Life is unpredictable and quite frankly cruel at times, especially when tragedy strikes. Many people are reeling with the news of the helicopter that crashed on the morning of January 26th, 2020, killing all nine people aboard the aircraft. The crash undoubtedly leaves a massive void in many people’s lives as they lost friends, family, and a sports figure that has been a part of many people’s lives.
Among those on board most notably was Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and teammates as they were en route to her basketball game. Tragedy rears its ugly head on occasion or what seems to be a daily occurrence given today’s 24-hour news cycle, but we must press forward and remember that each day is a gift. We must do our best to be the captain of our ship and the master of our destiny. Kobe Bryant was many things in his career; personally, I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I recognized his imprint on basketball and his supporters. His work ethic was a thing of legend as countless stories of him outworking his competition, and an unbreakable will to be the best.
Take, for example, the story from the Olympics when a trainer exchanged numbers with Kobe and let him know if he ever wanted to get some extra conditioning in to let him know. His phone rang at 4:15 am asking him to meet him in the gym. They worked out for 75 minutes, and the trainer left to get some extra sleep before their 11 o’clock scrimmage. He enters the gym and sees all the players arriving and talking to Coach K, and there Kobe is off to the side, sweat dripping. The trainer heads over and tells him great work this morning, and Kobe reply, “Huh,” and the trainer reiterates his conditioning work. Kobe responds, “oh yeah, thanks, Rob,” so when did you finish? Then it becomes apparent that he never left the gym, and said he wanted 800 makes.
Life is what we make of it, and even if we do not possess some of the natural gifts that Kobe had, we can all become the best versions of ourselves through hard work. There were many things that I did not applaud in his career, but his post-playing career seemed to bring out the best version of himself. He was frequently spending time with his family and, through his media company, created films and stories that inspired children and families to bond together. He even won an Oscar for his animated short film Dear Basketball. I think Kobe would agree that he was his best version of himself when he was with his family and particularly his daughters.
No one is immune to the unknowns in life, but we cannot live in fear of what might happen; we must live our lives in a way that brings joy and happiness to those around us. We must craft our legacy to be something that inspires and uplifts. There are enough doom and gloom, but we can all bring more light into it by extending a helping hand, being positive, and striving to be the best version of ourselves. Let us never give up and throw in the towel, even if it seems unlikely, the human spirit is remarkable, and have achieved the impossible countless times.
Nunc Coepi 