Lessons Learned from Kobe's "Mamba Mentality"
Hey There,
Less than a week ago, Kobe Bryant, his 13 year-old daughter, and 7 others died in a helicopter accident.
I keep revisiting the incident, and the life of Kobe, throughout the week. In only respect, I hope I can continue to learn from Kobe; I share the top five lessons further down in this post.
Here were my initial thoughts, after hearing the news, this past Sunday night…
The thing that has been most interesting about the unfortunate, devastating and unexpected death of Kobe Bryant is not necessarily how it made me feel directly… frankly, I never obsessed with him growing up like others did, etc. - but, what has stood out to me in a profound way today, is how I have been moved because of *other people’s* reactions to losing Kobe.
The fact that I can be moved indirectly, by someone’s passing, is something I don’t think I’ve felt at this level, ever before. When I read passionate stories told by sincere folks who knew Kobe personally, I am moved.
I feel a sense of urgency and weight to the life we’re given. I feel a sense of yearning for passion, for purpose, for drive - at what? matters far less - but to have a fire in my belly and a dedication to chase {{something}} at all costs - *that* is is truly inspiring. Thank you for what you gave to the world Kobe. You were not perfect. But you were one of a kind.
Here is the definition of the “mamba mentality” (explained in detail in this article which discusses Kobe’s documentary: Muse)…
“Just trying to get better every day.”
It's the “simplest form of just trying to get better at whatever you're doing”.
That’s a mission I can get behind. And it is clear that his mentality resonated with so many others this week.
NBA Teams paid tribute…
And the internet generally blew up…
5 Lessons to Learn from Kobe:
Outwork Everyone
Also, this post by an old trainer explains his work ethic - it’s absolutely next level savage.
Place Higher Expectations On Yourself Than Anyone Else
I mean, the guy quit basketball, and a year later won an OSCAR!
The official Oscar-winning short film has been taken down from YouTube, but you can read the letter here: https://dearbasketball.com/
And the video is up on this site (at the time of writing this anyway).
Put Your Family First (“…and that’s not soft”)
This video from Jimmy Kimmel Live! shows his love of being a “girl dad”; it’s beautiful…
Be Relentlessly Competitive & Curious (on and off the court)
This inspires me to be curious while “on my court” and off…
Never Give Up
The last 3 minutes of his last game displays his mentality to fight until the very end, giving your all, and then some.
I thought it’d be boring to watch a 6+ minute video of basketball (I don’t really care much about basketball).
I wasn’t bored. In fact, it made me cry.
There was speculation that Gordon Hayward intentionally stepped into the lane to give Kobe an extra shot if he had missed, though Hayward came out this week saying that was not the case. I like to believe it’s true anyway.
Hopefully we can learn from the greats around us - both from the greats on a global stage and from the greats in our individual lives (shoutout: @mom and @dad).
See y’all next week!
PS - if you you enjoyed reading this, I’d love for you to send it along to a few friends you think would enjoy it too.
Humbled,
Brendan J Short