This group has been designated for adults age 18 or older. Please sign in and confirm your date of birth in your profile so we can verify your eligibility. You may opt to make your date of birth private.
More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
successful, and always will, is his attention to detail. He always used to tell us: if you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.
Kobe knew that to be the best you need a different approach from everyone else.
When everyone else was thinking it was time for bed, his mind was telling him it’s time to get ahead of the competition.
During my rookie year, at first, some scouting reports said I wasn’t tough. The first time I went to the basket in games, I’d get hit and the defense would think they had me. I’d come back the very next play and pick up an offensive foul just to send them a message.
I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my game, but I also wasn’t willing to sacrifice my family time. So I decided to sacrifice sleep, and that was that.
By reading, by paying attention in class and in practice, by working, I strengthened my focus. By doing all of that, I strengthened my ability to be present and not have a wandering mind.
That’s why I think it’s so important to have those mentors, those north stars, who you learn from and look up to.
The key, though, is being aware of how you’re feeling and how you need to be feeling. It all starts with awareness.
If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That’s totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.
That’s the best advice I can give: listen to your body, and warm up with purpose.
Now, I coach my daughter’s team, and we run the triangle offense. Recently, I called Phil and filled him in on what I was teaching the girls. He was surprised by how much I learned from him. More than that, he was surprised how much detail I had retained and was now passing down.
The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life. I do think that it’s important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality.
