Take the Shot – Lesson 1: Be Prepared to Fail

Many would say that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, certainly he had one heck of a career. Despite his great success Jordan once said “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Picture Jordan in an important basketball match. Perhaps even a play-off game. It is the final moments of the game. They are behind by one point. There is time for one more shot. Make it, and they win. His team mates do everything they can to get the ball to him - he is the best in the world, after all. Jordan takes the shot. Everyone in the stands is holding their breath, their eyes on the ball. It misses, the buzzer goes!! …  and they have just lost the game.

I try and imagine his disappointment. I try and imagine the disappointment of his teammates, the disappointment of the fans in the arena, the disappointment of millions watching on television. But here is a man who understands that in order to succeed we have to be prepared to put the possibility of disappointment aside and sometimes we just need to take the shot!

But what does that look like for us - taking the shot?   Well first of all we have to be prepared to fail.

Another sporting great who understands that failure is part of success is Roger Federer. In the 1,526 professional singles tennis matches he played in his career, he won almost 80%.

But more interestingly, he won only 54% of the points he played - that means he lost almost half the points in every match! Just like Jordan, he failed over and over and over again.

So why was he so successful? Well, one thing Federer had to learn was not to dwell on the points he lost. Of course, when he was playing a point, in that moment, it was the most important thing to him. But once it was over, it was behind him. Whether he won or lost that point. Such a mindset was crucial, because it freed him to fully commit to the next point and the point after that, with intensity, clarity and focus.

In a memorable College speech Federer gave in 2024, he encouraged the new graduates, saying: “Whatever game you play in life, sometimes you are going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job. It is a roller coaster with many ups and downs. When we are down, it is natural to doubt ourselves, even to feel sorry for ourselves. But the best in the world know that negative energy is wasted energy.” 

Federer went on to finish with this: “The best in the world are not the best because they win every point, but because they know they will lose again and again, but have learnt how to deal with it. They adapt, grow, work harder, work smarter and move on.”

If we are to succeed in life, in sport, our careers, as partners, parents or friends, we need to become masters at overcoming hard moments. We need to adapt, grow, work harder, work smarter and move on.  And as Sports Chaplains, we believe that we don't need to rely on our own strengths and abilities alone. The Word says, "Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." There are many, many examples of men and women in the Bible who failed, but those failures were ultimately used as stepping stones to spectacular success.

So may I encourage you to just Take the Shot … and yes - Be Prepared to Fail – it will help lead to greater success.

Gerrit Bantjes on behalf of Sports Chaplaincy Wales