-One day I’m going to teach. And I’m going to tell them about Kobe Bryant.

My first basketball experience-

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. I saw kids playing basketball at the courts when I was about 13. I never played basketball. Ever. But I just jumped in. My philosophy has always been that sometimes we need to just take a risk, fail miserably, and learn from our mistakes. I’ve never been one to sit on the sidelines. If you don’t try, you’ll never know how good you are. I’d rather fail miserably than wonder what if and not take action. So I did. I jumped in with no experience. And I made a fool of myself. (Literally running with the basketball like a football player.) But that’s ok. I learned how to play basketball. I learned about traveling, double dribble, goal tending, how to defend, how to shoot, screening, etc. I learned a lot. Kobe inspired me. I saw him on TV in the finals against the Celtics. I saw him win multiple championships. And I always pondered-

How does one get to THAT level? And what’s the definition of success?

Mentors-

Most of us have someone we can look up to. Whether that be your dad, your mom, a sports figure, etc. They’ve done it. They’ve been there. Kobe looked up to MJ. Everyone did. Kobe asked questions from great people so he could learn and execute. It’s amazing to me how children tend to emulate the characteristics of the people they most respect. Kobe used to bring is daughter aged 15 to come work out with him at 4 AM. That’s what we need. We need people to challenge us. Convict us. Encourage us.

The Legacy Of Kobe Bryant

Quotes from Kobe-

Losing is a good thing. It means your weaknesses are exposed. Find the answer for success. Collect data on what went well. What needs to improve. Have an honest conversation. Face it. Learn from it.

“If you put in the work, anything is possible”

“Getting great at something is just math. If you are putting in 2-3 hours a day and everyone else is putting in 1.5 hours a week, you start gaining separation.”

“Are you doing everything you can to be the best version of yourself?

“Winners don’t make excuses. Do you want to be the best? Come with me. You want second place? Go somewhere else. ”

“Reach A level you don’t think is possible.”

-Leaders make tactical adjustments and are very specific. They don’t just say we are going to get better. They know how and tell their team.

Stories of Kobe

-He pulled back and didn’t score 40 pts a game so Shaq could move forward

-Shooting in the dark…..at 4 AM

-Watching every single game and learning every minute detail of how to improve……and how to help his teammates improve. Even analyzing the energy between the teammates.

Putting it all together

The loss of Kobe was tragic indeed. It happened just a few weeks ago. But his influence lives on. We’ve all been in Kobe’s shoes when he didn’t score one point as a 10 year old in a basketball league. But he didn’t get discouraged. He made a menu of skills and started practicing relentlessly every day. Jordan was cut from his sophomore basketball team in high school; but he persevered. Whenever I fail, I look to how the greats persevered through their trials and continued on. I reflect on how I was 13 and just jumped in to a basketball game. Kobe is part of that. Fail. Look like a fool. Lose. Let your weaknesses be exposed. Get better. Don’t make excuses. Have a great work ethic. And inspire the people around you. I like that. Set a goal and go for it. Nothing comes easy and it for sure didn’t come easy for Kobe Bryant. Inspire the people around you. I’d also add check your heart. We always need to have the proper motivation for what we do. Thank you Kobe.

From the Legend, John Wooden-UCLA Basketball Coach