“You miss 100% of the shots that you never take.”
– Wayne Gretzky
As part of my morning ritual, I take a couple minutes to think about something I’m grateful for, and write it down in my daily planner. This morning, I noted that I was thankful for inspirational quotes, which my planner has at the top of each page! I hadn’t thought of anything to write about yet this week, and this quote really popped out at me.
Is there anything in your life that you’re putting off, because you think you might fail? A big challenging race that keeps floating by you every year while you vow that next year’s the one? A business opportunity that you are very passionate about, but are not absolutely sure if it will be financially viable?
These are not sure things by any stretch of the imagination – there is absolutely a chance that you will fail. But there is also a chance you will succeed, if you study the opportunity, make a plan, and stick to it! And for you gamblers out there, what are the better odds of success – a 10% chance, or 0% because you didn’t even attempt it?
You can give yourself the best chance in the world by analyzing the challenge – what are the major obstacles between where you are now and success? Do you have the resources to get there? Are you “hair on fire” passionate about this, or is it maybe not the best opportunity anyway because you’re not really into it (maybe your mom just wants you to do it). I wouldn’t count that as a worthwhile challenge for you – let’s find something else.
Next, create a plan. Break that plan up into smaller micro-goals, so that it’s very clear what you have to do next once you check the first one off the list. Reassess your plan on a regular basis, to make sure you’re on track but also to determine if you need to re-orient and take a different approach if things aren’t working.
And finally, dive the plan. Take aggressive action to get it done. Along the way, celebrate little successes – you’re doing it! Keep circling back to the analysis and planning phases, learning from your mistakes and bulletproofing your future plans.
You miss 100% of the shots that you never take. It’s true in hockey and it’s true in life. Take the shot!
Ryan
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