Conservative strategy, cocky swing

I’m reading a book called Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect. I think it’s more about life than golf, but maybe I’m reading into it too much. One line I’m reading too far into says in order to give yourself the best chance to shoot a low score, you should have a “conservative strategy and a cocky, aggressive swing.” The author, sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, goes on to say that many bad golfers try the opposite: a bold, cocky strategy with tentative, doubtful swings.

This is a good thought for career strategy and content strategy. Many of us have no problem dreaming big, but when it comes time to take a swing at our big dreams, we do so with reservation and doubt. We say we want to direct movies or write books or release albums, but we don’t commit to the bit. We try to maintain a safe image for our friends and family, which has us losing out to those who swing with nothing to lose. 

What if we took a more conservative approach to our dreams, but took big, confident swings at them? Instead of daydreaming about becoming a pop star, then coming up short because we’re not swinging big enough (then losing confidence altogether) we tried something different? What if we took a conservative strategy to just put on one really good five-song live set? What if we swung big for that? Seems like a better way to stack up small wins, gain confidence, and build an identity.