The Courage To Take The Shot

An opportunity can’t produce a result until you give it a real attempt.

The point isn’t that every attempt succeeds. It doesn’t. A quote may be declined. A new service may take time to find its market. A conversation may end with a polite no. But an opportunity you never approach has no chance to teach you, serve you, or lead somewhere useful.

Fear often disguises itself as preparation. You tell yourself the website needs one more change before you contact customers. You need another certification before applying. You should wait until the busy season ends before asking for help. Sometimes those things are true. Often, they’re a way to avoid the uncomfortable moment when your work meets another person’s decision.

Look at the difference between preparing and hiding. Preparing has a clear finish line: update the price list, check the measurements, proofread the proposal, then send it. Hiding keeps moving the finish line. There’s always another detail to improve, another opinion to seek, another reason to wait.

Consider a gym owner who has noticed demand for early-morning sessions. The owner could spend months planning a full new schedule, buying equipment, and designing a campaign. Or the owner could ask current members whether a six-week trial at 6:00 a.m. would help them. The second option still carries risk, but it creates information. It turns a private worry into a public test.

The Unchosen Shot Inventory helps you make that distinction. You list the opportunities you’ve been avoiding, then examine the reason for delay, the cost of continued inaction, and the smallest honest attempt available. This isn’t a scorecard for judging yourself. It’s a way to stop letting fear make decisions invisibly.

In Practice, This Means...

• Put an opportunity on paper instead of carrying it as a vague worry. - Name the specific fear: rejection, lost money, embarrassment, extra work, or uncertainty. - Set a clear preparation limit, such as thirty minutes to finish a quote. - Choose a testable first move rather than demanding a complete plan.

Build Your Unchosen Shot Inventory

Set aside fifteen minutes for the first pass. Don’t search for dramatic life changes. Look for ordinary chances that have been sitting nearby: a customer you could follow up with, a service you could offer, a supplier you could contact, a role you could apply for, or a conversation you need to start.

Use these daily actions:

1. Morning: capture one avoided chance. Write a single sentence: “I’ve been avoiding _ because _.” Keep it specific. “Contacting three local businesses about maintenance work because they may ignore me” is useful. “Growing my business” is too broad to act on.

2. Midday: separate facts from predictions. Draw two quick columns. In the first, write what you know. In the second, write what you’re predicting. You may know that a customer hasn’t replied. You may be predicting that the customer disliked your work. Those aren’t the same thing.

3. Before the workday ends: define the smallest real attempt. A real attempt reaches the person, customer, employer, or audience involved. It might be sending the quote, making the call, submitting the application, or asking for the meeting. Rearranging your notes doesn’t count.

4. Evening: record the result without exaggerating it. Write what happened, what you learned, and what remains open. A no is information. Silence is information too, though it may call for one follow-up rather than a dramatic conclusion.

Keep the inventory to three opportunities at a time. A long list can become another hiding place. Choose the item with a meaningful upside and a manageable first step. Then give yourself a deadline. “Soon” is not a deadline; “by 4:00 p.m. Thursday” is.

You can also use a simple preparation rule: decide in advance what must be true before you act. For example, a quote needs accurate measurements, a clear price, and a delivery date. It does not need perfect wording or a guarantee of acceptance. Once the necessary work is complete, send it.

One Honest Attempt Changes the Picture

Before

A self-employed plumber notices that several property managers have recurring repair needs. He has considered offering a maintenance plan but keeps waiting. He worries that the offer will sound pushy, that the managers already have preferred contractors, and that creating a plan will take too much time.

His opportunity is real, but it remains foggy because he hasn’t tested it. He doesn’t know whether the property managers are interested. He only knows that he feels exposed.

Action

He adds the idea to his Unchosen Shot Inventory and writes the fear plainly: “I’m avoiding three conversations because I don’t want to hear that they’re not interested.” He then defines a small test.

He prepares a one-page outline with three details: the types of repairs covered, the response time, and the monthly price. He contacts three property managers he already knows and asks whether a short conversation would be useful. He gives himself one afternoon to send the messages, rather than spending a month building a polished program.

Result

One manager declines because the company has an in-house team. That answer is disappointing, but it’s clear. Another doesn’t respond. The third asks for a call and explains that emergency response is the biggest problem. The plumber learns that the original plan is too general. A narrower offer may be worth testing.

The result isn’t a guaranteed sale. It’s better than that in one important way: the decision is now based on contact with reality. He has information, a possible lead, and a clearer next move. The feared moment did not destroy the opportunity. Avoiding it would have.

This is what a useful attempt can do. It can create business, reveal a poor fit, sharpen an offer, or close a door that no longer needs your attention. All four outcomes are more useful than wondering.

Questions That Expose the Avoided Chance

1. What opportunity have I mentioned at least twice but not acted on? Look for the idea that keeps returning in conversation. Repetition often signals that the opportunity matters, while delay signals that fear has attached itself to it.

2. What am I actually afraid will happen if I try? Name the event in plain language. “They’ll say no” is clearer than “It won’t work,” and it lets you consider whether a no would truly create lasting harm.

3. What part of my preparation is necessary, and what part is comfort? Necessary preparation protects quality or safety. Comfort preparation mainly helps you avoid being seen. If you can’t identify a stopping point, you may be polishing instead of preparing.

4. What will continued inaction cost over the next thirty days? Consider lost revenue, missed practice, delayed learning, or the chance for someone else to serve the customer first. The cost may be small, but make it visible.

5. What is the smallest action that would give me new information? Choose an action that involves the real situation. Ask the customer, send the proposal, make the introduction, or submit the application. Information arrives after contact, not before it.

Answer these questions in writing. Keep your responses short enough that you can’t turn them into an essay about why you’re waiting. Honest reflection should make the next move clearer, not create another project.

Take One Shot Before Today Ends

Choose one item for your Unchosen Shot Inventory and complete the smallest real attempt today. Send the message, make the call, submit the form, or ask for the meeting. Don’t promise yourself a perfect outcome; commit to a clear action.

Time needed: 20-30 minutes.

You will know it worked when... the opportunity is no longer only in your head. It has reached the person, customer, employer, or audience who can respond.

Their response may be yes, no, or not yet. Any of those is more useful than letting fear quietly take the shot for you.

End of chapter one. 38 more chapters and about 59,476 words in the full book.