Master of Work: Kobe Bryant
According to Kobe, you can become great if you are willing to pay the price.
Master of Work is a series of short biographies on the work ethic, routines, habits, and mindsets of great leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, and artists.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Everything has its price — and if that price is not paid, not that thing but something else is obtained… It is impossible to get anything without its price.”
Hard work is always required, but the greater the thing, the greater the price.
Do you want to be the best in your industry?
Do you want a phenomenal body?
Do you want to be a millionaire?
Ask yourself, “What is the price I need to pay to get this?”
Be Willing to Pay the Price
Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players to have ever played in the NBA. He has won five NBA championships, two Olympic Gold medals, and is a perpetual All-Star and All-NBA selectee with 18 and 15 picks respectively.
Kobe has been outspoken about his success, adamant that he has always been willing to pay the price to be great. If someone tried to outwork him, he just sacrificed more until no one else was willing to pay the price that he was willing to pay.
Consider this Reddit post from an athletic trainer that worked with Kobe on the U.S. Olympic Team:
I was invited to Las Vegas to help Team USA with their conditioning before they headed off to London. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past, but this would be my first interaction with Kobe.
The night before the first scrimmage, I had just watched “Casablanca” for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM.
A few minutes later, I was in bed, slowly fading away, when I heard my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up.
“Hey, uhh, Rob, I hope I’m not disturbing anything right?”
“Uhh, no. What’s up Kob?”
“Just wondering if you could help me out with some conditioning work, that’s all.”
I checked my clock. 4:15 AM.
“Yeah sure, I’ll see you in the facility in a bit.”
It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and get out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor, I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn’t even 5:00 AM.
We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then, we entered the weight room, where he would do a multitude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that, we parted ways. He went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow.
I was expected to be on the floor again at about 11:00 AM.
I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. (Thanks, Kobe.) I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility.
This next part I remember very vividly. All of the Team USA players were there. LeBron was talking to Carmelo and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility, Kobe was by himself shooting jumpers.
I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, “Good work this morning.”
“Huh?”
“Like, the conditioning. Good work.”
“Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it.”
“So when did you finish?”
“Finish what?”
“Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?”
“Oh, just now. I wanted 800 makes. So yeah, just now.”
To Recap his Day of Training:
4:30 am — Conditioning work: warmup, sprints and running.
6–7 am — Weight training
7–11 am — 800 jump shots made (It doesn’t say how many misses but probably hundreds more)
11-UTC — Team USA scrimmage
If you were to ask why Kobe was so great, a look into a single day of practice reveals the truth. He was willing to pay the price, to sacrifice more than anyone else. From his documentary Muse:
There is a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there is a choice that you have to make. 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 your friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever it is. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision. I knew that I was not going to be stopped. At the age of 18, this was my life. You can’t possibly become better than me because you’re not spending the time on it that I do. Even if you want to spend the time on it, you can’t because you have other things, other responsibilities that are taking you away from it, so I already won. — Kobe Bryant
The Master of Work series is really meant to dispel the truth that the greats are somehow gifted or talented beyond what we would consider a normal person.
We often feel that the world-class, industry experts, and professionals have something we do not. Instead, a look behind the process reveals the true secret.
The world’s best work harder than everyone else. They pay the price, day after day, year after year, and remain committed to the process above all else.
Gain a Mental Edge: Love the Process
If they possess something we do not, it is their mental toughness. Their mindset about training, work, and sacrifice is something most of us would consider “obsessive.”
Even Kobe’s teammates considered him to be “too much,” and his well publicized conflict with fellow Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal was partially based on his assessment of the big man’s work ethic. According to Kobe, he didn’t work hard enough.
What’s interesting about this frame of mind is that it is available for anyone. We can decide at any moment to become more disciplined, hardworking, and obsessive. We can put down the fork and remote and pickup a book. We can stop complaining and head to the gym, go for a walk, and fill our head’s with positive affirmations.
If the secret to working harder is mental toughness, then all we have to do is decide to adopt this frame of reference. Our mindset is simply a lens for how we view the world. Take control of what you see and feel, use the power of action to direct your life, and above all else, learn to love the process.
I knew that I was not going to be stopped. — Kobe Bryant
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