As a dad in his forties, I’m not exactly Mr. Pop Culture (nor am I cool if you ask my teenage kids). So when a client said this expression to me I actually had to go look it up on Urban Dictionary…
“Shooters Shoot”
Which the great American philosophers at Urban Dictionary define as meaning:
An exclamation or interjection used when taking a chance with a low risk but a high reward.
Can also be used to dismiss a failed attempt.
So as Your’s Un-cooly was reading this, a related phrase “Shoot Your Shot” was referenced in the definition as well. (Yep, had to look that one up too.)
“Shoot Your Shot” is defined as:
To take a chance no matter if you fail or not. To be brave and having the audacity to do something that might be embarrassing.
What I love about both expressions is that they’re sayings popularized by sports (as a former coach you’d think I would’ve known this). But they also are quite profound and have as much to do with life as well.
It’s about taking chances, seizing opportunities even when the odds of success might be slim.
If you want to succeed, you can’t be afraid to fail.
Great shooters know something everyone else doesn’t.
Alex Rodriguez struck out 2,287 times in his professional baseball career (5th place in MLB history). He also had 696 home runs which puts him at #4 on the all-time home run list.
He knows shooters shoot.
NHL great Wayne Gretzky said “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Gretzky also holds the record for most career regular season goals, assists, points and hat-tricks.
He knows shooters shoot.
The greatest basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan, once said:
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
He knows shooters shoot.
Business just like sports, is a long season. There are highs and lows, ups and downs. And the only way to break a cold streak is to keep shooting shots. Eventually you’ll start hitting those shots and get hot again.
What it takes to shoot your shot:
- Courage/Confidence
- A short term memory for failure
- Long term memory of success
- A willingness to do it again. And Again
What shooting your shot can do for you:
- Open doors (personally and professionally)
- Take you out of your comfort zone
- Build confidence
- Make connections
- Empower you
A couple times in life come to mind when I took pretty big shots.
Starting my business right after the great recession of 2008 hit. That was a pretty big shot.
And perhaps the biggest shot I took was proposing to my wife which I did exactly 18 years ago today.
Your big breakthrough might be just one interaction away. There’s only one way to find out.
Luckily there’s a resource that can help improve your “shot selection”. In fact I’d conservatively estimate that 50% of the book addresses that very topic. Give it a shot, the shipping’s free and there’s a ridiculous double your money-back guarantee. As a matter of fact if this book doesn’t help you grow your business or expand your results, I’ll buy it back from you at two times the price.
https://coachbru.com/product/stadium-status-taking-business-big-time/