Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Even if you try to downplay what he did under the lights, it's hard to do the same for his work ethic. You can talk to countless NBA coaches and players, and they will all tell you about Kobe mentality. It was all about relentless work! No making excuses finding ways to get out of doing more. Kobe understood better than most that you have to be obsessive to get better at your craft. Without obsession, you may be able to be useful, but you will not be able to be great! Here are some of the things that made up the intense Kobe Mentality, his shoes, and how he kept it all organized personally.
The Kobe mentality meant showing up to take 400 shots every day. It does not matter whether you're hurt, sick, or you don't feel like it. Kobe did this day in and day out throughout his career. Shooting is one of the most fundamental skills of the sport, and Kobe made sure he perfected it.
The Kobe Mentality is 400 Shots a Day
Kobe Bryant developed the habit of taking 400 shots a day. The two things that stand out about this. Kobe understood the power of habit, and he knew that the tedious work was the most rewarding.
The Kobe mentality meant showing up to take 400 shots every day. It does not matter whether you're hurt, sick, or you don't feel like it. Kobe did this day in and day out throughout his career. Shooting is one of the most fundamental skills of the sport, and Kobe made sure he perfected it.
How many people try and say they are, but they don't write every day? Or people who say they are coders but do not code every day? Mastery means you need to have habits built around it that you do daily. Kobe put up 400 shots because he knew that most people could not do it every day.
The reason most cannot put up that many shots is because it gets boring after a while. To spend that much time shooting and practicing with intention requires a lot of focus.
What are your 400 shots a day? What is the thing that you do every day with intention? How do you track this habit and stay organized personally?
5 AM Practice
Kobe Bryant was an early riser. He was practicing at 5 AM in high school. Getting drafted straight to the NBA out of high school was no accident or mistake. Kobe Bryant had an extreme mindset from a young age! People with the Kobe mentality rise early because it requires discipline.
Anyone can work late in the night because it requires fighting sleep and staying up. To wake up early, means fighting the cozy warmness of your bed. It requires you fighting that voice that keeps saying lie back down. He punched that voice in the throat each morning to go to the gym.
There were countless stories of Kobe Bryant's greatness when it came to working out early. When others would be getting to the gym to start practice, Kobe would be getting ready for workout number 2. He was always willing to outwork people.
No Excuses With The Kobe Mentality
Kobe Bryant did not make excuses. He focused on what he could control, and that was getting better. The Kobe mentality does not have time for blaming. Every time you pass the blame, you give up an opportunity to improve. When you blame other people, you give them that opportunity to grow.
The Kobe Mentality does not accept excuses as a way out. That also means holding others accountable for their mistakes. If you don't hold your team responsible, then people will remain weak. You also must demand that your team hold you to that same level of accountability. Greatness does not come from low standards.
What excuses are you making for why your life is not where you want it to be?
The Kobe Mindset Will Outwork Everyone
If there is one thing that the Kobe mentality embodies, it's this concept. The examples above touch on this, but it still needs to be its point. Kobe did not accept losing. When he would lose playoff games, he would be in the gym the next day shooting like mad to get better.
If Kobe lost a game of horse, he would be in the gym practicing the shot that made him lose until he could hit it anytime. His goal was to put in more time, energy, and effort than any other play. The results of these actions were five championships. Kobe knew that identity and process were the keys to success.
He attached his work ethic to his identity until it became what the world expected from him. After that, he would move to the process, which is the day to day habits he used to become a champion. Kobe was a talented basketball player, but his habits and work ethic are things that we can all follow.
Test Things Out First
From when Kobe was in high school, he understood that practice was the perfect time to test new things. Throughout his entire career, he used teammates as guinea pigs for new things he wanted to try. He would practice these moves until he got them right. Only at that point would he go and bring them into the games.
The Kobe mentality will change the way you approach everything. Testing is not something we do enough in life. We are more than capable of trying something out, and if it does not work, we call it a failed experiment and move on. Most people look at life as if every decision has to be permanent.
The Kobe Mindset Demands You Always Learn From The Best
Out of everything that made Kobe great, this might be the one that helped him the most. Kobe always wanted to learn. He spent time working on his post moves with Hakeem Olajuwon. Kobe studied great players like Michael Jordan. It was usual for him to spend countless hours in the film room, breaking down his opponents. Kobe was a learning machine! He would use practices to learn from his own mistakes.
Kobe knew from day one of his careers he wanted to be great. He did not want to your average run of the mill player. That took a humble mindset because it means you have to recognize that you are not where you want to be. Once you realize this, you have to humble yourself and go and get the information that you do not have. Most people are too proud to admit that they need help.
When you apply the Kobe Mentality, it will mean that you are always looking for the best. You want to know everything about how they approach your craft. Today we have more access to resources than ever to be able to learn. We can read books, listen to podcasts and audio-books, we can watch YouTube, go to the library, and read blog posts. The resources we have access to are almost endless. The only excuse for not learning does not want to learn.
Key Ways to Learn
Observe others
Get a mentor
Pay a coach
Listen to audio
Squeeze Every Last Drop of Talent
Kobe did not want to leave the sport with any talent left. Think of a tube of toothpaste. Everyone uses toothpaste, but some people squeeze more out of it. Some people can ring more water out of a wet towel. The Kobe mentality means that you approach, trying to get the most out of yourself.
You never want to walk away from what you are doing and feel like you did not give your all. That is an awful feeling and a waste of your talents. You do not have to apply this over your career for it to work. It works much better day today. When you go to practice today, are you going to give your all? When you are studying the competition, are you going to give your all?
The goal is to use and cultivate your talents. The only way to do that is to show up with it and go to work everyday! You have to build habits around your abilities.
The Kobe Mindset Is Having Excellent Habits
The reason the Kobe mentality is a thing is that he build habits made with steel. Habit Stacker can help you to do the same thing. The app makes sure you do things like reviewing your goals, writing in your journal. Then you can add any habit in that you would like to track and stay organized personally with it. These are all habits that support your goals.
It does not matter if you want to put up 400 shots a day, stretch daily, read, podcast, or write. Any habit you want to break, you can track it daily. You will know how often you are succeeding and how often you are not getting it done. The wins add up to exponential gains like compound interest.
