Kobe Bryant

"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant."

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"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."

- Kobe Bryant

"The most important thing is to try your best. Even if you fail, if you try everything, you will have no regrets."

- Kobe Bryant

"Failure doesn't exist"

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot."

- Kobe Bryant

"These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess."

- Kobe Bryant

"People just don't understand how obsessed I am with winning."

- Kobe Bryant

"Winning takes precedence over all. There's no gray area. No almosts."

- Kobe Bryant

"Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style."

- Kobe Bryant

"It's hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I'm talking to them."

- Kobe Bryant

"If I panic, everyone else panics."

- Kobe Bryant

"One thing you gotta know about me is I have absolutely no filter. I have no problem saying what the hell I think of someone."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. Scoring titles and stuff like that... it sounds, well, I don't care how it sounds - to me, scoring comes easy. It's not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can."

- Kobe Bryant

"What people see on court is another side of me; it's not me."

- Kobe Bryant

"The people who truly know me know what I'm like. There have been people who try to say things that aren't fair, and I check them. And then they don't like me because I checked them."

- Kobe Bryant

"I focus on one thing and one thing only - that's trying to win as many championships as I can."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't think a coach becomes the right coach until he wins a championship."

- Kobe Bryant

"It's disgusting, but my father taught me when your mouth gets dry, just suck the sweat out of your own jersey. There's no bravado to any of it; it's just a disgusting little trick."

- Kobe Bryant

"Magic has five championships. I have five championships. I'm pretty sure we both know what we're doing."

- Kobe Bryant

"We all know what flopping is when we see it. The stuff that you see is where guys aren't really getting hit at all and are just flailing around like a fish out of water."

- Kobe Bryant

"You want me to own a team and deal with these rich, spoiled stubborn athletes, and try to get them to perform? No thank you."

- Kobe Bryant

"In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball's different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There's a lot of great individual talent."

- Kobe Bryant

"It never bothered me when people would say, 'You only win championships because you're playing with Shaq.' It bothered me when he said it."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm more than comfortable just sitting back and scoring 21, 22 points or whatever and getting 10, 11 assists whatever the case might be. More than comfortable with that. It's just a matter of the pieces that you have around you and what you can do to elevate everybody else."

- Kobe Bryant

"Pooper scooper? Yeah, I've done it a few times. Every once in a while, you have to."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm not the most patient of people."

- Kobe Bryant

"Can I jump over two or three guys like I used to? No. Am I as fast as I used to be? No, but I still have the fundamentals and smarts. That's what enables me to still be a dominant player. As a kid growing up, I never skipped steps. I always worked on fundamentals because I know athleticism is fleeting."

- Kobe Bryant

"Eeew, I'd be a little uncomfortable Googling myself. People sit there - and Google themselves? That's kind of weird."

- Kobe Bryant

"I draw from the crowd a lot."

- Kobe Bryant

"The Black Mamba collection of watches is me: It is my alter ego, so to speak. As I mentioned before, it is sharp, cutting edge and sleek which are characteristics I try to apply when I'm out there on the basketball court."

- Kobe Bryant

"The important thing is that your teammates have to know you're pulling for them and you really want them to be successful."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm chasing perfection."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose."

- Kobe Bryant

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. No matter what the injury - unless it's completely debilitating - I'm going to be the same player I've always been. I'll figure it out. I'll make some tweaks, some changes, but I'm still coming."

- Kobe Bryant

"I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you."

- Kobe Bryant

"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

"If you're afraid to fail, then you're probably going to fail."

- Kobe Bryant

"Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they've taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences."

- Kobe Bryant

"My parents are my backbone. Still are. They're the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40."

- Kobe Bryant

"The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don't have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven't had that fear."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't talk trash often, but when I do, I go for the jugular."

- Kobe Bryant

"I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place."

- Kobe Bryant

"Christmas morning, I'm going to open presents with my kids. I'm going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I'm going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work."

- Kobe Bryant

"I love going one-on-one with someone. That's what I do. I've never lost. It's a whole different game, just to have them right in front of you and be able to do whatever you want."

- Kobe Bryant

"If there were camera phones back in the day, the biggest athletes in the world would have had a lot of explaining to do."

- Kobe Bryant

"At the end of 2003, my game was complete. Shooting, defense, using the dribble, transition, midrange stuff was all there. Then it was about fine-tuning and trying to improve in each area."

- Kobe Bryant

"There's been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that's simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we've won when I score 10."

- Kobe Bryant

"Twitter is great to connect with fans and be transparent. I enjoy that aspect about it. But really, I'm still trying to figure it out."

- Kobe Bryant

"I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up."

- Kobe Bryant

"I've got four dogs, and I just don't do dog doo. I'm a diva when it comes to that."

- Kobe Bryant

"It's different from being 21 and you think there's endless amount of opportunities. At 33, the ending is much, much closer."

- Kobe Bryant

"Failure doesn't exist."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you love what you do and it’s making you happy, all the hard work and perseverance will pay off."

- Kobe Bryant

"It’s not the destination. It’s the journey."

- Kobe Bryant

"Have a good time. Enjoy life."

- Kobe Bryant

"Get over yourself. 'Cause it's not about you, man."

- Kobe Bryant

"In order to get to a certain level, you have to have a certain amount of selfishness."

- Kobe Bryant

"No matter what, people are going to like you or not like you. So be authentic, and let them like you or not for who you actually are."

- Kobe Bryant

"You don't want to jump into something if you're not passionate about it."

- Kobe Bryant

"Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk."

- Kobe Bryant

"I realized that intimidation didn't really exist if you're in the right frame of mind."

- Kobe Bryant

"Leadership is lonely."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you want to be the greatest of all time at something, there’s going to be a negative side to that."

- Kobe Bryant

"I want to learn how to become the best basketball player in the world. And if I'm going to learn that, I gotta learn from the best."

- Kobe Bryant

"I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point."

- Kobe Bryant

"I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success."

- Kobe Bryant

"May you always remember to enjoy the road, especially when it’s a hard one."

- Kobe Bryant

"Appreciate it now. Let it sit in now because revenge is sweet and it's quick."

- Kobe Bryant

"I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game."

- Kobe Bryant

"Setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache."

- Kobe Bryant

"You are responsible for how people remember you — or don’t."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't negotiate with myself."

- Kobe Bryant

"Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue, you will change."

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative — pressure, challenges — are 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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

"Heroes come and go, but legends are forever."

- Kobe Bryant

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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 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 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

"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

"Good coaches, however, teach you how to think and arm you with the fundamental tools necessary to execute properly."

- Kobe Bryant

"The message was that if you want to win championships, you have to let people focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best. For him, that was rebounding, running the floor, and blocking shots."

- Kobe Bryant

"The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win."

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative -- pressure, challenges -- is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’m extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. It’s not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can."

- Kobe Bryant

"Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts."

- Kobe Bryant

"My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40."

- Kobe Bryant

"Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache."

- Kobe Bryant

"The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real."

- Kobe Bryant

"A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord."

- Kobe Bryant

"When I look up in the crowd, and I see all the USA flags waving and people chanting USA, it gives you goosebumps."

- Kobe Bryant

"I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it."

- Kobe Bryant

"Be authentic, and let them like you or not for who you actually are."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail."

- Kobe Bryant

"My brain . . . it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, ‘You’re a failure’ . . . I think that’s almost worse than death."

- Kobe Bryant

"I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind."

- Kobe Bryant

"We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal."

- Kobe Bryant

"Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones."

- Kobe Bryant

"We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it."

- Kobe Bryant

"Mamba out"

- Kobe Bryant

"Dear Basketball..."

- Kobe Bryant

"Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose."

- Kobe Bryant

"It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly."

- Kobe Bryant

"There's a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there is a choice you have to make."

- Kobe Bryant

"I never looked at [basketball] as work."

- Kobe Bryant

"When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves."

- Kobe Bryant

"When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what the injury — unless it’s completely debilitating — I’m going to be the same player I’ve always been. I’ll figure it out. I’ll make some tweaks, some changes, but I’m still coming."

- Kobe Bryant

"The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful."

- Kobe Bryant

"I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you."

- Kobe Bryant

"Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses."

- Kobe Bryant

"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't care how you get there. I don't care what you do to get there. The goal is to win."

- Kobe Bryant

"The beauty in being blessed with talent is rising above doubters to create a beautiful moment."

- Kobe Bryant

"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

"My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself, ‘You are a failure,’ I think that is almost worse than dying."

- Kobe Bryant

""The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.""

- Kobe Bryant

"When I look up in the crowd, and I see all the USA flags waving and people chanting USA, it gives you goosebumps"

- Kobe Bryant

"If you love what you do and it’s making you happy, all the hard work and perserverance will pay off."

- Kobe Bryant

"I want to learn how to become the best basketball player in the world. And if I'm going to learn that, I gotta learn from the best. Kids go to school to be doctors or lawyers, [and] so forth and so on, and that's where they study. My place to study is from the best."

- Kobe Bryant

"Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’ve shot too much from the time I was eight years old. But ’too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary."

- Kobe Bryant

"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have [a] 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. You rise above it."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan; I only want to be Kobe Bryant."

- Kobe Bryant

"Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling."

- Kobe Bryant

"When you make a choice and say, 'Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,' then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course, it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time."

- Kobe Bryant

"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. And if you guys can understand that, then what you'll see happen is you won't accomplish your dreams; your dreams won't come true; something greater will."

- Kobe Bryant

"We psyche ourselves up too much. Like, if you try to talk yourself into, 'Oh, this is a big moment, this is a big shot,' you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself. You shot that shot hundreds and thousands of times. Just shoot another one."

- Kobe Bryant

"I've practiced and practiced and played so many times. There's nothing truly to be afraid of when you think about it. … I've failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I'm OK."

- Kobe Bryant

"I never looked at [basketball] as work. I didn't realize it was work until my first year in the NBA. When I came around, I was surrounded by other professionals, and I thought basketball was going to be everything to them, and it wasn't. And I was like, 'This is different.' I thought everybody was so obsessive about the game like me. It was like, 'No? Oh, that's hard work. I get it now.' "

- Kobe Bryant

"Leadership is lonely ... I'm not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go. There's a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that's just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."

- Kobe Bryant

"The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt, and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s---less. I mean, I was terrified, and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn't kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn't really exist if you're in the right frame of mind."

- Kobe Bryant

"When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself, 'You are a failure,' I think that is almost worse than dying."

- Kobe Bryant

"When I have the chance to guard Michael Jordan, I want to guard him. I want him. It’s the ultimate challenge."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’ve shot too much from the time I was 8 years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary."

- Kobe Bryant

"After all, greatness is not for everybody."

- Kobe Bryant

"Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear."

- Kobe Bryant

"The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues."

- Kobe Bryant

"Use your success, wealth, and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose."

- Kobe Bryant

"Leadership is lonely. I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go."

- Kobe Bryant

"I don’t f**k with bees, man. Other than that, I’m not afraid of nothing."

- Kobe Bryant

"These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess."

- Kobe Bryant

"Losing is losing. There aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re shit. It’s very black and white to me."

- Kobe Bryant

"I had to organize things. So I created the ‘Black Mamba’. So Kobe has to deal with these issues, all the personal challenges. The Black Mamba steps on the court and does what he does. I’m destroying everybody that steps on the court."

- Kobe Bryant

"I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I’m not sad about [retiring]. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had."

- Kobe Bryant

"We psych ourselves up too much. Like if you try to talk yourself into, ‘Oh, this is a big moment, this is a big shot,’ you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself. You shot that shot hundreds and thousands of times. Just shoot another one."

- Kobe Bryant

"You guys know how I am. I don’t forget anything"

- Kobe Bryant

"I never needed any external forces to motivate me."

- Kobe Bryant

"There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."

- Kobe Bryant

"There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it, because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK."

- Kobe Bryant

"When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain—it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself ‘You are a failure,’ I think that is almost worse than dying."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’m chasing perfection… and if I don’t get it, I’m going to get this close."

- Kobe Bryant

"I never tried to prove anything to someone else. I wanted to prove something to myself."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will."

- Kobe Bryant

"Each moment of my life I was dreaming of how great I could be, and continued working hard. Each time I closed my eyes I could see me shining bright like a sun."

- Kobe Bryant

"The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them, and you really want them to be successful."

- Kobe Bryant

"Failure doesn't exist. You fail, you learn from it and try it again - Kobe Bryant."

- Kobe Bryant

"JOBS NOT FINISHED - Kobe"

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity… to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you do not believe in yourself, no one will do it for you."

- Kobe Bryant

"I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose."

- Kobe Bryant

"From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best."

- Kobe Bryant

"If You're afraid to fail, then you're probably going to fail"

- Kobe Bryant

"Everything negative – pressure, challenges, is all an opportunity for me to rise."

- Kobe Bryant

"After all, greatness is not for everybody"

- Kobe Bryant

"Torches never get passed. You've got to earn that"

- Kobe Bryant

"We can always kind of be average and do what's normal. I'm not in this to do what's normal"

- Kobe Bryant

"You are responsible for how people remember you, or don’t - so don’t take it lightly."

- Kobe Bryant

"Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up, you will think it was just a nightmare, only to realize it's all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back, THAT play back. But reality gives nothing back, and nor should you."

- Kobe Bryant

"There's a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there is a choice you have to make. We can all 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 the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that."

- Kobe Bryant

"If you're going to be a leader, you're not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable, even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable."

- Kobe Bryant

"The joy is in the journey, not just at the finish line."

- Kobe Bryant