A Leader Who Influenced the World

I think why it hit me so hard, is because the heroes of our lives are supposed to be immortal, they aren’t supposed to die.

Kobe was that person I could always reference when things got hard in business, in the gym, when whatever goal I had for myself felt too hard or out of reach. He was a symbol of relentless work ethic and mental strength that I could aspire to.

After a 3-peat with Shaq and the Lakers - he went 7 long years, gut wrenching seasons no doubt; in which a championship was unreached. He didn’t let his success of a 3 peat stop him from growing, giving up or living in past success. He learned to watch the details of the game. To watch the body language of each player, the struggle within his own team’s mindset and to let go and lead through others - even when it required him to sacrifice what he wanted most in the moment; which undoubtedly was to grab the basketball and make every single play himself.

To lead through others isn’t an easy thing. You have to let go and lean into building relationships with your team, build them up to see their purpose and influence them to join you on the WHY of your combined mission. Kobe utilized the assassin-like mentality of his alter ego The Black Mamba, to drill shots against his opponents and came up in the clutch in the most crucial of moments.

Kobe and I were almost the same age, I was always so impressed with how much he accomplished parallel to my own life.

During Kobe’s retirement speech he spoke directly to his daughters saying that pushing yourself when you don’t want to, is really the dream you’re pursuing.

I didn’t know Kobe, we weren’t personal friends, but I could always relate to the relentless effort he showed, his desire to self improve, self correct, to drive and push towards greatness every single day.

When asked by Lewis Howes how he defined greatness, Kobe said: “I think the definition of greatness is to inspire the people next to you. I think that’s what greatness is or should be. It’s not something that lives or dies with one person. It’s how can you inspire one person to then inspire another person? And that’s how I think you create something that lasts forever.”

Thank you Mamba. You will always live on in our hearts.