Kobe

You can be mentored by people who aren’t alive
100% because the story still lives
These muses are here so it’s important to learn from them
Because you realize they are people just like us
They make mistake just like us
And they kept going... and we can do the same

You know they say we die twice
Once when the breath leaves our body, and once...
When the last person we know says our name
And he would be shooting baskets in the dark
Because they hadn't even turned the lights on yet
He'd be there an hour, two hours before everybody
Everybody would be at breakfast
And he would show up fully sweated out
Like he'd just done three hours of workout before anybody did anything

How much harder will you work in this off season now, to get back to the championship?
I push myself to exhaustion...
I played game with the flu, I played game with 102F fever man
I made a promise to myself
I was gonna work that hard, every single day
When I do retired... I have no regrets
If I can work that hard
Everyday... where would my career be?

From Lower Merion High School... in Pennsylvania
This kid right here, mark my words, is going to be unbelievable
And there you see Kobe Bryant in foreground...
The man many have dubbed the next Michal Jordan
He wants it so bad he's willing to go to the extreme
At the age of 34 playing 38 minutes. That's ludicrous
He's coursed as much as I am
He just wants to get to the offensive end and go one-on-one
I'm gonna make his ass work down here
It was fun to be out there
This man played with the broken finger... and won a championship

My family walks in... I have tears in my eyes
They look at you and stuff and I'm like..
"It's all right, the dad's gonna be all right, would be fine"
As a parent you gotta set the example
This obstacle cannot define me
It's not going to be resposible for me stepping away for the game that I love
I'm gonna step away on my own terms
We all have shit that we go through
We all have things that obstacles that are on our way at some point or another
We all had doubt, but we chose, we chose
Using the darker emotions, the anger, frustration
Sadness using that as a weapon
No matter what happens the storm eventually end
And when the storm does end, you want to make sure that you are ready
So I've really learned to put one foot in front of the other
Because eventually that storm... passes

Those times when you get up early and work hard
Those times when you don't feel like working
You are too tired, you don't want to push yourself, but you do it anyway... that is actually a dream
I didn't know if I can do it..
It was my daughter who put things in perspective for me
Gianna she is not 13 and she was like:
"well... you always tell us to go for it"

We’re not on this stage just because of talent or ability
We’re up here because of 4 a.m
We’re up here because of two-a-days or five-a-days
We’re up here because we had a dream and let nothing stand in our way
If anything tried to bring us down
We used it to make... us stronger
We were never satisfied, never finished
We will never be retired
That's how you have to be if you want to be a winner
There is just no way around it
Rest in the end, not in the middle... I took that to heart
My next dream is to be honored one day, for inspiring the next generation of athletes to have a dream, sacrifice for it
And never ever rest in the middle
Uncommon amongst uncommon people

Yesterday was supposed to be celebratory day
And then we got tragic news about Kobe Bryant
And everything changed in a second
Life is short and it's fragile
And we don't know how many birthdays we have
Just celebrate life and...
If you haven't told someone you love them, do it now
Do it. Tell people you love them
Call your friends, text your friends. Hug them. Kiss them

When I took her to the Lakers game, we just had so much fun, because it was first time I was seeing the game... through her eyes
And she had such a great time... as a father... that's all you want
No one knows how much time we have
That's why we must live in the moment
We must enjoy the moment
It was her... like she was having such a good time
Players would come and say "Hi" to her
Lebron was talking about her fade-away...
We must reach and see and spend as much time as we can
With our family and friends and people that we love
The most important thing in life is how your career moves
And touches those around you
And how it carries for the next generation
And you realize... that's what makes true greatness