Find a Way to Play the Game That Ensures You Get a Lot of Shots

The Shots on Goal Mindset

In any endeavor with uncertainty — which is most endeavors — the number of attempts matters enormously. You can’t control which shot goes in, but you can control how many shots you take.

The Stoics couldn’t control outcomes, but they could control effort and persistence. If you want more hits, you need more at-bats.

The Mathematics of Opportunity

If your success rate is 10%, then:

• 10 attempts = 1 expected success
• 100 attempts = 10 expected successes
• 1,000 attempts = 100 expected successes

Increasing your success rate is hard. Increasing your attempt count is a choice.

Playing Games That Allow Volume

Not all games are created equal. Some limit how many shots you can take. Others allow unlimited attempts. Favor the latter:

• Apply to many opportunities, not just one perfect one
• Create content regularly, not one masterpiece every year
• Make many small bets rather than one large gamble
• Start multiple experiments, not one “can’t fail” project
• Build relationships across many communities, not one exclusive circle

Reducing the Cost Per Shot

To take more shots, you need to make each shot less expensive — in time, money, and emotional energy:

• Lower your standards for starting: Iterate rather than perfect upfront
• Detach from individual outcomes: Any single shot matters less when you have many
• Build reusable systems: Each shot should cost less than the last
• Shorten feedback loops: Know quickly whether a shot worked

The Stoic Perspective on Volume

The Stoics emphasized that we control our effort but not our results. This principle naturally leads to a volume-based approach. If outcomes are uncertain, wisdom lies in maximizing attempts within our control while accepting that any individual attempt might fail.

This is not about reckless scattering of effort. It’s about strategic multiplication of opportunities.

Daily Practice: The Attempt Audit

• In an area where you want success, count your attempts last month
• Ask: Could I reasonably double this number?
• Identify what’s making each attempt expensive (time, fear, perfectionism)
• Find one way to reduce that cost so you can try more often

Reflection

Are you playing games that allow for many shots? Or are you betting everything on single attempts? What would change if you optimized for volume of quality attempts?

Key Takeaways

• You can’t control which shot lands, but you can control how many you take
• Increasing attempts is often easier than increasing success rate
• Make each shot cheaper so you can afford more
• Favor games that allow volume over those that limit attempts
• Strategic multiplication of opportunities is Stoic wisdom in action