Kobe Bryant Retires…And That’s OK.

Kobe Bryant Retires…and that’s OK.

So by now most of you have seen the news on ESPN or CNN or something other network…Kobe Bryant is retiring after this season.  He will no longer be rocking the purple and gold of a Los Angeles Laker.  After attempting to come back from another tough injury..his body can no longer recover and bounce back like in his youth.

So Kobe Bryant….a Laker legend….one of the best in the history of basketball…is walking away.  And in doing so…I feel he is displaying a mastery of mindset that very few Hall of Fame caliber athletes ever embrace.

Too often when Father Time comes tick tock a knocking at the door in the twilight of careers…the athlete refuses to step down.  They keep believing that their mind can push their body further and further…just like before.  And in the past, that mindset mastery served the athlete.  It served Kobe Bryant at 4 am practicing 3 pointers.  It served him late at night in the weight room.  It served him during over 200 grinding playoff games.  And it served him in acquiring multiple championship rings.

But…..

That same intensity of mindset could easily have failed him now as his body began to betray him.  If he allowed his ferocious mindset of never give in, only win to make his decisions now…it would not have served him at all.  It would only have left fans wishing on what used to be and leaving Kobe broken down and busted up inside.

He would have betrayed the love for the game of basketball that brought him joy, success and fulfillment for 20 years.  So instead…he is saying goodbye.

And that’s OK.

Listen in to this episode of The Mindset Mountain Podcast as I go deeper into why I feel Kobe Bryant retiring now displays the ultimate mindset mastery.  And here is the retirement poem he wrote that I reference in the show.

“Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe”

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Gratitude is the Attitude that Gives Our Dreams Altitude!!

Jason “J-Boom” Legaard

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