5 Life Lessons We Can All Learn from Kobe, Beyond the "Mamba Mentality" + PLUS 8 Inspiring Kobe Quotes

When I saw that it was Kobe‘s birthday today, it hit me in a surprising way… Rather than ask or wonder “why,” I try to stay curious in these situations.

Did I idolize him? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. (Who hasn’t though?!) To me, it seems he learned and grew a lot over the years, and I find his journey very interesting. (How many people do you know that played a professional sport for 20 years and won an Oscar?!) 

I pulled up an old post I did around the time of his death and found it still resonated! I made a few tweaks - with time comes more perspective, mostly on what I think was important to take away from Kobe. I hope you enjoy!

Let me know which one resonates most with you! I’d also love to know what you’ve learned from Kobe Bryant - either on the basketball court or off.

5 Life Lessons We Can All Learn from Kobe:

🧐 Curiosity.

Kobe talked about being insatiably curious. He always wanted to learn more, not just about basketball but about business, film, technology, what other people were working on. And he was curious about how to get better.

🔁 Consistency.

This is the habit that leads to excellence. Showing up one time isn't enough. It's the repetition that made Kobe great. He talked about this on the Jay Shetty podcast... he picked one skill and worked on it until he was great at it. Then he picked another skill and did the same thing. Over and over again with more and more skills, which led to his success.

⏳Enjoy the Journey.

For Kobe, it wasn’t just about winning, he enjoyed training and the hard work. He talked about this often, that he loved the process. A question that comes to mind is “what feels like play to you but looks like work to others?”

⏩ Be Forward-Thinking.

Kobe was always focused on what was next, especially in his later years. He wasn't dreaming about the past, he wanted to know what you could do now or in the future. He learned from his mistakes but he didn't dwell on them. I also find it very cool he wrote children’s books and made a short film that won an Oscar!

❤️ Prioritize Relationships.

Family was everything to Kobe. The way his face lit up looking at his wife and girls tells you everything. And he also made time to reach out to people in his life that mattered, mentoring younger players, supporting women's sports, and the special olympics.

It’s clear that besides being a great player, he understood what it meant to be a good person.

Kobe and Vanessa at the Oscars in 2018. His film "Dear Basketball" won Best Animated Short Film.

And to wrap up, I wanted to share are a few of my favorite Kobe quotes….

8 Insightful & Inspiring Kobe Quotes:

from Kobe’s retirement ceremony in 2017: “Those times when you get up early and you work hard; those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when don’t feel like working — you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself — but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And if you guys can understand that, what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true, something greater will.”

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

“A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.”

“It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly.”

“Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.”

“The most important thing, the thing that unites all of us, is that we can inspire and challenge one another to be better.”

“It's not about the number of hours you practice, it's about the number of hours your mind is present during the practice.”

“When you love something, you'll always come back to it. You'll always keep asking questions, and finding answers.”

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