Hobbit - Fire and Water - Bard vs Smaug

Dragon slaying is no basis for leadership

Dragon slaying is no basis for mediation

Dragon slaying is no basis for command

Dragon slaying is at best a basis for dragon slaying

Doing is the basis for everything else

Only conviction can succeed

In the Hobbit book Bard shoots at Smaug many times before getting down to the last arrow which he manages to successfully kill him with.
The previous shots didn't work because prior to using the last arrow he didn't know where to shoot the dragon, the bird doesn't show up to tell him there's a missing piece in his armour til then. So that's knowledge.

In the Hobbit movie however Bard already knows about the missing piece in his armour and plans to shoot it with the black arrow from the beginning. But he ends up losing that arrow and in it's absence shoots at Smaug with regular arrows until Bain surprisingly brings it back. So that's tools.

In both versions he's still shooting at the dragon even through he lacks the knowledge and the tools to succeed. That's doing. Doing is an action. Success is a result of said action. Failure is also a result. Up until he gains knowledge or tools he's going to fail but he's still doing. That's how he ended up in the right place at the right time in order to succeed, by being in the wrong place with all the wrong shit that definitely won't succeed at all. I find that very inspiring. 

Something that's always bugged me was the use of the words "I'll try" and "I'll do" and the meaning they've taken on.

Namely in that "I'll try" meant "I'll think about engaging in the action" and "I'll do it" meant "I'll engage in the action and succeed in the goal" which left no room for any words to describe the actual action of doing a task before the end result.

That place should have been reserved for "I'll do". However since "doing" became tied to "success", there wasn't anything left for the actual action itself regardless of end result.

That just bugs me. Doing is an action, success is a possible result. So is failure. Regardless of the end result, be it either success or failure the doing still occurred. Doing has it's own value. 

I think that's important when it comes to art. Art is the act of doing. I might succeed at any one picture, but I might also fail at it, either way the doing must still happen in order to get one of those results. The act of doing has it's own value independent of it's end result. Trying doesn't get me anything at all. Only conviction can succeed. 

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