This past week marked the birthday of the late Kobe Bryant and the 8/24 Mamba Day celebration where athletes and celebrities paid tribute to Kobe. Kobe’s impact stretched beyond the Lakers to the next generation of NBA stars. He inspired and supported the WNBA and youth sports. He pushed into the arts and became one hell of a storyteller. As I combed through all the articles, instagram posts, tweets and YouTube videos, I was looking for a way to distill Kobe’s inspiration into something digestible for coaches and athletes. Something new jumped out to me.
Well, it was the same - but it felt different.
In Kobe’s last interview in uniform he told sportscaster Jim Gray that he had made a promise to himself at 15 - “At the end of my career I want people to think of me as a Talented Over-Achiever. I was blessed with talent, but I worked as if I had none.”
Let’s breakdown the Talented Over-Achiever. The word Talented acknowledges gifts and some natural abilities. Over-Achiever means to maximize everything and push beyond all expectations. In order to over-achieve, you need to work hard and demand more from yourself. This sums up the Mamba Mentality, the quest to become the best version of one’s self.
Go and be a Talented Over-Achiever.
A new day, a new season, a new school year, a new opportunity sits in front of each and every one of us. The opportunity we all have is to become our best self. First - recognize talents. You have gifts and abilities. Some of these gifts you recognize immediately and others you may to listen for and discover - but they are there. Fun exercise - ask people close to you (friends, coaches, family) what they see as your talents / gifts. You might be surprised what you hear and realize that you are much more than you choose to call out. Next - over achieve. Maximize your days and your talents. Find motivation. It could be a chip on your shoulder or proving the haters wrong - - but one motivation I encourage you to harness is to prove your biggest supporters right! Do it all for the people who believe in you. It could be coaches, teammates, parents, siblings. You have fans out there who are rooting for you. Go make them proud!
So what’s stopping us? Mostly it’s in our head or just figuring out where to start.
Work on the weak hand. Run the extra mile. Help up the teammate who is struggling. Study more. Prepare. Demand more from yourself. Eat smart. Beware of the comfortable middle and push yourself to the edges of your comfort zone.
Improve just 1% each day.
BE A TALENTED OVERACHIEVER.
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