Kobe Bryant is pictures with his daughter Gianna, left and his wife Vanessa. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, file) Photo by: zz/Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx 2018 3/4/18
Jan. 26 marked two years since NBA champion and entrepreneur Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash and it’s still a difficult loss to process.
Many marked the two-year passing anniversary with renewed tributes and condolences. Others highlighted Bryant’s great legacy and the impact he had on the world. In addition to being one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant was a loving husband to his wife Vanessa and the ultimate girl dad to his four daughters. After retiring form the NBA, Bryant was making as much of an impact in his second act as a storyteller as he did in his first.
One of the things that set Kobe Bryant apart was his relentless work ethic and continual striving to be the best in every endeavor he undertook.
As a result, Bryant left the world with many nuggets of advice on what it took to be great in life – through his actions and his words. Here are 10 positive quotes about navigating life and goals from Kobe Bryant.
“There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.”
“I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”
“Through basketball, I learned discipline, perseverance, teamwork, failure, success. These are lessons that can be applied to any field,” he said, “but particularly a creative field such as storytelling, where you have to constantly hone your craft, stay focused and committed, be prepared to pivot when necessary, and work well with your collaborators to ensure success.”
“I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.”
“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”
“I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba.’ So Kobe has to deal with these issues, all the personal challenges. The Black Mamba steps on the court and does what he does. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court.”
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“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do.”
“Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.”
“We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”
“A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”
“Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.”
“I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”
