Ron Feldman’s memoir reveals how a disputed National Bridge Tournament championship inspired decades of personal growth, resilience, and achievement.
In the spring of 1979, Ron Feldman sat at a Bridge table convinced that his team had been cheated out of a National Championship. The stakes were high, the competition intense, and the disappointment unforgettable. When concerns were raised, the governing Bridge organization informed Feldman’s team that there was no proof of wrongdoing. For nearly three decades, the matter remained unresolved, until 2007 when information surfaced that direct evidence confirming his team was cheated in head-to-head competition had been obtained the very day in 1979 of the event as the cheaters were being monitored. Yet despite those revelations, Feldman’s team has never officially been recognized as the winner of the event. For many people, such an experience might have become a lifelong source of bitterness. Instead, it became the foundation for a remarkable story of resilience, reinvention, and personal growth.
That story is now told in Feldman’s memoir, True Confessions Of A Former Professional Bridge Player: How Getting Screwed Out Of A National Championship At Tournament Bridge Helped Me Win The Game Of Life. More than a Bridge story, the book chronicles a lifetime of overcoming obstacles and transforming setbacks into opportunities narrated by Feldman in an understandable storytelling fashion.
“The goal of this book is to help readers transform their own setbacks into catalysts for growth, self awareness, and purpose,” Feldman explains.
The memoir reveals how one of the most painful moments of Feldman’s competitive career inspired him to examine every aspect of his life. Rather than focusing solely on what happened at the Bridge table, he shares the personal, health, and business challenges he encountered throughout his journey. More importantly, he discusses the solutions he discovered and the lessons he learned, with the hope of helping others avoid similar struggles.
What makes the story especially compelling is Feldman’s perspective on the game itself. Despite his team’s experience, he remains a strong supporter of Tournament Bridge. He believes the game brings together people of all ages in a positive social environment where participants can collaborate, solve problems, and build meaningful relationships.
For Feldman, Bridge was never simply a card game. It was a training ground for strategic thinking, discipline, communication, and perseverance. Those skills would later help him build a successful entrepreneurial career and navigate challenges far beyond the competitive arena.
Long before becoming an entrepreneur, Feldman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and a Master of Science degree in Educational Psychology from California State University, East Bay. He taught interpersonal relationships and personal growth at the college level and later served as a head counselor in elementary schools. His background in education and counseling provided a unique understanding of human behavior, motivation, and problem solving.
As a Bridge player, Feldman achieved accomplishments that placed him among the elite competitors in the game. He represented the United States three (3) times in World Championship competition and earned recognition in the Encyclopedia of Bridge for helping develop the influential 2/1 Game Force bidding system, now one of the most widely played systems in the World. He also founded the first Professional Bridge Players organization accredited by the American Contract Bridge League and served on several National Committees dedicated to ethics, marketing, and goodwill.
His contributions to Bridge continued through writing and education. In 2019, his book Card Pro Bridge Bidding System was named runner up for the American Bridge Teachers Association Book of the Year Award in the advanced category, recognizing both his expertise and his commitment to helping others improve their game.
Yet; some of the most powerful chapters of Feldman’s memoir have nothing to do with cards.
The Story Behind The Story
One of the book’s defining strengths is its honesty. Feldman openly discusses the personal disasters and health challenges that tested him throughout his life. Readers learn about his battles with obesity, glaucoma, thyroid disorders, and heart related issues. Rather than presenting these experiences as isolated hardships, he explains how each challenge forced him to develop new strategies, healthier habits, and a stronger sense of purpose.
The memoir focuses not only on the obstacles themselves but also on the practical solutions that helped him overcome them. Through these experiences, Feldman encourages readers to approach adversity as an opportunity for growth rather than a permanent limitation.
That same mindset carried into his business career.
As President and Founder of World Business Services, Inc. since 1994, Feldman has helped organizations identify innovative cost reduction strategies and operational efficiencies without any out-of-pocket direct capital expenditures. Prior to that, he was the President and Founder of Hotel Connections Inc., where he developed groundbreaking approaches within the hospitality industry. His entrepreneurial accomplishments include receiving a United States Patent for inventing transaction processing technology that improved hospitality industry operations.
His expertise also led him to teach Business Services Marketing at both the undergraduate and MBA levels, helping prepare future generations of business leaders.
Feldman’s achievements have earned recognition from several prestigious organizations. He has been included in Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who In California, and Who’s Who In Lodging. These honors reflect a career that spans education, entrepreneurship, technology, hospitality, community service, and competitive Bridge.
Turning Setbacks Into Opportunities
At its core, True Confessions Of A Former Professional Bridge Player is not about controversy. It is about choice. It is about deciding whether life’s disappointments will define a person or motivate them toward something greater.
Through stories of competitive success, personal hardship, professional innovation, and health challenges, Ron Feldman demonstrates how persistence and perspective can change the direction of a life. His journey illustrates that while setbacks are unavoidable, they do not have to determine the final outcome.
Readers interested in learning more about Ron Feldman and his memoir can visit www.ronfeldman.com.
For those facing their own challenges, Feldman’s message is both simple and powerful: Success is not measured by the setbacks we experience; but, by how we respond to them. His story stands as evidence that even the most disappointing chapters can become the beginning of something meaningful.
