A Friend of Mine Has a Motto BE GREAT

History Is Being Made Tonight

As a guy who loves sports, something special is about to happen tonight. Kobe Bryant one of the greatest of all time is playing his last game, and the Warriors will attempt to BREAK the all time regular season win record held by Michael Jordan and the 95-96’ Bulls. This is a special night.

There is a lot of talk about which game you would rather see. Watch a guy like Kobe Bryant lace them up one last time or Warriors attempt something NO TEAM has ever even been close to accomplishing. Currently the avg ticket for Kobe’s last game is going for $2,110 as for the Warriors game is close $1,000.

Either game you decide to watch, or if you are rich enough pay and go see will be special. But I think we all can learn a few things from these special moments. The first for me is from a guy like Kobe, I learned it’s OK to be OFFENSIVE. Weird. But that is the one thing I am taking away from watching Kobe play. When he entered the league at 18 years old, I HATED Kobe is arrogance annoyed me. Being from Chicago I despised anyone they called the “next” Michael Jordan. But over time I learned to appreciate Kobe and what he stood for. The one common thing you hear about the great ones, is that they had a WILL TO WIN that was beyond anyone else on the team. They didn’t care who they OFFENDED. I learned to appreciate this about Kobe. I learned that there is a fine line between self assurance and arrogance and most times losers call winners arrogant. Kobe was being arrogant, he knew he was a winner, he wanted everyone around him to know it, believe in it, believe in him, follow him.

Kobe and Michael have so many similarities. You can start with their game. Jordan sometimes jokes that Bryant stole all his moves. LOL. I think he also stole his approach. People who are GREAT are special (by definition it means different than the usual). So of course there are going to be considered “different.” There are stories about Jordan at practice then he once PUNCHED his teammate Will Perdue. At PRACTICE where most people take it easy, Michael, went so hard to punch someone. MJ would play on the second team during practice just prove he could win with anyone. Kobe was the same way, he drove Shaq out of L.A. because people kept saying he couldn’t win without Shaq, he wanted to prove people wrong. As the Warriors approached the all time win record I went back and watched some old interviews of MJ during that time, I watched the one where they BROKE all the time win record, they did something NO ONE IN THE HISTORY of basketball accomplished. Michael’s response “We played soft tonight, I am not happy with this win at all.” Most people are ecstatic in that moment. The first words out the greatest winner of all time is unsatification. Constantly pushing for greatness. Perfection. My fiancee Katie is the same way. Besides myself she is most competitive person I have ever met, she is constantly not willing to settle. We get into this fight all the time. I always tell her nothing feels enough for her. We get to one milestone and you already have moved on to the next thing you are trying to achieve. I ask her “Do you ever just feel like we have something to celebrate. Be settled.” She always says “no.” She is also from Chicago, grew up watching MJ, she never settles. That is what the great ones do. They push people, they offended people. Because their passion explodes from them. The idea of being settled scares the shit out of them. They make others around them uncomfortable because they are SPECIAL… different than the usual.

I have found that true in my life as well. People get offended by hard work, by passion. The road to mediocracy is paved with people who settle, the road to greatness is paved with offensive people who are pushy. I remember the moment I knew things in Atlanta might be trouble for people like Scotty and I, we were asked to create a year long plan of promotional ideas for a promotions meeting, this was about 1 month of me being there, and when we came back the next week NO ONE had done it, except us. But instead of being impressed we were looked at like crazy people “show offs.” The funny thing is I used to say that about Kobe. He was a show off. A ball hog. Remember I hated him. I at one point did not understand what being great meant. Remember special by definition is different than the usual. Most people do not like the outsiders. But the outsiders are usually the ones that stand alone in greatness on the podium while the average people stand below and cheer for their accomplishments.

The warriors even today are called arrogant. People do not like the “fun” they have while winning. But whatever they do they do as a team. They are the ultimate “team” in a day where we cherish individual athletes. Do not get me wrong Steph Curry is the biggest star on the planet right now, but the warriors are most definitely a TEAM. They pass up good shots to take GREAT shots. I think it’s the perfect metaphor for life. Are you willing to pass on something GOOD to make something GREAT? I know I have. Are you willing to take a risk that might be the best shot you get, or CREATE the GREAT shot. The warriors do that better than anyone. They PASS. Sometimes PASSING is the big play. They give up their personal “shot” to make their teammate score, they then WIN as a TEAM. What a statement. They do.not.settle. Good is not good enough for this team. When asked if they would play out the full season, go after the record and not rest they went for it. They didn’t settle. In an interview recently they asked a member of the 95-96 Bulls if rest was an option for them back then, maybe not go for 72 wins, they responded that MJ didn’t believe in rest. If you would have asked for that, MJ would have kicked you off the team. He played in all 82 games that year.

I think I felt the need to write this to remind myself that my goal in life is not to be good, but to be great. And to be great means to be offensive. To not settle. To not accept mediocracy. That asking for “MORE” is OK. That pushing people is what great people do. They rub people the wrong way, because they are different than the usual. They most times are not accepted. They most times are called arrogant, ball hogs, pushy, abrasive, or even assholes. Their passion explodes from them and it OFFENDS people.But remember that is the difference between good and great. It’s rare. I think I needed to remind myself, my goal in life is to be great. To believe in myself, to have that self assurance that people like Kobe have, people like MJ, and the warriors. Then even when you are down and out that you believe so much in yourself that it still rubs people the wrong way. And that’s OK because that is what the greats do.

Wow that was long.