In August 2011, when I arrived in Los Angeles for Top Shot’s Season 4 competition, I didn’t know much about guns. Once we moved into the Top Shot house and got to know each other, I discovered that my competitors could talk circles around me on the subject. I didn’t even recognize many of the terms, tactics, and approaches they discussed, but I listened and learned with eagerness.
I did feel I had one edge—having good marksmanship skills across a variety of platforms. One of the main things that helped me win Top Shot was a singular focus on the core essentials of marksmanship. Before starting the competition, for five months I studied everything I have shared with you in this book. However, I knew that winning a shooting competition would come down to one thing: hitting targets. It wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t tell you the history of a particular gun, its cyclic rate, or list all its parts.
Out of all the information in this book, every time I was thrown into a challenge, I zeroed in on three fundamentals:
If you take any technical concepts away from this book, those three are the holy trinity to help you build a strong shooting foundation.
Taking a step back and returning to the first theme of this book, I want to encourage you to think about your entire skill set from work and play. What skills are you good at? Which ones are you not good at? Which ones do you want to develop further, and which ones do you want to let go?
When tackling a problem at hand, I hope you will be able to bring not only your full skills and capabilities to the task but also do so with a positive, can-do attitude where you are the only thing who can possibly stop you.
My entire life I pursued what I thought were the hardest challenges from which I thought I would either learn the most or have the most fun. In high school I really focused on my academics, leadership, and community service. In college, I turned my focus to leadership, building student organizations, community service, and gaining work experience through internships. I am also a musician who played double bass for orchestra and jazz bands for thirteen years. I currently sing for the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. All of these activities I do or did for fun, and to bring as much happiness to my life through exciting experiences. I have also greatly enjoyed sharing those experiences with other people, many of whom have been my really good friends throughout the years.
Following my passion for technology ultimately led me to getting hired at Google, one of my dream companies. In five wonderful years helping to promote a new paradigm around cloud computing, I learned so much from my colleagues and our customers. I worked on a technical support team that fielded direct phone calls and emails from customers experiencing problems. I love to solve problems and bring happiness to people through that channel. It is my hope that the technical shooting skills I’ve shared with you in this book will bring you happiness and satisfaction by your becoming a better shooter.
I have always wanted to be one of the very best at whatever I am involved in. My strongest critic is me. However, I never feel entitled to be the best; being the best isn’t something other people can give to you. It is something you have to earn. You earn it through not only hard work but through disciplined practice and a refinement of your skill set.
What I love about the shooting sports is how objective they are. You either hit the target or you don’t. There is no amount of talking or boasting of one’s skills that replaces being a good marksman. A common phrase amongst shooters is “Shut up and shoot!”—which I firmly believe in.
Where some people see violence with guns, I see an additional side, where guns protect good people. Whether the police, military, or average civilians such as myself own them, guns are also tools that can help develop confidence in one’s abilities, discipline, physical dexterity, and perseverance, amongst other traits and skills.
In closing, I left my job at Google one year ago as of this writing to pursue my professional marksmanship contract with Bass Pro Shops. I have been blessed with so many opportunities to do some amazingly cool things all across the country. I have met some of the friendliest people (the norm in the shooting community), and I’ve traveled to Bass Pro Shops stores to give autographs and pose for photos, attended industry conventions, and met many of the “who’s who” of the firearms world. I went from a nobody to someone whose name and face is now up on posters and such. I’ve shot more machine guns than I ever thought I’d shoot in a lifetime, and when people ask me what I do for a living I get to say that “I shoot guns for fun.”
Only in America could a televised marksmanship competition take someone like me, a random guy who worked in Silicon Valley, and provide this type of a life-changing opportunity. Simply put, I am living the American dream.
Having not grown up deeply entrenched in gun culture, it has been really exciting to embark on the next phase of my journey in life, and I feel so fortunate to share my story with you. It is my hope that my accomplishments will inspire you to go and find your next big challenge. Figure out what you need to tackle it, and just do it. Work hard, and your success will be that much sweeter. When you do overcome your next challenge, no need to boast or brag, just hold your head up high, smile, and be proud.
Whether you Shoot to Win or shoot for fun (or both), I hope you pursue your passions and win—in life!