At around 10am on 26 January, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed in Calabasas, Calfornia, roughly 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, en route from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport.
There were nine people on board: a pilot, five passengers, and retired NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, accompanied by his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gianna.
All those on board died.
Today I don't just want to pay homage to one of the most iconic athletes of all time; others have already done that, and far more eloquently than I ever could.
I want to look at his life, his actions, his values, to see what we mere mortals can learn from a god like Kobe Bryant.
Let me explain.
This blog will be the start of a new series called 'Success Leaves Clues', in which I'll analyse exactly what it is that makes these individuals perform at such a high level, whether it be in sports, or business, or elsewhere.
I strongly believe that when you properly examine the habits, routines and behaviourisms of the successful, it is possible to identify many common trends, and I want to help you uncover these, and in turn apply them to your own life.
Sound like something you're interested in?
Read on.
3 Things To Learn From Kobe Bryant:
1) Be Obsessive
Too often in society, the word 'obsessive' is thrown around as an insult, used in connotation with someone being unhealthily fixated on something or someone else.
But the highest achievers ARE obsessive about their goals.
They eat, sleep and breath them; their every action is congruent with achieving them.
For Kobe Bryant, catching (and probably surpassing) the legendary Michael Jordan was always on his mind.
MJ won six NBA Championships in his career, and that was always Kobe's ambition, attempting to equal arguably basketball's greatest ever player.
This is even clearer after reading 'Relentless' by Tim Grover (trainer of both Jordan and Bryant), and it fuelled Kobe through every early morning workout, through the double and triple sessions before most of his teammates had even woken up.
Anyone or anything in his way was irrelevant.
Allen Iverson once dropped 41 points against Kobe, having been extremely frustrated by the Philadelphia 76ers' guard all game long.
Undefeated, Kobe proceeded to read every article and book he could find about Iverson, and watch every single game he played, obsessively studying his strengths and weaknesses.
The next time the two matched up, Iverson couldn't score against Kobe for the entire first half, and his 76ers would lost out to Kobe's Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA Championship in the following years.
Obsessive? Undoubtedly.
Extreme? Decide for yourself.
Results don't lie.
2) Be Relentless
One NBA Championship was never enough for Kobe Bryant.
Nor was two, or three, or four.
Often in life, you'll see people have some success, then they become complacent, and overly satisfied with themselves, and inevitably slide back into mediocrity.
Kobe understood that complacency slow eats away at greatness, and battled it with his every action.
Even after basketball, he wasn't finished.
No, not only did his short animated film 'Dear Basketball' win an Oscar, but his joint-investment business, Bryant Stibel, worth more than $2 billion in assets.
He transferred his infamous 'Mamba Mentality' (referring to the Black Mamba snake) from the court to the boardroom, refusing to let himself fall off as so many ex-athletes unfortunately do with too much time and money on their hands.
Kobe understood the value of learning other languages, becoming fluent in Italian and Spanish himself.
This man was not just an exceptional athlete; he was an exceptional human, a source of inspiration for not just his family, but hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
3) Deal With Pressure
The most successful people, in ANY industry, do not cower away from pressure.
They don't fake illness to get out of doing a big presentation, or fake injury to avoid playing a tough opponent.
They'll always step up to the plate.
They'll be the calming, authoritative presence, leading by example when everyone else is panicking and losing their heads.
(Think about how remaining calm in a crisis is more relevant now than ever before).
In his career, Kobe Bryant took thirty-six game winning shots.
Those are the moments that epitomise the highest performers, the 'Cleaners', in the words of Tim Grover.
Of course, Kobe missed his fair share of game-deciding shots too.
So did Jordan.
That's part of the territory; one day you might get all the credit, with headlines and reporters gushing praise; the next, public slander and scrutiny.
Kobe took all of that on the chin, kept a cool head, and executed.
I think we all need a bit more of that in our lives.
R.I.P. Kobe Bryant; we'll be forever grateful for the example you set, the lessons you taught, and the values you lived by - You'll Never Walk Alone.
Until the next time,
Alex (N.Y.A.)
Something Extra
If you don't know much about Kobe's life, I urge you to research more for yourself.
It will inspire you.
Some of the following resources can help you do that, and develop yourself along the way:
Mamba Mentality (Kobe Bryant's autobiographical book)
Relentless (written by Tim Grover, Kobe & MJ's trainer, who unpicks the true mindset of a champion)
Lewis Howes' School of Greatness Podcast (in which he interviews Kobe, who reveals much about his attitude, work ethic, and relationships - click here)
Other than that, watch his basketball highlights on YouTube.
Marvel at the final product of innumerable hours of obsessive, relentless, pressurised work.
Aspire to be more like Kobe Bryant.