Jonathan shares his upbringing in France and educational journey that led him from music studies to economics and finance, including his academic work on option pricing and financial theory. Jonathan describes his risky decision to fly to Los Angeles with few resources and little English. He relates how his enrollment in a local community college began his awakening to learning and led to success in college, graduate school, and a Ph.D. in economics. His mastery of finance theory and his experience working in the private sector gave him the ability to build his own firm managing funds. Jonathan came to recognize how the blending of theory, real-world uncertainties, and behavioral economics should be used to understand the financial world.