TEDxShanghaiSalon - Power of the Mind

[Music] all right you ready to go I'm ready to go all right undress it just came from the basketball court why don't you say hi to everybody first we're online with TEDx it's gonna be millions of people watching you here you wanted to say hi to everybody well just saying hello and thank you for tuning in and you guys thank you for being here and thank you for having me here and truly appreciate it we're super excited to have a Kobe Bryant all-star MVP world champion NBA champion here we're at Shanghai Tower really behind us this is like you know futuristic they call it since the I of Shanghai or at the 126th floor no one's ever been up here before running an event this is kind of like a anti compression earthquake so we're safe up here we're gonna have fun today what do you think that looks like I think I think it's from back to the future flux capacitor something right so today you know let's let's start off with uh with something I want to talk about because you know we have we have a whole lot to get into but my thing is that a lot of people here haven't seen you since that last game on television that was crazy 60 points are you kidding me 60 points everybody did everybody see that last game who saw that last game you know for people in LA or in the States you know we they watch that live at 7:00 at night we watched way early in the morning you know so your global fans are on smartphones on tablets every which way you can we're cheering we're watching that and we were we were super excited you know let's bring us back there because that will lead us into what we're talking about today because that's it's the Mamba mentality that last game came out of nowhere man yeah pretty much you know it's uh for me it was just like the end of a really long beautiful journey you know I started playing a bad game basketball I was too and so for this to be deep moment this is deep last game for me to come out and perform in front of my fans in front of my home crowd from my family it was really exciting wasn't any pressure wasn't sad or anything like that it was like this is awesome you know let's go out here and put on the show one more time you've been doing this for 20 years I'm sure you don't get nervous were you nervous before this game no I wasn't nervous I was I was excited like I was ready to go you know I was ready to go and you know I saw my family right before we ran out on the court and you know looked at my wife and our kids and I just asked my kids I see let's go put on the show one more time is that okay they said yeah yeah so when I put on the show first oh it was fine it wasn't morning you nervousness or anything like that first shot didn't go in second shot didn't go in yeah third shot didn't go in yeah fourth fifth and six and then all of a sudden buckets yeah well yeah boom boom boom boom well I mean it makes it it makes the journey worthwhile I mean because you go through moments we have that adversity and you got to figure your way through it it's like the start of the game I actually had this to start laughing at myself after well I got after I missed like the fifth shot in a row so this is pretty funny this game can either be like I can either turn it around or this is gonna be absolutely horrendous be the worst last game ever so you know from that point I said I'm comfortable it's either gonna be the worst last game ever it's gonna be the best last game ever but I don't want anything in between so that leads me to ask because that last game you've been doing something you've been doing since you were four five years old it's not about the physical because you've done this a million times you've practiced the left hand pull-up mid-range the right hand pull-up mid-range to step back the pivot the reverse pivot you know going at attacking different angles you've been doing that so it's not about physicalness because that's all in green was that last game fully just mental just fighting through it and just say look I got it I got do this yeah it was no cuz I was I was ready to play I was excited to play you know once the game started it became became the norm you know it became reading defensive situations you know positioning of my teammates and you know just overall strategy and tactics and it felt good to get back to that you know because that's the part of the game that I enjoyed the most the mindfulness at that game yeah the fun of it's like a puzzle you have to figure out what pieces go where and that's the enjoyment in the game I think that's what we're we're leading here today in our TEDx talk is uh the power of the mind and I think because you know there's been so many athletes that have made the NBA the highest echelon of professional basketball in the world and there's athletes that can jump as high as the sky but as fast as you know a cheetah they get hit buckets they can react and react but it's it's the special nature players that have that mindfulness that have that attacking mode that relentless mode that mode where they go ice-cold last few minutes you know I think I think that makes a difference between the great ones in the greatest ones right yeah you know it's it's funny like it's to me the mentality is a really simple one in an assistant the confidence comes from preparation you know so when the games on a lot I'm not asking myself to do something that I haven't done thousands of times before right so when I prepare I know what I'm capable of doing I know what I'm comfortable doing and I know what I'm not comfortable doing right and so in those moments if it looks like ice cold or not nervous it's because I've done it thousands of times before so it's one more time so that leads me to talk about a lot of this Kobe tour this year in Asia is we we reiterate the Mamba mentality you know can you talk a little bit about what the Mamba mentality is because that's something that's been developing over I don't say 20 years it's been developing for 35 years since you were a little kid that Mamba mentality because you didn't start working when you got to the NBA you started working when you are at Lower Merion when you were in Italy when you were five when you're playing nerf nerf basketball so talking I'll talk about the development of the Mamba mentality the pillars the five pillars of this Mamba mentality and then we'll kind of break it down well I mean I overall you know the idea is a very simple one and you know the mama mentality simply means trying to be the best version of yourself that's what the mentality means it means everyday you know you're trying to become better it's a constant quest it's an infinite quest so starting at the age of two when I start playing the game and on and on and on I always ask questions I always tried to get better every single day learn more you were asking questions at - oh dude I was you'd be surprised like some people like my kids had to could do a lot of things mm-hmm right I - I could dribble the basketball I could shoot a basketball on the nerf hoop at the house and I would go to practice with my father I would observe my father I'd sit and watch games with him see her first coach yeah I guess you could say that you know a lot of things I learned by being just being around the game right so by the age of six I was already strategizing versus other six-year-olds you know the age of six I figured out six-year-olds couldn't dribble with their left hand so I said okay a lot of a lot of 12 year olds can't dribble with her well yeah it would imagine six so like I was playing these six year old kids I would make them dribble with their left because I knew they couldn't so they dribble off their foot I pick it up lay it up do it again dribble off foot pick it up laid up says say shoes oh it had 63 points mm I'd say you're sick so your six-year-old self could beat your 38 year old selfies you only scored 60 in the last game yeah no but I could remove my left oh so that's a problem but um but yeah listen I I just constantly looked for things to learn from and very observant okay so when we talk about the mama mentality you have your exhibition today starting in Shanghai right also we've been talking about this whole tour with young kids that are 5 10 15 20 we've been we just did a Kobe Academy right now we talk about being passionate being obsessive being relentless being resilient and being fearless these are the five pillars of the mama mentality so we'll kind of break that down today sure the first one is just be passionate you know what what is that is there is there is there a moment where you can define your passion for the game or was it just something accumulated over time well I mean you know the passion came from the love for the game you know I loved everything about it like the smell of the ball you love the smell of the ball the ball you know the smell of like brand-new sneakers you like the sound the ball meets when it hits the ground sneakers in the gym did you did yeah the ball going through the net like all those things I love and so the passion comes from that because once you have that love you just want to be a part of this thing all the time when you when you talk about this love when does that develop were you did you like it when you were five or is it something that kind of gradually was - I was born and I was born to play basketball you know what I mean and I played a lot of different sports but nothing brought me the sense of peace escape you know that the game of basketball do is it an escape when you get on the court is that your Zen time your your your solitude time yeah even though it's a team working yeah when I need that escape is there for me right when I need a friend it's there for me and when I need to vent and don't donkey the mama come this there you know so yeah the game is absolutely everything for me mm-hmm when you when we talk about trying to get kids to be passionate I don't think every kid I don't think your situation is the norm not every kid is knows they're passionate two or five right how do kids find that passion because you know you you you embraced it right away yeah any experience we try to put them in different things try to expose them to as many things as possible and then see if there's one thing that connects with them because if it does you don't have to tell them to do it you know whether it's writing or painting or drawing you know if they have that passion you don't have to tell them they're go off and do it because it's just fun you'd rather do that than anything else so but as parents it's our job to just expose them so as many things as possible and see which one they gravitate to the most it's interesting because you talk about kids right originally we're talking about you now you're talking about your kids and their passions do you do you kind of feel that passion for them and then say hey let's go play some basketball or volleyball or let's go swimming yeah we exposing all kinds that maybe they play a lot of different sports they do a lot of things creatively you know in writing and things like that and designing and you just sit back and you just watch which one they move to and then it's our responsibility as parents try to set them up for success as much as we possibly can do you want them to play basketball I wanted to find whatever it is that they're passionate about like whatever they feel like their purpose is and that's what I want them to do do they love basketball that's prom so I my youngest one she does she wants to she wants to play she wants me to teach how to play this summer and you know our hell this is really into volleyball so and but we'll see you know how passions tend to change is he gonna get into volleyball now well yeah sister was a great volleyball player so you have a teacher in the family is there is there one moment where you can say it defined your passion for basketball is there a story or moment when you said that wasn't it that was it that was like when I felt really passionate no I it doesn't never leave you know the game was just a part of me so it never leaves even now that I'm retired you know everything I've learned from the game of basketball I've carried it over into life you know like basketballs helped me be a better person a better friend but how solid well because there's life lessons that are within the game like communications like unselfishness attention to detail and empathy and compassion like all those things are in the game and as an athlete if we are aware of those things it helps us become better human human beings and you can apply that toward your post post basketball days retirement into your business world future ventures sure I mean you can plan you know I was applying that even while I was playing just in life outside of the game and even more so now you know I'm building a business and all these things you know kind of culture you when I have all those things are or directly learn from the game of basketball next up is the next pillar be obsessive obsessive that's I think I think a lot of people equate that with you you know Kobe is obsessive in a lot of things we've been doing this for what eight years now at Asia tour you know I've been with you for a long way the one moment that stands out out of we've done I don't know how many we've done what 800 events the one time was 4 a.m. we went up to practice at 4 a.m. and that was your idea to do it but then you know all these Nike people are like no no no let's not let's not do that and then you're like let's do it at 4 a.m. so you got security you got brand marketing sports marketing go no no no no no no let's not do it you're like let's do it because that's your sustenance I mean to me it just makes complete sense not to us see we all right what you usually I'm sleeping at 4 a.m. you're here working out so talk about that ok so if if your job is to try to be the best basketball player you can be right to do that you have to practice you have to train right you want to train as much as you can as often as you can so if you get up at 10:00 in the morning train at 11:00 12:00 say 12:00 train at 12:00 train for two hours 12:00 to 2:00 you have to let your body recover so you eat recover whatever you get back out you train start training it at 6:00 train from 6:00 to 8:00 right and now you go home and shower you dinner you go to bed you wake up do it again right those are two sessions all right now imagine you wake up at 3 you train at 4 go 4 to 6 come home breakfast relax so so now you're back at it again 9 to 11 relax and now just on your back at it again to the 4 and have you're back at it again you know 7 to 9 look how much more training I have done by simply starting at 4 all right so now you do that and as the years go on the separation that you have with your competitors and your peers just grows larger and larger and larger and larger and larger and by year five or six doesn't matter what kind of work they doing a summer they're never going to catch up because they're five years behind so it makes sense to get up and start your day early because you can get more work out is that genetic or is that something you you engrained and trained yourself no it was taught you that for me it was it was just common sense like I can I can if I start earlier I can train more hours and I know the other guys aren't doing it because I know what their training schedule is so I know if I do this consistently over time it's the gaps is gonna why why no why no why no why and they won't be able to get that back mm-hmm so it's me it was just common sense I'm like thinking how can I get an advantage Oh start earlier yeah let's do that when did you start doing that high school high school we start my first class on high school was seven at 7:45 I usually get to the gym around 5:00 a.m. and I'd play before school mmm and then school with stars and playing with you at 5:00 a.m. my coach my coach would show up and we'd do all these basketball drills so just you and your coach just me and my coach and sometimes it would just be me and a janitor who's still there today and and then I play at lunch I guess you get a medal III hooked him up with a few things but I play going lunch and then practice after and then go home do my schoolwork and then watch a bunch of game film and games on TV and study study film was that the only thing you've been obsessed about basketball well until recently yeah so recently yeah basketball is dominated you know my my entire life more than 30 years what when when I when I brought it up like what are you is a genetic or you just learned it I mean how did that idea even come up because that's obviously a pillar of mama mentality the obsessiveness this is just like you said I'm gonna get up at 4:00 and everybody's get up at 6:00 if everybody's gonna get that for I'm gonna get up at 2:00 right right how do you how do you develop that or what do you what do you learn that from well I think it's just no it's just a matter of what's important to you mm-hmm what's important to you for whatever reason you know I felt like I didn't feel good about myself if I wasn't doing everything I could to be the best version of myself if I felt like I left anything on the table it would eat away at me I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror right so the reason why I can retire now and be completely comfortable about it because I know that I've done everything I could to be the best basketball player I could be and so that's where it comes from for me you can't leave any stone unturned because you know we do all these events and like today we just did one you guys weren't here we were just at the Colby Academy we just had all these kids 24 best high school basketball players in China running playing basketball running five on five running all these drills and then at the end we had this little game where all they had to do was run this drill called Seventeen's Seventeen's is really simple one minute you got to run 17 times from from sideline to sideline it's tough it's tough you got to run it in one minute if any of you've been playing basketball in high school you know what I mean it's a killer it's all it is is just grit it's just let's just run and then this kid you know we're running and this is poor media we got the media on the side and and if they ran to get a pair of Kobe shoes so you know it's for fun when I warned them and he award them I said if you guys run the 17 everybody gets a pair of shoes if you don't touch the line you get nothing so they buddy touched the line so this is where Kobe gets his obsessiveness so we're sitting there everybody's kind of happy we're thinking that they're gonna run the lines when I have a presentation for the shoes the kids are running they've been running for two hours run and run and running this one kid misses the line by like half-inch no wasn't even half inch that much he misses the line Kobe's like stop stop stop stop stop we had to stop we had to stop everything and he's like nobody gets shoes and all these kids are like oh they're mad at the kid yeah and you know he's like nobody nobody gets shoes you guys sit on the sidelines and then Kobe made this kid run suicides which is another drill baseline free-throw line baseline half court baseline opposite free-throw line baseline baseline and back three in a row three times you had to run three of them yeah but the best part was the best part was the last one Kobe ran with this kid he ran with this kid okay yeah it's awesome ran with this kid and there's a meal 1.1 million people are watching online crazy he were on with this kid this kid was dry-heaving he was about to die yeah but you're lucky he did die noise it was he was a good time but but the important thing understand is you can't you can't shortchange yourself like yeah you're not cheating anybody but yourself I mean you're tired you're literally this far away from the line why would you not go that extra to touch the line alright so if I let him get away with that right all of a sudden he starts maybe you cheat something over here right and I give his best over here I give his best over here and as years go on he's gonna be extremely he's not gonna reach his full potential because he's been taking these little shortcuts that just add up add up add up add up and you can't let that happen our job as teachers as mentors as inspirers it's our responsibility to hold them accountable to those things the funny part is we were we're just talking about this kid we're in the back and Kobes like I bet you that kid will never ever miss the line again because that what no where so that that's you being obsessive but teaching obsessiveness because that's that's what you gotta be right do you you have to be obsessive to get to that level in everything you do details don't waste time do it right perfection yeah I mean it's this really simple is like whatever you're doing at that moment is what you're doing at that moment you know it's like that's where the obsessiveness is having of attention to detail for this action that you are performing at the time you're performing it and if you can have that kind of focus you can't help but to have a certain level of obsession or attention to detail moving on to the the third pillar is to be real relentless that we know you for you know we see you on TV being relentless first quarter second quarter third quarter fourth quarter attack attack attack never letting your teammates slack off attack attack attack wait how do you get that talk about what is what is the meaning of relentlessness to you well is to never to be unyielding never give an inch to any really like you're always going after it always going after always going after it and if there's a challenge that ensues oh good I want to see how I stack up to that so you go after you go after it and it's just so it's fun it's like you get a chance to compete against opponents and you get a chance to see where you stack up against them saying I want to see it maybe I'm not good enough today with that that's fine I'll be good enough the next time I see you though you know and you get a chance to always measure yourself and it's it's just fun to do that so I guess that's where relentlessness comes from it's is it something that's also learned or ingrained or is it something you kind of learn over time because these things that we talk about new mom mentality you know for you it's second nature mm-hmm it's not for a lot of people right a lot of it is is trained or it's not god-given no I I had to learn it as well though cuz I'm at had a year of playing like when I play basketball in Italy I was taller than everybody else and faster like the age of 11 and I came back to America to play basketball and it was not the same thing because kids were bigger stronger and so I went through a summer of playing basketball in America where I didn't score one point it was one league I didn't score one point and it was devastating but I had to know I'm not giving up it's not going to happen so you bounce back and you keep playing you keep practicing you keep practicing but I mean it wasn't handed to me you didn't score one point not one I mean not even a free-throw and your zero you were how old 11 11 will you playing against 25 year olds no I was playing against 11 it's hard to believe wow I know I know but else playing against 11 year olds and I didn't score one point and then what was that did that uh did I hurt you or you were you well yeah it was very embarrassing because you know my father was a Philadelphia basketball legend my uncle was a Philadelphia basketball legend and now here I am this kid like these really big knee pads and I'm walking around and I can't score anything so I was like really embarrassing that drove you of course it did corseted I vowed to be much much better so you live for those moments where you're embarrassed when you're down people kick you don't let you score those are the moments that drive you well I mean those are the moments that occur right so whatever moments occur good bad or indifferent I can use those moments to propel me forward use those as fuel to help me be a better player is there a moment in your MBA career where you felt like you didn't hit that mark and that was a huge transition for you yeah I always felt like I missed the marks in the league what were some of the down moments for you in basketball well losing to the Celtics in the financial 2008 I mean that was tough that hurt me too yeah it was brutal and and aw yeah night in the hotel room after we lost was thinking to myself I may never win another championship like I might have just like this is it it's too hard to get back here maybe it's not in the cards to win another one and so I go through that night of being mad and then the next morning I wake up and I start thinking no I gotta fix this so where did it go wrong you know why did we lose we weren't tough enough okay weren't tough enough whose responsibility is that to make the team tough it's mine so now I have to start figuring out how I'm gonna lead this team differently so to make sure that when we get to the finals the next time we were tough and ready for this challenge and that's that's how you bounce back from those moments that was 2008 2008 2008 against the Celtics and I mean all of Laker nation was hurt because especially because it was against the Celtics right it was painful you can't lose Celtics come on because also that was there that was there like 17 right yeah for their for their organization yeah and then you bounce back the next year against Orlando Orlando got our revenge against the Celtics in 2000 it did beating the Celtics feel better than beating Orlando oh yeah oh yeah yes yeah yeah man I grew up such a Lakers fan and so like the Lakers and Celtics Ryan just hate on everything yeah but you hate up we can't no way I can be on the team when a Lakers team that loses to the Celtics twice no you know it's funny because in in Asia me being here in Asia too a lot of a lot of fans are fans of a player and they they love that player and subsequently late they loved that team that their player plays for but growing up in the States if you grew up in Philly you were a Sixers fan right and then if you grew up in LA you were a Lakers fan you are also a Dodgers fan and at the time you are a Rams fan you you affiliated with your city and then the city that you hate it was your arch enemy so you if you're a Laker fan you just hate the Celtics and you hate every team every team that that loses them you root for every team against the Celtic no question yeah the enemy of my enemy is my friend you just want to see them do bad yeah just do bad if you if you are a Dodger fan you just want to see the Giants lit so right it's not necessarily good karma but yeah it's not but when you lost to the Celtics and you beat him again that moment that that's relentless because you come coming back coming back coming back and you you had to come back and beat their court can't give up and then desert is it was that up was that a big moment for you beating beating the Celtics it was huge you know because you know we seen I've seen us as a team grow so much from 2008 Pao Lamar you know all our guys like how much we have grown since the last time we faced this team and I couldn't be any more proud of them you know it wasn't even about me it was about sitting back and watching us as a group and we just accomplished this amazing thing and now we can all enjoy it together so moving on to the next pillar is to be resilient I remember this time last year you came and we did a premiere for a movie you did music and a big big part of that movie was talking about your injury and coming back to be resilient take us back to that day against uh Phoenix right when you injured your Achilles is golden stage it was it was it was hard man because the Achilles injury is the worst injury for an athlete it's like the works it's like the the kiss of death and when I ruptured my Achilles eye I knew what happened I knew the severity of the injury and I didn't know if I was gonna come back from it yeah in the locker room you were crying yeah this is it like my career could be over right now so how do you get back from that because you know when you talk about injuries you know people sprained their ankles just look at your fingers but Achilles yeah you know people don't come back from that well athletes don't come back from that to the level they were before yeah how is to how do you get that resilience how do you fight that well what I did is you know I went home and I was just really angry and angry I was angry I was mad and I worked so hard for us to get to the playoffs and to have a chance to another championship and this happened so I had a lot of anger and then from the anger and then I was sad and then you start feeling bad for yourself and then you say alright okay I'm done being a baby okay what am I gonna do now because I can't sit here and give up that's not an option so now what how long was this cycle from this angers one night one night this is one night one night who's you you started writing in the middle right you wrote that uh you-you-you wrote that it was okay what are you gonna do so yeah one night but then you know didn't you start it's a process you look at process what am I gonna do what can I control surgery will do the surgery come out of the surgery recover from their physical therapy okay physical therapy piece by piece by piece by piece by piece start running back on the court it's our broke things down into sections and said okay I'm gonna focus on resting right now this is it I'm gonna focus on moving my toes and then walking and then so you look at every challenge at every step and that's how you're able to be resilient and come back from these things because you know for your field in in sports injuries often happen right and to come back but you know for for most everyday people it's it's something that they can't fathom because they don't they don't have that type of Raziel resistance that they have to face right so how do they how do they come back from it because sometimes people fail in their fields and their jobs or at school young kids you know you don't have a good test score you don't make the basketball team or you know they have these disappointments how do they what is your advice to young kids to you know to to face the faceless adversity how do you persevere well like if you because you you have that chemical makeup to fight through it yeah not all kids do but but you you every kid every person has the ability to put one foot in front of the other one step at a time right so like if you're saying okay I'm gonna climb Mount Everest at the bottom of the mountain and you look up you're going right but if you break it down into sections and you just one foot in front of the other one step at a time next thing you know you're at the top of the mountain so the the map the the plan is to set short-term goals yeah to get there eight to be coming back from my Achilles I came back from the Achilles and I was fine and then the next year I fractured my knee mm-hmm right here we go again come back from that next year tear my shoulder if we go again right but if I looked at those things in totality to be depressing but if I look at it as just the facts this is this is it happened can't do anything about it it happened now what are you gonna do one step at a time Achilles knee shoulder any step of the way you said screw it forget it done no more no never no well no but why right because you know as time goes on and sitting there 78 years old and I'm gonna be wondering if I could have come back from this injury I don't want to wonder I want to find out we got to get to destiny I want to see man we got into that game yeah the critics are out there saying he's done he'll never come back well maybe you're right maybe you're not but let's find out we got to get there we gotta get there last one to be fearless you know that's that's something that uh I think every young adult you kids they face their fears right what is what does that mean to be to be fearless why is that such an important part of the Mamba mentality well max I think the greatest fear that we face is ourselves actually you know I think it's uh it's not anything that's external or anything that's superficial I think the greatest fear you face is yourself because you know we all have dreams and it's very scary sometimes to accept the dream that you have and it's scarier still to say okay I want that it's scary because you're afraid that if you put your heart and soul into it and you fail then how are you gonna feel about yourself right so being fearless means putting yourself out there and going for it no matter what go for it not for anybody else but for yourself when you when you when you got to the league you're 18 did you have any fears before getting there or when you got there right away yeah I mean you know I had fears that everybody was gonna be right I made a poor choice poor decision jump from I was too you know wasn't gonna mount anything so that was always in the back of my mind for sure mm-hmm and then so out of these five pillars which one do you think comes first be passionate be fearless relentless resilient or they just come together I'll know I this funny thing is like we created these separate pillars but the reality is it's all one thing you know because it all comes from within all comes from within us we all experience these things at different stages in different points different times the key I feel is just to be aware of those moments as they occur but you're aware of a certain fear or a certain obstacle or challenge right you're just aware of those things and then from there you can navigate through them but I look more I look at them all as one one connecting thing because I think being fearless this last one sticks out in my mind a lot because you know being in Asia Asian kids a lot of times they're a little bit more boxed in in in thought and mentality as opposed to Western kids Western kids the lot of the family the environment you know ever since a young age in school it's it's preaching independence speak your thoughts be creative independent you know a lot of that you know it's in it's in it's it's also reiterated by teachers principals mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles and coaches is to to bring name to yourself and to be independent to be out there and go on your own but in in Eastern in Asia a lot of the cultures whether it's Chinese Japanese Korean it's you know don't go out there and do crazy things don't go out of your comfort zone bring make your family proud you know don't don't bring other people attention just do your thing do it well but don't bring attention you know it's and I think a lot of kids are fearful of going out of this box right is there a vice for these kids because a lot of times it's a cultural difference sure right you know how did how do they put themselves out there waiting listen it's very so you have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in right so like everybody's box is different my box was to be extremely ambitious within the sport of basketball your box it's different than mine right every kid here has their own box but doesn't mean that your box isn't as beautiful as mine right everybody has their own is 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 the successful life you have lived with Mambo mentality right so it doesn't mean you have to go out here and do all of these crazy things I'll have to be like this person or that person no what are you comfortable being what it is that wit what is it that you want to do with your life and once you have that then you try to live it to the best of your abilities so you know growing up in Italy and then moving on to Philadelphia and then to LA you know obviously you talked about this box right so is that box constantly changing are you trying to get out of your comfort zone even when you were you know first for the NBA and then tenth year in the NBA and then even this year there's that box that this metaphorical box you talk about does that change no I never tried I've never looked at it as like I'm just gonna you know try something completely crazy or like just just go out on my box with a thing I just looked at it as I want to be one of the best basketball players who have ever played that's the end goal okay how do I get there how do I get there and every decision I made in my life was centered around the process of helping me eventually get there you know them saying so I had that purpose and once I had that purpose every decision that I made was centered around that purpose you think you got there looking back upon it now two decades in the NBA you know high school it'll lead to high school and Philadelphia to the NBA you spent your whole career with one organization to me is that your biggest accomplishment to be with one team thank you you look back upon it now when you had your goals as a kid you're five years old you want to be in the NBA and then when you're at lower merion in Philadelphia and those dreams started to become a I'm gonna get there right and then you're in the NBA you set goals for yourself you talked about all time when you're young in the NBA you set personal achievement goals I'm gonna win a game I'm gonna win a championship I'm gonna win the MVP I'm gonna win this I'm gonna win that and then later on you changed because you said I'm just gonna get better and when I if I'm gonna get a better left hand I'm gonna have a better three-point I'm gonna have a better free throw those other personal achievements come naturally mm-hmm now you're done mm-hmm like your final game 60 points you dropped it on Utah Mamba out right yeah you look back upon it now where do you see yourself did you did you do everything you wanted to do did you become the best best basa player you can ever become if you become the best it's so it's weird like I did my vision of what my goal is changed drastically as I got older it's like as a kid I said I want to be the best ever right and now you go through your life and everything you do is trying to be the best I would be your best ever be the best ever and as you get older you start understanding that those things are very superficial things and everybody has a different opinion about it no matter what you do I can win 20 championships there's always an opinion on who's the best everybody has different opinions and so I started really kind of understanding maybe it's not the important thing maybe the important thing is to you know how do we as a team grow how do I help my teammates be better so that was the first change for me and then as I got older still it became more about how are you inspiring others right to find themselves that is the ultimate championship so won five championships that's great another team won a championship this year team's gonna win a championship next year those things come and they go but what stays is how do you use your passion and use that to inspire somebody else to create their passion and then how can they pass that on to the next person that is true success so my goals have changed drastically from the time I was 6 years old to the time I was 17 at the time I was 25 and now senior at 37 so now you left the game of basketball we're here in Shanghai we're gonna end our talk today because we've gone a little bit past our limit but I think everybody is very happy to be here and I think they learned a lot about the memoy Mamba mentality right what's what's next you know for you well it's it's always teaching the game my teaching the game through various ways you know it's we do camps and clinics we do those things and but also through storytelling right how can you how can you share stories with the rest of the world that challenges them to look internally and and to learn things like process and learn how to navigate the sense of self and all these things how can you infuse that and to entertainment in a way that pushes our culture and our society forward now those are the questions and I'm really really intrigued by that's what we'll focus on ladies and gentlemen one of the greatest of all time Kobe Bryant thanks so much thanks everybody at TEDx Mamba out thanks everybody for joining us today I hope you enjoyed your time Mambo mentality tell your friends thank you very much [Applause]

Channel: richard hsu 徐宗漢

Views: 723,372

Keywords: TEDxShanghai, TEDxShanghaiSalon, Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality, Shanghai Tower

Id: 9_tYXFbgjZk

Length: 42min 7sec (2527 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 25 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/dabrito]

This was great, I recommend watching it. If you don't have time...TL;DW:
The Mamba Mentality is made up of 5 pillars:
* Passion - Exposure leads to passion
* Obsessiveness - Little shortcuts add up, give your whole heart
* Relentlessness - Use setbacks to fuel yourself
* Resilience - Breakdown tasks into steps then attack
* Fearlessness - Face yourself, put yourself out there

[u/fds_1]

So at 6 years old I had 63 points Even a 6 year old Kobe would wreck me...

[u/at_work_yo]

Kobe making me think about every shortcut i took since birth :[ NO MORE!!!

[u/cjsenecal]

This man really is an inspiration beyond basketball, one of my biggest idols. Every time I feel like slacking off or skipping the gym I ask myself "what would Kobe do?" and then kick myself in the ass.

[u/Mr_Chandler_Bing]

I really needed this. Some great insight, thanks for posting.