“you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – wayne gretzky
i met darrell awhile back serving as staff advisor on a service trip to atlanta with my university. from our first conversations, i immediately knew he was going places. it was confirmed when i heard him talk about his career and personal goals in one of the group’s self-reflection exercises. i’ll admit, i’ve said my fair share of “these kids these days….[fill in the issue].” but as i told the student leaders on the trip, they gave me hope for the future. they reminded me that if you’re going to jump, you must do so with both feet.
for most of the trip, darrell called me “pops.” i figured i did have some experiences i could share. but old dogs, if wise, are open to learning. in one of our talks, he said “shoot your shot, pops.” we’d played basketball all week (even at 39 and playing 20 year olds, my record was 9-1) but i needed context for this particular conversation. to paraphrase, he was saying to take a chance; just do it; go for it. as simple as it was, it moved me. i’d never thought about it that way. i knew what he meant, but in that moment i got it – shoot, score, rebound, shoot again, rebound, rebound, shoot, score. i texted darrell recently to let him know i’d taken some shots recently and missed a few. his response, “you’re a good rebounder on and off the court.” i thought about those old dogs. i’m learning.
i’m proud of this guy. follow him on instagram – @motivationdoctor. congrats darrell on your graduation. keep shooting young man. keep shooting. happy clicks!
