Kobe Bean Bryant (41) played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2008 he was honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Although he played Basketball most of his life ( the real shooters know #ballislife) , he really enjoyed writing. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball
Kobe Bryant was also very well known as a venture capitalist at Bryant-Stibel venture capital firm.
Who was little Kobe ?
He was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children and only son of former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. When Bryant was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball at a lower level. He adapted to the new lifestyle quickly and learned to speak Italian. Little Kobe started playing basketball when he was 3 years old and the Lakers were his favorite team when he was growing up. What a coincidence , right ? He became later the shooting guard of the NBA‘s Lakers Team and that is what I call DEDICATION and VISUALIZATION . What made him focus so unapologetically? I will talk about it later ***Sips on tea*** Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games for him to study. At an early age, Bryant also learned to play soccer and his favorite team was A.C. Milan.
I guess you already know , who he was and you’re now asking yourself “ Where is the article I clicked the link for?” - Here it is ...
What can we learn from the Mamba Mentality?
Kobe Bryant called himself ‘ Mamba ‘ and whenever he ended a speech, he always said 2 things : ‘ Mamba Out ‘ . Off the court he published a book in Oct, 2018 called the ‘ Mamba Mentality’ in which he explained his success-driven mentality in his sports discipline, basketball. So, if you’re an aspiring basketball player or any sports category, this book is recommended by 97% . *Grab a copy here : https://www.amazon.com/-/de/gp/aw/d/B07DC3WRKT/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
But I advise you to not click the link, if you haven’t finished reading . Thank you!
Here’s what Kobe Bryant said in his own words :
If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear. I’ve always loved that quote. That’s "mamba mentality" we don't quit, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever...Mamba Out."
Mamba Mentality explained in 10 steps
Have a champion’s mentality
Outwork your potential
Learn from your failures
Be a long-term thinker
Find your passion
Challenge yourself to grow
Keep going
Protect your dreams
Be driven
Achieve greatness
Let’s break it down
Whenever you’re entering a game, don’t come unprepared and without a goal. You want to enter a room with confidence and with the right mindset. Your mindset should be as solid as a rock - Think like a champion !
Don’t be too comfortable with your first results. There’s always more room to get better and better. Don’t be shaken by negative thoughts and emotions, so that you can keep your level of curiosity excellently high.
As a kid many of us felt the anxiety creeping in after receiving bad grades. Why ? Because we always have been taught to not make any mistakes or else... Who remember these days? **raises hand** . Avoiding mistakes is to some extent understandable, but not applicable to your dreams . Your dreams are by far bigger than your failures. Let me repeat it again for y’all- YOUR DREAMS ARE BY FAR BIGGER THAN YOUR FAILURES 🗣.
Allow yourself to be vulnerable, learn from your mistakes and move forward.
Work without passion is dead. If your so called passion feels like a heavy burden , then you’re not living your best life . You have to wake up every morning with excitement and know for sure that your purpose is calling.
“I want to be remembered for my role for jump starting in tech companies than my skills on the court“ , as Kobe Bryant said in his interview with CNBC . What does he mean by that ? This leads us to the next point...
You have to challenge yourself to evolve. Your life has different mountains to climb. Do not be stuck at page 1. Everything has its own timing.
”Rest at the end and NOT in the middle”. Keep on going even if you don’t have the answers yet. Figure it out as you go.
Dreams should be pure and the more we mature, the more responsible our dreams become. The key to protect your dreams from negativity is to protect your imagination. If you do that, the world seems limitless.
Develop that relentless drive to work on your passion
Achieving greatness will lead to sleepless nights, sacrifices, doing what most people won’t do with one sentence in mind - Push yourself to be the best. Perfecting your skills is how your name will be synonymous with one word: Greatness
After all that process, repeat .
This article is in honor of Kobe Bryant’s Legacy, his daughter Gigi and his family and friends. Rest In Peace Kobe & Gigi Bryant - Black Pepper Magazine
*no paid commission
