Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, the NHL itself, and by The Hockey News, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers, and coaches. Gretzky is the leading goal scorer, assist producer, and point scorer in NHL history, and has more assists in his career than any other player who scored total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records. "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." In other words, you won't succeed unless you try. That means you have to take action. This doesn't have to be a huge step. In fact, I don't think it should be. When you have a goal or a dream, but you don't try it, you miss out on scoring, winning, or getting what you want. In order to realize your dreams, it is crucial to seize the opportunity. Take Your Shot The problem for many of us is that we’re afraid to take the first shot. It's often easier and safer to keep thinking about an idea or put yourself in the research phase. Taking the first step can be scary because it means opening up to the world and accepting criticism from others. But here's the thing - there will always be critics, so don't let them hold you back! You may feel that something needs to fall into place, or that you need to make a key decision before you feel comfortable taking this step. But as I've said many times before, it's usually just an excuse. In any case, perfection does not exist! If you focus on what other people think or keep waiting for the elusive "missing" part, you may never start anything. To succeed, you must take action. Yes, you may fail in the first place, but as we know, failure is part of success. If you believe in your dream and want it to come true, you can't let obstacles stop you. Instead, it's critical to view setbacks as lessons to learn from and opportunities to rekindle the spark for your next attempt. Plus, the added benefit of keeping trying is that you'll have time to reevaluate the steps you've taken to achieve your goals. This means that your output will only get better over time. I believe that persistence is the difference between a dreamer and a doer. So, if you have a dream, I encourage you to take action! Put your foot on the gas pedal and try again. As long as you show up and do your best, you have the power to create what happens to you. If you end up failing, at least you'll know you tried. You only have so much time, so much energy, and so many resources. You don't want to waste anything. You need to start moving slowly towards your goal. More specifically, I believe the best approach you follow is: 1. Start with desire. You find/think what you want. 2. Take smart steps toward your goals as quickly as possible. What are smart steps? It's a way for you to act quickly using the means at hand. 3. Reflect on and reinforce what you have learned from this step. You need to do this because every time you take action, reality changes. Sometimes the steps you take will bring you closer to what you want. 4. Repeat. So, reduce all of this to one formula: Action. study. put up. repeat. But the key word is action. You must take action. If you don't, nothing will change.