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  Shoot Your Shot:

  A Sport-Inspired Guide to

  Living Your Best Life

  Shoot Your

  Shot

  A Sport-Inspired Guide to

  Living Your Best Life

  VERNON BRUNDAGE JR.

  Copyright © 2018 by Vernon Brundage Jr.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

  Disclaimer: The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Author and Publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Further, readers should be aware that the websites referenced in this work may have changed or been removed between when this work was written and when it is read.

  First Printing: 2018

  ISBN 978-1-719-90038-6

  www.vernonbrundage.com

  Ordering Information:

  U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers: Please contact Vernon Brundage Jr. via email: [email protected]

  This book is dedicated to those who have been

  with me shootin’ in the gym.

  You are eternally appreciated.

  CONTENTS

  PREGAME

  FIRST QUARTER

  Remove Limitations

  Take Responsibility For Your Own Outcomes

  Put In The Work And Prepare Adequately

  SECOND QUARTER

  Use Your Unique Gifts On Your Unique Path

  See Your Shot Going In Before You Shoot It

  Shoot Your Shot…And Always Follow Through

  HALFTIME

  First Half Highlights

  THIRD QUARTER

  Success Leaves Clues

  Your Dream Is Only As Good As Your Team

  Overcome Adversity

  FOURTH QUARTER

  Hold That L

  Know When It’s Time To Hang It Up

  Your Health Is Your Wealth

  END OF REGULATION

  Second Half Highlights

  OVERTIME

  Maintain An Attitude Of Gratitude

  Pay It Forward

  POSTGAME

  PREGAME

  In recent years, the motto ‘shoot your shot’ has taken on a life of its own. While its’ origin is sport-based—i.e., you shoot your shot in basketball, soccer, hockey, etc.—the expression is more frequently being used in society’s everyday lingo.

  Nowadays, the saying primarily characterizes a person’s pursuit of a romantic interest. (One of the most notable examples being Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid ‘shooting his shot’ at music icon Rihanna.) We see it in social media posts, hashtags, and statuses. People use it in everyday conversations amongst friends via phone, text, virtual chat, or face to face. Even the highly popular nationally syndicated morning radio show Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club had a daily segment called ‘Shoot Your Shot.’

  Although the pop cultural use of ‘shoot your shot’ is most often meant to be entertaining and funny, valid questions to ask relating to this axiom are, “What if we applied this ‘shoot your shot’ mentality to facets of our everyday lives and what kind of impact would it have on our outcomes?” If you really take a second to think about it, the saying’s underlying meaning is quite profound.

  You see, unless we ‘shoot our shot’—whether it is playing sports, pursuing a romantic interest, or striving to accomplish our personal goals—we will never be able to win. We will never be able to live our best lives.

  What exactly does ‘living your best life’ mean? Honestly, it can mean whatever you want it to. Traveling frequently; owning your own business; having a deck or a pool or a big backyard at your house; working in your desired profession; playing varsity, college, or professional sports; buying your dream car; raising a family; being at your desired weight; having your own talk show; writing your own bestselling book. Living your best life is tailored specifically to you. It is doing, being, and having whatever makes you happy.

  In a sport like basketball, in order to score a player must shoot. There is no other way for you to score (at least purposely, that is) than to consciously and deliberately shoot the ball. In our lives, in order to get what we want, we must take a similar approach: Do certain things and perform certain tasks that will move us closer towards accomplishing the goals we have set for ourselves. Basically, we have to shoot our shot.

  Just as sports in general can be used as a metaphor for life, the saying ‘shoot your shot’ can serve as a metaphor for pursuing what you want in life.

  If you couldn’t tell by now, sports (particularly basketball) have had a profound impact on my life. The lessons that I learned from playing, watching, and studying the game of basketball have served as catalysts for my own life progression.

  While I value education and know how important it is in regards to literacy and career progression, I have to admit that I’ve learned many more applicable life lessons from my involvement in sports than I have from most school subjects or historical figures.

  Quite frankly, I’ve learned more about life from watching Michael Jordan will his team to victory while battling the flu or witnessing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come back from being down 3-1 in the 2016 NBA Finals to win the championship than I did from taking a chemistry or a social studies course. I identify more with Russell Westbrook than I do with Mark Zuckerberg. And, I am personally more inspired by Kobe Bryant than I am by Reverend Al Sharpton.

  No disrespect or undermining intended, but this is my truth and I am pretty sure I am not the only one who feels this way. Which is what prompted me to write this book.

  If basketball has helped me become the man I am today, I’m convinced that certain principles from the court and the stories of former and current players as well as personnel can help you, the reader, too. And maybe, just maybe, you will begin to look at sports as more than just recreation and entertainment, but also as a source of motivation, inspiration, and teachable moments.

  Shoot Your Shot is a combination of several of my passions and interests: basketball, writing, research, and inspiring others. This is an unconventional approach to the self-help genre, and one that has not been used before in this particular format. It is a major risk, but one thing I have learned (from basketball, of course) is that you miss all of the shots you don’t take. I sincerely believe that we are never given an idea unless we have everything we need to see it all the way through.

  Although the title of this book is Shoot Your Shot, there are so many factors other than shooting in basketball that help lead a team to victory and contribute to success on and off the court. I wanted to explore several of those other components in detail as well to show how they each relate to our lives and how they can help us on our own individual paths.

  Shoot Your Shot is universal. Although it may appeal to a younger demographic and to sports fans, it is not age, gender, socioeconomic status, or race specific. Your background and standing are irrelevant. This book is for anyone with an open mind and an overwhelming desire to live his or her best life.

  Sports are often referred to as a common thread that brings people together regardless of their age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. My hope is that this sport-based book inspires you to go after the goals you have set for yourself and motivates you to do what is necessary to realize the life you have always envisioned.

  The principles presented in this book align directly with those commonly advocated for in self-help books, Scripture, and motivational speeches. Many of which come directly from those that I have persona
lly read, studied, and listened to on my path towards realizing the life I envisioned for myself. Thus, I am not just pulling these principles out of thin air but rather providing them to you as a result of extensive research, studying, and life experience.

  No matter your circumstances, I truly believe you will be able to use the principles and examples in this book to help you on your own journey towards accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself.

  With that being said, play the game of life to the absolute fullest. You cannot win if you are timid or reluctant. And you certainly cannot get what you want out of life without shooting your shot. Regardless of how many times you miss, keep shooting until you make the goal. The only way you can possibly win is if you shoot your shot, until your shot goes in. I appreciate you for taking this journey with me. Let’s get into it.

  -VB

  FIRST

  QUARTER

  1

  Remove Limitations

  There shouldn’t be any limitations…it’s about talent and the ability to do things. It’s not about what your sex is or your race or anything else.

  GREGG POPOVICH

  5-time NBA champion as a coach, 3-time NBA Coach of the Year, and current head coach of the San Antonio Spurs

  For me, basketball was one of the first dispellers of the myth that my background or where I lived dictated the trajectory of my life. As a huge basketball fan growing up in a moderate-to-middle class community located right outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I saw this collective of extraordinarily-talented and skilled individuals on television from October to June who looked like me, came from similar if not worse backgrounds as I did, doing what they loved to do, and earning a pretty handsome paycheck while doing it.

  None of them would be in that position had they believed where they came from, what they lacked growing up, the color of their skin, or their background determined their ability to be successful. They would also not be in the positions they were in had they listened to the words of doubters and naysayers.

  Jeremy Lin, Becky Hammon, Violet Palmer, and Giannis Antetokounmpo all have one thing in common: They refused to use their background as an excuse and a limiting factor in the realization of their dreams. As a result, and in their own regard, they each defied odds in the NBA.

  Jeremy Lin is the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. Seeking success as an Asian American in an African-American dominated sport, Lin went undrafted during the 2010 NBA draft despite receiving countless collegiate accolades. Lin as well as other coaches and NBA personnel speculate that him not being drafted was due to his Asian-American heritage.[i]

  Early in Lin’s career, if he wasn’t riding a team’s bench then he was bouncing in and out of the league. Due to the uncertainty of his place in the NBA and the fact that he moved around so much, Lin routinely slept on his brother’s couch and on the couches of his teammates. However, in 2012 while playing for the New York Knicks and making the most of an opportunity afforded to him due to injuries to key players on the team, Lin rose to international stardom for a brief period of time renowned as “Linsanity.” Over a 26-game span, Lin averaged almost 18 points and 8 assists per game. Since then, he has maintained a steady job in the league as a contributing point guard on each team he plays for.

  Former WNBA star Becky Hammon broke gender barriers in 2014, becoming the first full-time salaried female coach in the history of the NBA when she accepted a job as an assistant coach on the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff. In 2015, she was elected to serve as the head coach of the Spurs summer league team, becoming the first woman to be a head coach of an NBA summer league team. That same summer, Hammon became the first female head coach to win a summer league as well, after leading the Spurs to the championship. In the spring of 2018, she also became the first woman to interview for a head-coaching job in the NBA.

  Violet Palmer also defied odds in the NBA. A former standout collegiate women’s basketball player from Compton, California, Palmer worked her way up the officiating ranks to became the first woman to officiate in the NBA. She is recognized as the first female official in any major professional sport in the United States. In 2006, Palmer became the first woman to officiate an NBA playoff game—a task delegated to only high performing referees—and in 2009, she officiated the NBA Finals, the first woman to do that as well.

  And then there’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Antetokounmpo was born into poverty in Athens, Greece on December 6, 1994. With no citizenship documents from Nigeria or Greece, the family of six dwelled in small two-room apartments, sleeping three-to-four to a bed at times. As a kid, Giannis and his older brother Thanasis would peddle goods on the street in order to make money so that their family could get by.

  Encouraged by his father to explore a possible career in basketball, Giannis began playing basketball in 2007. By 2012, he was playing in Greece’s second-tier basketball league with his brother. Although the brothers were making more money than they were selling watches, bags, sunglasses and other goods on the street, they weren’t making enough to afford multiple pairs of sneakers and often had to share the same pair of sneakers during games.[ii]

  In 2013, after attracting the attention of NBA scouts when game footage of him went viral, Giannis made himself eligible for the NBA Draft at the age of 18. The Milwaukee Bucks selected him with the 15th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Coming into the league as a tall, skinny, raw talent, Giannis has transformed his body, polished his game, and is now revered as “The Greek Freak.” Analysts as well as his peers often herald him as the future of the NBA.

  From the 2013-2014 NBA season to the 2017-2018 season, Giannis’ output increased from 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game to 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He led the Bucks to the NBA playoffs in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He was selected as an NBA All-Star in 2017 and 2018. Prior to his All-Star selections, Giannis signed a $100 million contract with Milwaukee in 2016; in 2017, he become the first foreign-born player to have his very own signature shoe made by Nike. Giannis Antetokounmpo has come a long way from hawking sunglasses and sharing shoes.

  When you try to use your race, your gender, your age, or your socioeconomic standing as an excuse for why you are unable to do something, just think of these individuals and those like them who have defied odds to realize their dreams and made a better life for themselves and their families.

  In life, we can either be our own greatest ally or our worst enemy. Nothing outside of us has the power to dictate our outcomes. As you think, so shall you be. The thoughts that you have about yourself will eventually manifest themselves in reality.

  I am fully aware that our circumstances help to shape us into who we become as individuals. Our upbringing and the experiences we’ve had teach us valuable lessons and provide us with tremendous insight. However, our experiences and our upbringing do not determine what we can and cannot do in life. Only we do. Only our thoughts, our faith, and our efforts determine the outcomes of our lives. Once you stop looking outside of yourself for answers and start looking inward, then you will be able to start the process of seeing the desired changes occur in your life.

  Oftentimes we limit ourselves because we have told ourselves or have been told by teachers, family members, friends, coaches, or loved ones that we will never amount to anything. We’ve ruled ourselves out of attaining certain things just because we come from a specific geographic area or a particular background. We see ourselves as nothing more than a product of the environments in which we were raised.

  Because we were born into a low-income family or because we are the first in our family to go to college or because we did not perform the best in school or because we haven’t received adequate guidance or because we did not go to the top schools, we’ve convinced ourselves that we will never be able to advance in life. We make excuses, maybe out of fear or to avoid accountability, that only stunt our ability to grow. Hence, we’ve surrendered to our ci
rcumstances. We’ve ruled ourselves out of attaining greatness before even making an attempt to tap into the unbounded potential within us.

  All because we’ve believed the lies we’ve been telling ourselves for so long and the story that someone else has attempted to write for us.

  Think about it. Growing up, you never placed limitations on yourself until someone else did. You thought you could do and be anything, didn’t you? You had huge dreams of becoming a doctor, an artist, a pilot, a lawyer, a businessperson, a professional athlete, a dentist, and a veterinarian, among countless other professions. But as soon as someonea teacher, guardian, friend, sibling, classmate, etc.told you that you couldn’t do this or you couldn’t do that, that was the point when you began to doubt yourself, your capabilities, and your dreams.

  For example, when I was a kid, I loved to draw. I mean LOVED it. If I wasn’t in my own imaginary world playing with my Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, or WWF action figures, I was drawing. But then in elementary school one of my art teachers told me that my drawings weren’t good and even accused me of tracing a drawing from a book, even though you could clearly see it was drawn by hand.

  As a 9-year old little boy, I was crushed and mentally scarred. I doubted myself along with my artwork and trusted the subjective opinion of someone else more than I believed in the capabilities I possessed within me. So, I gave up drawing for good. I unfairly and erroneously limited myself.

  As I grew older and matured, I was taught a valuable lesson: When you limit yourself, you ultimately limit what God is able to do in your life. Everything surely happens for a reason, but who knows which way my life would have went had I believed in myself more than the opinion of someone else. Nowadays, no one can tell me anything about what I can and cannot do. I’m not willing to limit what God can do in my life nor block my blessings based on someone else’s opinion. You shouldn’t be either.