What I Learned Losing A Million Dollars

by Jim Paul

Success can be built upon repeated failures when the failures aren’t taken personally; likewise, failure can be built upon repeated successes when the successes are taken personally.

Personalizing successes sets people up for disastrous failure. They begin to treat the success as a personal reflection rather than the result of capitalizing on a good opportunity, being at the right place at the right time, or even being just plain lucky.

The country club exposed me to the better things in life, and I wanted the better things. Well, that was a problem because once I learned about this “other life” and that it was better, I also knew that I was missing it. I was at a disadvantage to most of my peers because I wanted more than they even knew existed.

That taught me that there are people for places, places for people. You can do some things and you can’t do other things. Don’t get all upset about the things you can’t do. If you can’t do something, pay someone else who can and don’t worry about it.

Good judgment is usually the result of experience, and experience frequently the result of bad judgment. —ROBERT LOVETT

Crossing the street is a risk, driving a car is a risk, getting married is a risk, and so is having children. Needless

The immediate aim of gambling is entertainment, betting for excitement. People gamble to escape the humdrum of everyday life. It fulfills the desire for stimulus (e.g., increased adrenaline and a rise in blood pressure) replacing the painful boredom of everyday life with thrill or excitement. The distinguishing feature of gambling is that it deals with the unknown, with pure chance. Money is only the ticket to this game, and, therefore, winning or losing is relatively unimportant. It’s the excitement that’s important in gambling, the way right and wrong are important in betting, the way money is important in investing, trading, and speculating. In gambling, winning is desired only in that money is needed to enter the game or continue playing; money is good for only one thing and that is to gamble.