Kobe Bryant

“You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“To think of me as a person that’s overachieved, that would be a lot to me. That means I put a lot of work in and squeezed every ounce of juice out of this orange that I could.” ~ 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

“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

“Leadership is lonely … I’m not going to be afraid of confrontation to get us to where we need to go.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice 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 friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.” ~ 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

“The biggest dreams aren’t fueled by belief, they’re fueled by doubt.” ~ Kobe Bryant

” There’s a quote from one of my English teachers at Little Marian named Mr. Fisk. He had a great quote that said, “Rest at the end, not in the middle.” And that’s something I’ll always live by.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“When I am retired, I don’t want to have say I wish I would have done more. I don’t want that.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“If you do not believe in yourself, no one will do it for you.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Leave everything on the court. Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.” ~ 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

“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 think the best way to prove your value is to work, is to learn, is to absorb, to be a sponge.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Determination silences doubters.” ~ 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.”

“I never needed any external forces to motivate me.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“After all, greatness is not for everybody.” ~ Kobe Bryant

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

“I saw you come in and I wanted you to know that it doesn’t matter how hard you work, that I’m willing to work harder than you.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Learn to love the hate. Embrace it. Enjoy it. You earned it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone should have one about you.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“No matter how difficult the challenge is, always stay positive and believe in yourself.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I play games with the flu, I play games with 102 degree fever man. You gotta be on man.” ~ 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

“From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Friends can come and go, but banners hang forever.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Boos don’t block dunks.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Losing is losing, there aren’t different degrees of losing. You either win a championship or you’re sh–. It’s very black & white to me.” ~ 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

“You can’t be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Either way, I refuse to change what I am. A lion has to eat. Run with me or run from me.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Passion is the fuel for success.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“If I had the power to turn back time I would never use it, because then every moment that you go through means absolutely nothing because you can always go back and do it again.” ~ 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.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over 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.” ~ Kobe Bryant

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

“As the leader of a team, it’s also your responsibility to elevate the rest of the guys.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“This is the moment I accept the most challenging times will always be behind me and in front of me.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I had a summer where I played basketball when I was 10 or 11 years old. And here I come playing it and I don’t score one point the entire summer. I remember crying about it, being upset about it, and my father was giving me a hug and said, “Listen, whether you score 0 or sixty I am going to love you no matter what.” And that is the most important thing you can say to your child. Because from there I was like okay, that gives me all the confidence in the world to fail. But to hell with that, I am scoring sixty!” ~ Kobe Bryant

“It’s all a matter of protecting your dreams and your imaginations.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan. I only want to be Kobe Bryant.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” ~ 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

“The biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“You always want to outwork your potential. As hard as you believe you can work, you can work harder than that.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Have a good time. 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

“The only thing I can control is how hard I work every single day.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I never tried to prove anything to someone else. I wanted to prove something to myself.” ~ 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

“The most important thing is you must put everybody on notice that you’re here and you are for real. I’m not a player that is just going to come and go. I’m not a player that is going to make an all-star team on time, two times. I’m here to be an all-time great… Once I made that commitment and said ‘I want to be one of the greatest ever,’ then the game became everything for me.” ~ Kobe Bryant

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

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“If you live your life to just get better every single day, and you do that for 20 years what do you have?” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Be willing to sacrifice anything, but compromise nothing in your quest to be your best.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Basketball for me was the most important thing. So everything I saw, whether it was TV shows, whether it was books I read, people I talked to, everything was done to try to learn how to become a better basketball player. Everything. Everything. And so when you have that point of view, then literally the world becomes your library to help you become better at your craft.” ~ 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

“You asked for my hustle – I gave you my heart.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I don’t want chumps, I don’t want pushovers, and if you’re a chump and a pushover, I will run over you.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I love that kids are building confidence on and off the court and unlocking their potential through sport.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“When I step on that court, I become [Black Mamba]. I am that killer snake. I’m stone-cold, man.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“‘Rudy‘ was one of my favorite films growing up. After watching that film I come to understand if I could work that hard everyday, being blessed with the physical tools that I have, what would be career be?” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Winning takes precedence over all. There is no gray area. No almosts.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“We don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.” ~ 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

“You have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“The moment you give up is the moment you let someone else win.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“I want to be the best. Simple and plain.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if your score zero or you score 40.” ~ 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 in whatever they want to do.” ~ Kobe Bryant

“These young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess.” ~ Kobe Bryant