You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don't Take
4 minute read
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” is a call to action over inaction. If you never try, you’ve already failed. Every opportunity you don’t pursue is a guaranteed loss. Yes, trying might lead to failure or rejection, but not trying guarantees you’ll never succeed. This principle pushes you to overcome fear, perfectionism, and overthinking by simply taking the shot.
TL;DR
Inaction guarantees failure. Action gives you a chance at success and guaranteed learning. When in doubt, take the shot - you can’t score from the sidelines.
What It Means
This saying comes from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, but it applies to everything in life. The logic is simple: if you take a shot, you might make it or miss it. If you don’t take the shot, you’ve definitely missed.
People often talk themselves out of opportunities because they focus on the possibility of failure: “What if she says no? What if I don’t get the job? What if my idea fails?” But they ignore the flip side: what if it works? And even if it doesn’t work, you’ve learned something and built courage for the next attempt.
The real tragedy isn’t trying and failing. It’s looking back at 30 and wondering “what if I’d just tried?” Regret over inaction is far more painful than the sting of a failed attempt.
Why It Matters
Opportunities expire: Most chances in life have a window. If you don’t act, they close permanently.
Fear grows when fed: The longer you avoid taking a shot, the scarier it becomes. Action is the cure for fear.
You learn more from trying: Failure teaches you what doesn’t work. Inaction teaches you nothing.
Confidence comes from action: Every shot you take, regardless of outcome, builds courage for the next one.
Real-Life Examples
You’re interested in someone but terrified of rejection. If you don’t ask them out, the answer is automatically no. If you do ask, the answer might be no - but it might also be yes. Either way, you’ll stop obsessing over “what if” and move forward.
You see a job posting but think “I don’t meet every requirement” so you don’t apply. News flash: most people who get hired don’t meet every requirement. Someone who applies with 70% of the qualifications might get the job while you sit at home with 80% wondering what could have been.
You have an idea for a YouTube channel, a side business, or a creative project, but you wait for the “perfect time” when you have better equipment, more knowledge, or more confidence. That perfect time never comes. Meanwhile, someone with a worse idea but more willingness to act is out there building an audience and learning.
You’re in a meeting and have an idea but don’t share it because you’re worried it might be dumb. Someone else shares a similar idea five minutes later and gets praise for it. You had the shot and didn’t take it.
How to Apply
Lower the stakes mentally: Most shots you’re afraid to take carry far less risk than you imagine. A rejection isn’t life-threatening.
Make taking shots a habit: Don’t just take the occasional big shot. Take small shots daily. Apply to interesting opportunities. Say hello to strangers. Raise your hand. Pitch your ideas.
Reframe failure: Instead of seeing missed shots as failure, see them as data. Each attempt teaches you something.
Count your attempts, not just your successes: Keep a tally of how many shots you take. Celebrate the effort, not just the outcome.
Use the 10-10-10 rule: Will this matter in 10 days? 10 months? 10 years? Most shots you’re scared to take won’t matter at all in 10 days.
Here’s a sobering truth: you’ll regret the things you didn’t do far more than the things you tried and failed at. At 80 years old, nobody wishes they’d taken fewer risks. They wish they’d been braver, tried more things, and worried less about looking stupid.
Taking shots isn’t about being fearless. It’s about acting despite fear. The most successful people in any field aren’t the most talented - they’re the ones who took more shots than everyone else. Start shooting.