Kobe Bryant > Quotes

“Everyting negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
― Kobe Bryant

“The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life. I do think that it’s important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it.”
― Kobe Bryant

“A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That’s totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Those times when you get up early and you work hard; those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when you don’t feel like working, you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself, but you do it anyway; that is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
― Kobe Bryant

“You have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“If you really want to be great at something you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“What I mean by that is: if I wanted to implement something new into my game, I’d see it and try incorporating it immediately. I wasn’t scared of missing, looking bad, or being embarrassed. That’s because I always kept the end result, the long game, in my mind. I always focused on the fact that I had to try something to get it, and once I got it, I’d have another tool in my arsenal. If the price was a lot of work and a few missed shots, I was OK with that.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my game, but I also wasn’t willing to sacrifice my family time. So I decided to sacrifice sleep, and that was that.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“you can manipulate an opponent’s strength and use it against them.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“If you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.”
― Kobe Bryant

“The only aspect that can’t change, though, is that obsession.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Rest at the end, not in the middle”
― Kobe Bryant

“When everyone else was thinking it was time for bed, his mind was telling him it’s time to get ahead of the competition.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Some people, after all, enjoy looking at a watch; others are happier figuring out how the watch works.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“One of the main takeaways was that you have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light. Meaning: It takes a lot of work to be successful, and people will celebrate that success, will celebrate that flash and”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best. I never needed any external forces to motivate me.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“What separates great players from all-time great players is their ability to self-assess, diagnose weaknesses, and turn those flaws into strengths.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“You have to dance beautifully in the box that you're comfortable dancing in. My box was to be extremely ambitious within the sport of basketball. Your box is different than mine. Everybody has their own. It's your job to try to perfect it and make it as beautiful of a canvas as you can make it. And if you have done that, then you have lived a successful life. You have lived with Mamba Mentality.”
― Kobe Bryant

“I never felt outside pressure. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, and I knew how much work it took to achieve those goals. I then put in the work and trusted in it. Besides, the expectations I placed on myself were higher than what anyone expected from me.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“The key, though, is being aware of how you’re feeling and how you need to be feeling. It all starts with awareness.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Happiness is such a beautiful journey. It has its ups and downs, whether it’s in marriage or whether it’s in a career. Things are never perfect, but through love, you continue to persevere, and you move through them, you move through them. And then through that storm, a beautiful sun emerges, and inevitably, another storm comes. And guess what? You ride that one out too. So, I think love is a sort of determination, a persistence to go through the good times and the bad times with someone or something you truly love.”
― Kobe Bryant

“May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one.”
― Kobe Bryant

“The only way I was able to pick up details on the court, to be aware of the minutiae on the hardwood, was by training my mind to do that off the court and focusing on every detail in my daily life. By reading, by paying attention in class and in practice, by working, I strengthened my focus. By doing all of that, I strengthened my ability to be present and not have a wandering mind.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Good coaches, however, teach you how to think and arm you with the fundamental tools necessary to execute properly.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“After all, greatness is not for everybody”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

“Kobe knew that to be the best you need a different approach from everyone else.”
― Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play