Be Like Mike or Kobe. What does this mean for me?

As people all around the world celebrate the birthday of Kobe Bryant, most people setup their instagram facebook pages dedicated to the life of Kobe and what it meant to them.

For me, growing up playing basketball the man I idolised was Michael Jordan. He was the best and what he meant for me as a player was that I could also aim to be the best. But now looking on after playing the game for more than 20 years, MJ has long retired and Kobe Bryant had tragically passed away with his daughter Gigi.

So what can be learnt from these two icons of the game of basketball? Hardwork? Patience? Dedication? Commitment? Grit? Determination? Never give up? There are so many words that could describe them both.

For me, it comes down to two words...Faith and Love.

Kobe and Michael had an unbelievable amount of faith in their abilities. They of course had the work ethic and the passion for the game, but they believed in themselves. They believed that they could achieve greatness in their craft. They believed that with the people around them, they could achieve greatness together as a team. Faith or belief in ones own abilities in this day surrounded by so much negative noise is so important. What can you control is in your control. The ability to have faith in yourself is not easy given the amount of social media and messages that are all around us. How do you block that out? Faith. Belief. Having faith does not mean that you need to be religious. It just means that you have a belief in a cause or a determination towards something. Kobe said "Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

And love. Love, again has so many different words that can be associated with it. Love or Passion for the game is what both Kobe and Michael had. They worked day and night to practice the game of basketball. They had a love for the game. They loved it so much they would study it, watching film after film of their game and the game of their idols to watch and learn how they approached the game. After watching they would practice and put their new learned abilities into their game, which to them was their job. Their source of income. They never gave up on their love for the game. All the pain, all the suffering came with all the good and the fun that came with the game. Their job was to play basketball at the highest level to provide for their families. If they failed at their job, they failed their family but most importantly, for Kobe and Michael, they failed themselves. I can certainly relate to that.

As a professional and a person, they showed us that having Faith and Love towards anything you truly set your mind on, you can achieve anything you want. You will have the up's and the down's that go with that journey but if you have Faith and Love, nothing will stop you from achieving your own greatness. It does not matter what you do. Whether you are a salesperson, a person on the loading docks, a gardener, a mother, a cleaner or a chef. Have the belief in yourself that you can achieve greatness. Have Faith in your abilities and show the Love towards your chosen craft to want to be better and aim high. The only way is up!

Just as they had to pivot their lives from playing professional basketball to becoming retired. They both still had the same approach to their off court lives. Family, business, partnerships, personal challenges. Whatever life throws at you, be agile enough to pivot but continue to have Faith and Love running through your body. For me, that is what both Kobe and Michael mean to me. They taught me (and believe me I am still learning to keep the same Focus, which is another thing they have and a topic for another day) that nothing is impossible and that you can just go out there and give it a try. Be the best you can be and let your Faith and Love guide you along the way. Michael and Kobe, you continue to inspire me and many people around the world.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.