There I was, 10:30 pm. The sound of the lights shutting down ricocheted off the gym walls like ripples in a small puddle. Normally a colder, lonelier cinematic scene in my mind, but I was sweating and focused. Without flinching, I dropped another three (mostly luck).

You’ve heard the sound of a swish, right? The sound of a basketball going through the net without hitting the rim? It differs depending on the arch of your jumper, but it’s typically a crisp, clean, satisfactory sound of conversion.

The more I shoot hoops, the more I hear this sound. But trust me when I say I’m not good. Basketball is not my sport. At my best, I might be 40% from the three point line and I have zero issues with that. Let me tell you why.

To me, being the last one in the gym with a basketball is like being the last one in the office with an idea. I have the time and space to focus on what works and forget about what doesn’t.

But, if I drain a three and no one is around to see it, did it really happen?

I work and workout every day. I have a life beyond the two, but during the week I get in the zone. It’s therapeutic to an extent. And last night, I couldn’t avoid a certain analogy between basketball and advertising.

The sharper your accuracy with a basketball, a pen, your word, the more effective your shot will be. And right where basketball stops at the two-point conversion, advertising starts being about accuracy.

So don’t leave the court until you hear #nothingbutnet

I flipped through a book called Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas by John Pollack at Powell’s the other day. It might have fueled the fire, no pun intended.

Fun facts:

1. I never wear my Kobe’s off the court
2. I run faster than I can dribble
3. I do five pushups for every airball
4. #nothingbutnet is a great hashtag
5. My last shot has to be a three, preferably a swish

Thanks for reading. What’s your analogy?