Even though he is no longer with us, I love studying the mind, habits, and work ethic of Kobe Bryant. Kobe was known as a true student of the game, and one of the hardest workers we have ever seen. Kobe had a lot of talent, and he had God-given size and athleticism, but Kobe became one of the best ever because of how hard he worked on and off the court.
Kobe Bryant was a true student of the game of basketball and of life. Kobe was so focused on being great that he focused on every detail in his daily life so that he would be able to pick up even the smallest details on the basketball court.
Kobe said, "By reading, by paying attention in class and in practice, by working, I strengthened my focus. By doing all of that, I strengthened my ability to be present and not have a wandering mind."
From a young age, Kobe devoured film and watched everything he could get his hands on. He said it was fun for him, and the most important question to ask was: Why?
Kobe knew early on that he wanted to be great, and he put in the work needed to live out his dreams. Here is what Kobe said about greatness in his book, The Mamba Mentality:
"If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great at something, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they're not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That's totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.
"What I’m saying is greatness isn’t easy to achieve. It requires a lot of time, and a lot of sacrifices. It requires a lot of tough choices. It requires your loved ones to sacrifice, too, so you have to have an understanding circle of family and friends. People don’t always understand just how much effort from how many people go into one person chasing a dream to be great.
There’s a fine balance between obsessing about your craft and being there for your family. It’s akin to walking a tightrope. Your legs are shaky and you’re trying to find your center. Whenever you lean too far in one direction, you correct your course and end up overleaning in the other direction. So, you are correct in leaning the other way again. That’s the dance.
You can’t achieve greatness by walking a straight line.
Respect to those who do achieve greatness, and respect to those who are chasing that elusive feeling.”
THIS WEEK
1 - What is something you want to be great at?
2 - What is something you should commit to doing every day in order to grow into being great?
3 - What is something that can keep you from achieving your dreams and becoming great?
4 - What can you do to overcome those barriers or challenges?
For a Google doc version of this article, click here: What it Takes to Be Great
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