Kobe Bryant

That's funny. I had a lot of them. My parents were great. Growing up, they instilled in me the importance of imagination, of curiosity, and understanding that, okay, if you want to accomplish something, I'm not just going to sit here and say, yes, you can do whatever you want. Yes, you can. But you have to also put in the work to get there, right? So they taught me that at a really early age, man.

That's funny. I had a lot of them. My parents were great. Growing up, they instilled in me the importance of imagination, of curiosity, and understanding that, okay, if you want to accomplish something, I'm not just going to sit here and say, yes, you can do whatever you want. Yes, you can. But you have to also put in the work to get there, right? So they taught me that at a really early age, man.

And when you grow up as a kid, thinking that the world is your oyster, all things are possible if you put in the work to do it, you know, you grew up having that fundamental belief.

And when you grow up as a kid, thinking that the world is your oyster, all things are possible if you put in the work to do it, you know, you grew up having that fundamental belief.

Both were influential at different points. My mom was there on a daily basis. My father was really influential at a really critical time where I had a summer where I played basketball when I was like 10 or 11 years old in a very prominent summer league in Philadelphia called the Sunny Hill League. Where my father played, my uncle played, and they were like all-time greats and stuff.

Both were influential at different points. My mom was there on a daily basis. My father was really influential at a really critical time where I had a summer where I played basketball when I was like 10 or 11 years old in a very prominent summer league in Philadelphia called the Sunny Hill League. Where my father played, my uncle played, and they were like all-time greats and stuff.

11, 10, 11.

11, 10, 11.

Really? Yeah. At 10 or 11 years old, you were that terrible. Awful. I mean, you know, and I had these big knee pads on because I was growing really fast. I have socks all the way up here. And I had like the high top face. Skinny. Like skinny. And I scored not a free throw, not a nothing, not a lucky shot, not a breakaway layup, zero points. And I remember crying about it and being upset about it.

Really? Yeah. At 10 or 11 years old, you were that terrible. Awful. I mean, you know, and I had these big knee pads on because I was growing really fast. I have socks all the way up here. And I had like the high top face. Skinny. Like skinny. And I scored not a free throw, not a nothing, not a lucky shot, not a breakaway layup, zero points. And I remember crying about it and being upset about it.

And my father just gave me a hug and said, listen, Whether you score zero or score 60, I'm going to love you no matter what. Wow. That is the most important thing that you can say to a child. Because from there, I was like, OK, it gives me all the confidence in the world to fail. I have the security there. But with that, I'm scoring 60. Let's go. Right, right, right.

And my father just gave me a hug and said, listen, Whether you score zero or score 60, I'm going to love you no matter what. Wow. That is the most important thing that you can say to a child. Because from there, I was like, OK, it gives me all the confidence in the world to fail. I have the security there. But with that, I'm scoring 60. Let's go. Right, right, right.

And from there, I just went to work. I just stayed with it. I kept practicing, kept practicing, kept practicing.

And from there, I just went to work. I just stayed with it. I kept practicing, kept practicing, kept practicing.

I think that's when the idea of understanding a long term view became important because I wasn't going to catch these kids in a week. I wasn't going to catch them in a year. Right. So that's when I sat down and said, OK, this is going to take some thought. All right. What I want to work on first. All right. Shooting. All right. Let's knock this out. Let's focus on this half a year, six months.

I think that's when the idea of understanding a long term view became important because I wasn't going to catch these kids in a week. I wasn't going to catch them in a year. Right. So that's when I sat down and said, OK, this is going to take some thought. All right. What I want to work on first. All right. Shooting. All right. Let's knock this out. Let's focus on this half a year, six months.

Do nothing but shoot. All right. After that. All right. Creating your own shot. You focus. So you start. I started creating a menu of things. When I came back the next summer, I was a little bit better. Right?

Do nothing but shoot. All right. After that. All right. Creating your own shot. You focus. So you start. I started creating a menu of things. When I came back the next summer, I was a little bit better. Right?

And then 14 came around, back half of 13, 14 years old. And then I was just killing everyone. And it happened in two years. And I wasn't expecting it to happen in two years, but it did because what I had to do was work on the basics and the fundamentals. Well, they relied on their athleticism and their natural ability. And because I stick to the fundamentals, it just caught up to them.

And then 14 came around, back half of 13, 14 years old. And then I was just killing everyone. And it happened in two years. And I wasn't expecting it to happen in two years, but it did because what I had to do was work on the basics and the fundamentals. Well, they relied on their athleticism and their natural ability. And because I stick to the fundamentals, it just caught up to them.