you don’t really know quite what you’re aiming at. You’re very impulsive and acting on impulse, which is very important and valuable. But you’re kind of swimming in a blind sea. When you get older, you have more of a sense of direction.” -Sinead O’Connor
Earlier this week we were sitting in our Sukkah and one of our sons declared, “School is a waste of time. I have a method to get rich in a casino. There is a strategy that I watched on You Tube and I know that I can make it big playing roulette and black jack.” He was going on and on about it and I was getting more and more frustrated until I reminded him that in the summer on our vacation, I actually took him to a casino and while we broke even, he lost all the money I gave him to play with! He said that now he has fine-tuned his strategy; then he wasn’t so serious.
Maybe our son should turn off You Tube and start reading Scientific American. In an article about guaranteed winning gambling strategies, Jack Murtagh in Scientific American writes, “Beneath the varnish of flashing lights and free cocktails, casinos stand on a bedrock of mathematics, engineered to slowly bleed their patrons of cash. For years mathematically inclined minds have tried to turn the tables by harnessing their knowledge of probability and game theory to exploit weaknesses in a rigged system and you can also make money in Casinos online like UFABET เข้าสู่ระบบ as well. An amusing example played out when the American Physical Society held a conference in Las Vegas in 1986, and a local newspaper reportedly ran the headline “Physicists in Town, Lowest Casino Take Ever.” The story goes that the physicists knew the optimal strategy to outwit any casino game: don’t play.” Similarly, today’s online platforms such as North Casino Canada attract players with enticing bonuses and sleek digital designs, but the same mathematical truths apply—over time, the house still holds the edge. For those who enjoy seamless and secure banking while playing, a Revolut casino provides a convenient and modern payment option. Click here to see a premier online gaming platform that’s providing a wide range of entertainment options, including slot games, live casinos, and sports betting. Many players also explore sites like bandar slot gacor, drawn by the reputation for frequent wins and engaging slot experiences. The rise of slot Thailand sites reflects how regional preferences are shaping the global online gambling market. At the same time, growing curiosity around alternative platforms is evident as players browse resources such as https://nongamstopcasino.uk/list/slots-not-on-gamstop/, which highlights slot games not on Gamstop that appeal to audiences seeking different gaming environments beyond traditional restrictions.
Also, this week I had a swimming lesson. I started taking lessons a few weeks ago and it’s not so easy learning a new way to swim when you are not so young anymore. We are a group of 5-6 people, and I think I may be one of the younger students. One of the participants is actually someone I used to play softball against for 2 decades. Then he was known to be a slugger, and a beer drinker, now he’s retired and along with his yoga teaching wife, re-learning swimming. It’s a very technical approach to swimming and while it’s a slow process, I can safely say we have all improved over the 3 lessons we’ve had until now. Practicing over and over again, we’ve all made tremendous gains.
Just as in swimming building wealth takes time and patience. In an article about this issue Bonsai Smart Wealth writes, “Impatience can lead to devastating financial outcomes. When investors focus too much on short-term gains, they often make rash decisions that can undermine their long-term financial goals. Research from Dalbar Inc., which analyses investor behaviour, has consistently found that individual investors significantly underperform the market. Over the last 30 years, while the S&P 500 has returned an average of 10.7% annually, the average investor earned only 7.7%. The gap is largely attributed to bad timing—buying high and selling low—driven by short-term thinking.
A classic example of this is the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, during which many investors panicked and sold their portfolios, locking in significant losses. Meanwhile, those who held their investments and stayed patient benefited from the market’s subsequent recovery. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published a report demonstrating that investors who stayed invested through the crisis experienced higher returns over the following decade compared to those who cashed out during the downturn.”
In many facets of life patience is needed in order to achieve success. Creating wealth is no different. You are not going to get rich overnight. It’s a long process with bumps in the road. Staying the course is key. Trust the process. He are a few tips to help you on the path towards financial freedom:
- Trust the process. It’s important to trust your investment strategy and do your best to tune out the talking heads that create fierce headlines and may strike fear or hesitation into an investor.
- Make decisions when life’s circumstances change, not your emotions. It’s best to make allocation changes based on what’s changing in your life, and not your emotions. Some life events that could drive change include retiring, switching careers, expanding your family, or receiving a raise.
- Ask for help. Part of having trust in your investment decisions is knowing exactly what they are. A financial advisor can not only help take some of the emotions out of investing, but they can answer any questions you might have along the way so that you know exactly what you’re investing in and what the strategy is to accomplish your financial goals.
It’s a long road, but if you have patience and trust the process, there’s a great chance that you will achieve financial success.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is the author of Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, SIFMA, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.aaronkatsman.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
