February 2020
Small Business Leader Edition
TECHNICITY
ISSUE
#05
Business Technology + sychronicity
WHAT DID KOBE BRYANT HAVE TO TEACH US?
I
“I don’t think of all the misery, I think of the
beauty that still remains.” – Anne Frank
think everyone in the United States
knew who Kobe Bryant was; even
if you aren’t a basketball fan, you’ve
heard his name somehow. When
a cultural icon like that passes
away – especially at such a young age
– it causes us all to pause and reflect.
While we strive to make sense of
something that cannot be made sense
of, the words and actions of someone
when they were alive can become
more powerful, especially those words
spoken and actions taken towards the
end of their life. Here are some things
Kobe Bryant has said and done that
have uplifted me; perhaps you can find
something that helps you too:
• He found a work life balance that
gave him more happiness. Fellow
basketball star Lebron James
commented about how, “these last
three years, out of all the success
(Kobe) had – five rings, multiple
MVPs, an All-Star game MVP of
this league, first-team everything,
all-life, all-world, all-basketball, felt
like these last three years was the
happiest I’ve seen him...being able
to just be with his daughters, be
with his family.” It is interesting to
note that in a CBS Sports’ 2015
documentary, “Kobe Bryant’s
Muse” Kobe said: “We all can be
masters at our craft, but you have
to make a choice. What I mean by
that is, there are inherent sacrifices
that come along with that. Family
time, hanging out with friends,
“Greatness isn’t
worth anything if
you can’t share it”
– Kobe Bryant
being a great friend, being a great
son, nephew, whatever the case
may be. There are sacrifices that
come along with making that
decision.” Yet after his NBA career,
in his second career running his
own media company, Granity
Studios, he was finding a way to
have more balance. From the article
based on his last interview with
USA Today it was said, “Bryant
still often reports to his office at
8 a.m. After leaving at 2 p.m. to
pick up his daughters from school,
Bryant returns around 3:30 p.m.
for more work” and that “Bryant
rarely watched NBA games after
he retired. He only did so if a
player asked him to review film.
Otherwise, he spent most of his
time on his projects or with his
family.”
• He was writing stories to help the
next generation reach their full
potential: In the same USA Today
interview he was quoted as saying,
“You got to do what you love to
do. I love telling stories.” On his
Twitter account Kobe described
his most recent book released with
Granity Studios, “Epoca: The Tree
of Ecrof”, as a novel “filled with
lessons advocating the importance
of overcoming adversity, rejecting
stereotypes, channeling emotions
and displaying self-confidence”.
• He was focused on uplifting
others & sharing success: In his
last conversation with Kobe, Bill
Plaschke, the LA Times sports
columnist that covered Kobe
for his entire career, asked Kobe
how he felt about LeBron James
passing him on the all-time scoring
list. Plaschke commented, “in our
20-minute conversation, he showed
a side of Kobe that I had not
seen before. The edge was gone.
The arms were open. He urged
acceptance of LeBron. He preached
calm for Lakers fans. He said
greatness wasn’t worth anything if
you couldn’t share it.”
- Jaclyn Morse, Vice President