A Letter from Chris Suarez
JUST TAKE A SHOT
Someone let me know that the NBA playoffs were happening this week. Needless to say, I haven’t watched a single basketball game this season but it did bring me back to the days when I was a New York Knicks fan. (For those that follow basketball, now you know why I haven’t had any reason to watch the game for the past 20 years).
Growing up my favorite basketball player was John Starks. He was a shooting guard for the Knicks, and he took his position seriously and lived up to its name. He just kept shooting. He was always taking shots. Some nights, it was painful to watch. Other nights, it was incredibly beautiful. He still holds the team record for the number of career 3-pointers made. To this day he still holds the record for the number of career 3-pointers attempted as well. Yes, he both made the most shots, and took the most shots. Meaning he won the most and failed the most. For better or worse, he was willing to take the shot.
He is not alone when you look at some of the greatest players to ever play the game.
Michael Jordan made 12,192 shots in his career - one of history’s all time scorers. He also took 24,537 shots - meaning he missed 12,345 shots. Some would argue he is the greatest player to ever play the game. We remember the ones he made.
Lebron James made 13,296 shots in his career - the second most in the history of the game. He also took 26,200 shots - meaning he missed 13,061 shots. Some would argue he is the greatest player to ever play the game.
Kobe Bryant made 11,719 shots in his career. He was not afraid to take the shot - doing so 26,200 times. He also missed more shots than any player in NBA history. Kobe missed 14,491 of his attempts to score on his way to secure 5 championships.
The lesson here? The greatest scorers and most prolific winners were also some of the most consistent losers. They didn’t win every shot. In fact, most of the greatest players of all time missed more shots than they made. Did that affect them? Neither Jordan, Lebron, nor Kobe lacked confidence. They never questioned their ability to make the shot, and missing shots never caused them to hold back on taking the next one.
One of the most well known sport’s quotes in history is from NHL all time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
So put yourself in the game.
Look for the shot.
Create the shot.
Take the shot.
Celebrate when you make it.
Learn when you miss it.
Put yourself back in the game and repeat.
Too often something inside of us prevents us from taking the shot. We don’t pick up the phone and make the call. We don’t ask for the business. We don’t ask for the sale. We don’t sign up for the marathon. We don’t ask for her phone number or ask her out. We don’t throw up the ball and hope it goes in. We just don’t take the shot. It’s fear of failure. It’s fear of rejection. It’s fear of looking bad. It’s fear of making a mistake. It’s fear of missing the mark or striking out. It’s fear of disappointing others or ourselves. It’s fear.
In business, in life, with friends and relationships, on our health journey and wealth journey, just take the shot. Be willing to put yourself out there. Be willing to fail. If we are unwilling to fail, we will be unable to win.
Chris