“Honestly, I would have given it only a 20% chance that Andy would have any interest at all,” my prospective client, Todd, said. “But you sure did pique his interest.”

Todd was the Chairman, CEO, and President of a publicly traded newsgroup. He was 65 years young, successful, wealthy, and generous.

He also understood that one person couldn’t possibly know everything these days, nor could his advisors.

“He and I have worked together for 40 years,” Todd went on, speaking of his financial gatekeeper, Andy. “Andy is our family’s CPA, attorney, our consigliere. He knows where every dollar of our family’s money is. We don’t do anything without his approval, and he has done so much for us already.”

I acknowledged what Todd was saying and continued listening.

“So, the fact that he listened, asked questions, and had interest is frankly amazing,” Todd said.

I thanked Todd for his vote of confidence, as well as his consideration and, hopefully, future business.

As we wrapped up our meeting and said goodbye, it reminded me of another axiom that you hear in sports:

YOU MISS 100% OF THE SHOTS YOU DON’T TAKE.

 That quote is often attributed to Michael Jordan, but it was actually hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky who first said it.

Either way, the iconic superstars of their respective games understand what it means: you always fail if you don’t try. Moreover, the biggest failure is NOT taking the shot – not missing it.

And what a shot I had.

When I was first referred to Todd, I knew who he was. I could easily go on the internet and read about him, his career, and even plenty of articles about his net worth.

It sure would have been easy for me to say, “Why bother? He is all taken care of. There’s no way he has room on his financial dream team for me.” But if I listened to that negative little voice – and failed to even take the shot – then I would never have had this grand opportunity.

Maybe you make your shot, or maybe you miss by a mile. But the only failure is not mustering the courage to take it with gusto.

As we’d wrapped up our meeting, Andy, his attorney and consigliere, closed by saying, “I think we have something here for Todd…and probably a few other folks too.”

Sometimes, you make the shot, and it’s better than you ever even imagined.

I couldn’t help but think of all those people I’d met who think that they’re “all set” and need no other outside help. I can’t even calculate the opportunity cost of failing to seek the counsel of others in life.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from profoundly successful (and happy, healthy, and self-actualized) people like Todd, it’s that they’re NEVER afraid to take a meeting, to listen a new opportunity, or consider a new perspective that may benefit them.

They’re always open to new ideas, to have new conversations, to expand their minds, to grow and evolve.

After all, they’re not afraid to take their shot, either.

-J.D.