PERSEVERANCE

“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” — Kobe Bryant

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I watched with great interest a collection of interviews with Kobe Bryant on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night. Jimmy was honoring his legacy by sharing some of the most memorable, poignant, and humorous moments on the show featuring the celebrated basketball player. 

There was one clip in particular that stuck out most for me because it revealed the depth that Kobe went in his commitment to excellence, and there are two main points I'd like to share with you:
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• First, Kobe was such a student of basketball that he even carefully studied the referee rulebook because he wanted to know where the referees would be on the court at all times during the game so that he would be able to recognize moments where he might be able to get away with an unseen foul!
• Second, in an effort to maintain top physical condition, Kobe took up tap dancing to strengthen his ankles so that they wouldn't get injured. He related the humorous story of showing up to the first day of tap dance lessons. Here was this 6'6" tall man towering over these 6-year-old kids! One would hardly consider needing to learn tap dance in order to master basketball, yet such was the level of commitment to excellence that Kobe had.

These two details of his life strike a chord with me because it's easy to take the easy way out and resign ourselves to living the "good enough is good enough" mentality. And sure, for most things in our lives that is probably true. Not everything has to be "perfect," otherwise we'd spend all our days striving for mastery in things that we're just not meant to master. But where it matters most—in the things that touch our strength zone—it is those things that we'd do well to take a closer look at and be more than simply "good enough."

Kobe performed at his best because he didn't settle for average. He did more than the average ball player. He did more than what was expected. He did more than just learn how to throw a ball. Kobe did his homework, and that's the kind of commitment to excellence that I'm after and that's the kind of commitment to excellence that I want for you, in whatever your chosen craft is.

MAGIC WORD
I prepare the videos for these lessons weeks in advance, and the Magic Word I planned for this week is Perseverance. I believe this word speaks to the commitment to excellence that we explored today, giving us the perseverance we need to carry on with our lives, no matter the challenges, disappointments, setbacks, and tragedies. After all, in the words of Kobe Bryant, "Dedication sees dreams come true.”

REFLECTION

• What's your strength zone? What are you interested in mastering?
• Are you committed to excellence, or are you just throwing a ball around?
• What daily habits and reminders can you commit to that will set you up for success?
• How can you make these activities more fun and more accessible so that you will follow through with them?