Quotes and Action Steps Series (#10). “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” (Wayne Gretzky)

Wayne Gretzky (via Wikipedia)

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” 

What does that mean?

 I read this quote for the first time in one article and the author was not mentioned.
I thought it’s about photography. I was sure that “a shot” is a photograph taken of a particular subject.

Later I found out that this quote is from hockey player Wayne Gretzky.

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”  
(“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take.”)
                                                   Wayne Gretzky

I’m not a major hockey fan, but I do know that Wayne Gretzky was one of the best hockey players of all time and is still regarded as “The Great One.”

So in this famous quote “a shot” has the following meaning:  “an attempt to score into a goal, as in soccer or hockey.”

But “a shot” has several meanings, including “an attempt; a try; an opportunity”.

That’s why we can say that the meaning behind this quote is “we can’t succeed unless we try something (in life, sport, photography, etc.)”.
And this quote is mostly about action.


Where can I apply this in my life?

Many people have a tendency to wait until everything is perfect before moving forward. But that rarely happens. 

It’s really not that difficult to read a book or to watch an educational video. But it’s not enough.

You could read a ton of books; you could learn a bunch of great tips.
But if you don’t take any action, you would probably be “a genius writer” without a book or “a great photographer” without any photo.

There will always be one more piece of info you need. One more urgent thing you have to do.
If that is your course, you will never start anything.
But you can’t succeed unless you try. That means you have to take action.

Taking action is the hardest part.
Just aimlessly shooting will not increase your chances of success.
You need a plan. And you need to make action into a habit by doing things on a regular basis.

“There’s no interesting subject; the light is no great; I have no right lenses…” Thinking this way, you do not take your camera with you daily. But you never know what you’ll see. Just take your camera with you everywhere every day.

Don’t worry about making perfect photos. Work hard; take multiple photos from different angles; take a step back, take a step closer.
Otherwise you would not have your best images.

Don’t wait, get it done right now.

Thank you for reading!
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