What's Inspiring You for Greatness? In Memory of Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality

Waking up Sunday morning, January 26th, 2020, was a bit different. I woke up with heaviness in my chest and felt like I had a broken heart. Something just felt different and heavier than normal.

Part of it was from something with one of my kids had shared but the other must have been from the death of the beloved Laker icon, Kobe Bryant. The news of a helicopter crash with his teenage daughter and other passengers triggered so many emotions. I kept shaking my head in unbelief and thinking he was too young and on a path to contribute more to the world than he did playing basketball.

In one of his interviews from last year, it made me want to be a better human being and so congruent with the pursuit of being the best version of self. I listened intently to what separated him from other NBA greats and other athletes and it was his MAMBA mentality. In his interview on The School of Greatness, the mamba mentality is “A way of life, the way you live, trying to get better every day. It’s simply just trying to get better at whatever it is you are doing. It’s just trying to get better everyday.” What I heard was the pursuit of becoming the best version of you. I don’t think we every get to a point where we become the best version of self because it’s a process that pushes us, excites us and shows us that there is so much more we are capable of than what we realize. Maybe we really are playing small. At least it makes me realize I am playing small.

So many times in life we become complacent and think it’s enough but I know for my spirit that if I am not progressing I am dying and feeling unfulfilled. It’s the growth, it’s the experience of uncharted waters, it’s becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable so that I can be a better human being and become the best version of me. I guess you would say it’s the MAMBA mentality. But how do you live with that kind of tenacity on a consistent basis? Unfortunately for many human beings it takes a tragedy to make a change in life. But those of the caliber of the Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods had one thing in common: pursuit of becoming better everyday and blissfully discontent. Excited about the progress of who they have become but also knowing that there was still more to pursue and enjoy the process of it.

Kobe’s impact as a leader, an athlete, a father, a husband, a visionary has had a global impact. He wasn’t a man without faults, because we all are imperfect, but the pursuit to leave a legacy that others can be great too was his message. Seek to be better than you were yesterday, the MAMBA mentality.

So how do you do this? You have a vision. You create an identity for a better version of you. You have a plan. You have accountability. You enjoy the process.

So what will it take for you to be the best version of self? There is no perfect timing when the stars align, when you have enough money, when you have the support from family, when someone comes to help you, you have to be your own rescuer. May this tragic loss ignite the fire; the passion to be the best version of self because that does create a ripple effect in the world and that would truly be a MAMBA movement………………