Think-Talk

Most of us have had them. If you haven’t yet, it’s a great thing to be reading this today because it will help you prepare to recognize and grasp them. But, I must warn you, it is imperative to have at least one in your lifetime. That one will be your trigger or catalyst for recognizing subsequent ones.

What am I talking about?

Missed shots, also known as (aka) missed opportunities, will come to all of us, at least once, in our lifetime, in several ways and, at various times. Many will have several missed opportunities for different reasons.

Most of us are either ignorant of those opportunities, were not prepared for them, and or were afraid to grab them.

How many times have we been expected to step forward in certain areas of our lives to grab an opportunity but hesitated .

I retrospectively acknowledge some missed shots in my own life which I will attribute to a few reasons.

Why we miss those shots

Chief, among those reasons, is

• Complacency . I was comfortable where I was, imbibing a false sense of security, though deep down I sensed that it was time to move on to the next level!
• Fear. We’ve all heard of “the fear of the unknown,” right? Some will even say that “the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know.” Fear, when allowed, paralyzes, torments, and will keep one in the same spot for a long time if one doesn’t take that necessary shot. One will be stuck!
• Refusal to take risks. Some will say “calculated risks.” I’m not sure if I believe that there is anything like calculated risks. A risk is a risk is a risk, period! There might be small and big risks though which will be relative both in time and to the person. But, I do believe that “the greater the risk, the greater the reward.” This statement was consistently drummed into our learning ears as undergrad Finance students but even at that we
• Doubt ourselves and the imminent reward thereby thinking ourselves out of taking the risk
• Wrong crowd, friends, and/or environment. This is a BIG one because it tends to create a negative spillover effect. For example, if you’re surrounded by unmotivated folks, if you remain long enough in that environment, it will, like we always say, rub off on you no matter how strong you are.
• Not paying attention or looking for opportunities. Someone once said that “if you pay attention, attention will pay you.” That person simply meant that those who pay attention, will see those things and/or opportunities (that others miss) when they show up and will subsequently reap the benefits ahead of, and while, others are still ignorant. It’s called competitive advantage in Marketing.
• The last for this blog, is just simply not ready for the next step. This reason might also lean in to immaturity.

All above reasons can be singular or interconnected.

Digress

I love watching basketball and I greatly love to watch equally-matched games where your heart beats faster every second till the end 😍

Well, the GOATs in basketball had several missed shots. Well, some of them had those missed shots at critical times of the game when those shots could have given them and their respective Teams the winning edge. Below is a list of basketball GOATS and their missed shots:

• ◦ Kobe Bryant – 14,481
• ◦ LeBron James- 13,892
• ◦ Karl Malone – 12,682
• ◦ Dirk Nowitzki – 12,565
• ◦ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 12,470
• ◦ Michael Jordan – 12345
• ◦ Ray Allen – 10,388
• ◦ Hakeem Olajuwon – 10,242
• ◦ Kevin Durant – 9,240
• ◦ Steph Curry – 8,219
• ◦ Damian Liliard – 8,018
• ◦ Klay Thompson – 6,345
• ◦ Giannis Antetokounmpo – 5,085

Please note that the above data is relative based on the GOATs’ number of NBA years; that is, basketball career. The data is also dynamic for the current GOATs and will keep changing till they retire.

The GOATs were probably hard on themselves in their locker rooms and/or privately with close friends. But one thing we know for sure (Oprah), like the Dubs will always say, after losing a game, is that they came with an “unto to the next game” mentality and didn’t allow that missed shot or opportunity to cloud the next game. If anything, it propelled them to put on their warriors’ attitude to fight to win the next game.

Segue

We feel a lot of regrets, resentments, and shoulda(s), coulda(s), when we miss taking life shots and imagine the impact taking them would have made.

Most opportunities have silver linings which can sometimes be opaque. But when we retrospect we will recognize them from those opportunities grabbed, if any. For those who have never grabbed opportunities, like Nike’s slogan, “just do it!” By taking hold of opportunities, you are better off than those who never stepped out of their comfort zones. Also, the more shots you take, the lesser the chances of you missing and the more you’d be training yourself to recognize those opportunities.

The GOATs referred to above are not noted for their missed shots, but for all the other great things they did or are currently doing. For example, they stepped up in most cases as the lead to take most of their teams’ winning shots including practically carrying those teams on their backs when needed. So, likewise, for you and I, no one will remember us for those missed shots but for the ones we seized snd the impact thereof.

The same concept applies for us to defeat fear; that is, intentionally we just need to do it. I used to be afraid of water. I summoned up courage to learn to swim, I am still not an avid swimmer, but the training helped me to break the fear and be comfortable in and near water.

So, what can one do in order to not only recognize those opportunities, but to be able to grasp them? Glad you asked.

“Breakthrough comes when opportunity meets preparedness”

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First and foremost, you have to be proactive. Being proactive, like the Boys Scouts, makes you prepared to grasp an opportunity.

The last and bottom line is to “just do it!” Just take those shots; just grab those opportunities!!! The more we do something, the better we get. Repetition reduces the possibility of errors and perfects our craft.

So, don’t let those opportunities pass you buy any more; seize them and watch the impact it makes not only on you, but also on those connected to you.

Credit: This blog was motivated by a sermon by DeVon Franklin.