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Ode to Kobe Bryant · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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  3, 10, 1, 0, ignition, liftoff, Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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  Bolinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you've dream of.
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  Now here's the small biz lady herself.
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  Melinda Everson.
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  Hi.
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  I'm Melinda Everson's small biz lady.
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  And you are listening to the small Bishop podcast, and I am so excited to deliver for you
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  today yet another diary podcast where I just you know, speak you a few rhymes about a topic
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  that I am very passionate about.
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  And today, I wanna talk to you about Kobe Bryant.
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  This today is gonna be my ode to Kobe Bryant.
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  I live in Philadelphia.
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  I have lived in Philadelphia.
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  Since 1995.
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  And when I first moved here, I was a television producer.
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  I worked for the NBC and ABC stations here.
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  And I remember when Kobe Ryan was in high school, I remember I lived in the neighborhood
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  where he went went to high school.
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  And so I remember when Laura Marion won the national, I mean, the state championships.
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  I remember when Kobe Bryant went to the prom with Brandy I remember when he announced that
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  he was going to go straight to the MBA out of high school.
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  And at that time, that was unusual.
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  There weren't a lot of high school players that were good enough to go to the NBA, but a
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  absolutely Kobe was, and he ended up after 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers being one
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  of the greats to ever play the game.
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  And it's interesting because I remember when Kobe Bryant was in the NBA draft, and he
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  really, really wanted to play for the 70 sixers, but the 70 sixers really wanted Alan
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  Iverson.
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  Ivan Allison went first in the draft, and the 76ers took him, and Kobe ended up being drafted
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  by Charlotte.
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  And then being immediately transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers where he spent his entire
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  career.
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  And, you know, it was so interesting being Philadelphia at that time because I remember
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  they didn't even call Alan Iverson by his name.
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  They used to just call him the answer.
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  In fact, then you guys gotta know that sixes were pretty bad.
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  You could go see them for about $10.
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  That's how bad they were.
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  And, you know, Alan Iverson came and they built the whole franchise around him, and Kobe ended
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  up going to Los Angeles and eventually they built the whole franchise around him.
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  He and Shacked together.
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  They were absolutely the, you know, the dream team.
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  And, you know, Kobi Bryant, there's so many things that have been said about him in the
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  media recently.
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  But for me, I thought it was worth examining his growth and development as a person, as a
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  man, as a father, you know, I I think it's incredibly unfair for people to evaluate
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  someone by their worst day ever.
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  And I refuse to do that.
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  I think that what we have from him is such an incredible legacy and not just an athletic
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  legacy.
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  He had incredible business acumen and foresight.
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  And he was very much interested in the next generation of athletes, the next generation of
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  students, and he really in his retirement from the NBA since 2016 had truly dedicated himself
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  to building products and tools and information and it's sports league for the next generation
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  of of athlete athletes.
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  And He had 4 daughters, and one of his daughters, a star volleyball player, his his
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  young daughter, Gianna, who died with him in the helicopter crash, was an up and coming
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  basketball star and she really wanted to I mean, she was only thirteen, but she already
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  knew she wanted to go to Yukon and play basketball and He was such an advocate for the
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  WNBA and just Girls sports in general.
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  And I think that that is what we need to think about when we think about him, but he's done He
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  did so much and he gave so many interviews and he really was about leadership and being a
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  leader and and and demonstrating that.
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  And, you know, when he first started out in his career, in the NBA.
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  They called him showboat.
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  I actually think that's a nickname that Shaquille O'Neil gave him, and it wasn't a
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  German demon.
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  It was like, this dude is just out here hot dog and wants people to see him.
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  But I think he eventually gave himself the nickname black mamba.
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  And we know that is the most dangerous and deadly snake in the world.
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  And and because he viewed himself playing basketball as an assassin, almost like a ninja.
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  And, you know, he rose to be the greatest laker of all time.
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  He flourished in his retirement.
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  He was a a poet, a filmmaker, a creative, a a business leader.
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  He founded Bryant Stibble, a venture capital firm that, you know, provide financing advice
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  for tech companies He also had a a growth in equity and and value equity funds.
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  And there was so much stuff he did.
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  He he he was one of the early investors and Alibaba and legal Zoom.
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  You know, he had major contracts with Nike.
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  He was a big ambassador for Internet.
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  He was so worldly.
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  He was he was one of Nike's top ambassadors to grow basketball in China and all over the
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  world.
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  And he was interested in multiple sports, not just basketball, but lots of different sports.
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  And, you know, he He didn't have everything great all the time.
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  I mean, he had to work really hard.
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  I mean, obviously having a a father who was a professional basketball player gave him a leg
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  up, gave him a mentor, gave him access and information that other people didn't have.
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  But at the end of the day, he had to do the work.
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  And one of my favorite quotes from Kobe Bryant is I have nothing in common with lazy people
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  who blame others for their lack of success.
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  Great things come from hard work and perseverance.
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  No excuses.
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  He believed that dedications these dreams come true, and I believe that I definitely am
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  someone who believes that you can outwork people.
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  You can put more into it than they put into it, and that's why you win.
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  But, you know, he also was someone who could be vulnerable, could be humble.
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  You know, he taught he has talked about, you know, he said that the moment you give up, is
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  the moment that you let someone else win.
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  And and I think that that's true.
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  I mean, he he has a lot of you know, in talking about basketball, there's a lot of things we
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  can learn about leadership.
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  You know, he has talked about once you know what failure feels like determination, Chase's
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  success.
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  And I I love that because he believed that so strongly, but he also was willing to say that,
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  you know, he had he had worries.
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  He he was he was nervous sometimes.
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  I mean, he he he is quoted by saying I have self doubt.
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  I have insecurity.
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  I have fear or failure.
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  I have nights when I show up in the arena.
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  And I'm like, my back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt, I don't have it.
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  I just wanna chill.
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  We all have self doubt.
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  You don't deny it, but you also don't compatibly to it you embrace it.
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  And I appreciate the fact that he said that because I think people look at amazing athletes
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  and think that they, you know, wake up every day feeling amazing.
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  And that's not true.
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  I know as the small biz lady, I don't wake up every day feeling like being your small biz
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  lady, there's days that I have to talk to my right leg and say, set it off.
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  You gotta get this party started.
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  So I know that the leadership aspect of what he talked about was so, so, so powerful.
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  When he talked about the most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can
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  be great at whatever they wanna do.
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  And I love that because, you know, early on in his career, he was not very well thought of as
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  a team player, but he eventually embraced his role as a leader You know?
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  And but he also would would not be he would not be turned around.
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  He would not be turned back He said, I'm not going anywhere.
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  No matter what the injury and lets us completely debilitating, I'm gonna be the same
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  player I've always been I'll figure it out.
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  I'll make some tweaks, some changes, but I'm still coming.
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  And I love that because in business, we have to do those same kind of things.
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  Our original business model might not work.
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  It might needs to be tweaked.
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  It might need to change, but you still have to fight.
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  You still have to push every day, we can't let depression and fear take over.
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  You know?
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  And and I loved him because he He talked about how, you know, he was reflective with a
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  purpose.
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  And I I read this quote.
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  He said I'm reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward.
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  I I love that because I believe that you never lose in business either you win or you learn.
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  And so I don't believe in wallowing in challenges and problems.
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  Instead, you gotta keep it moving.
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  You've gotta get out there and make money for your family.
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  You've gotta figure out how you're gonna turn this ship around.
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  Even if that means you gotta go back and get a job for a couple years because your business
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  model didn't throw off enough money.
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  That's okay.
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  And you can't be afraid of that if things aren't working out, you have to do what you
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  gotta do, and you can't be afraid.
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  You know, the thing you have to do is You gotta put everybody on notice that you're here and
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  that you're real.
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  And I think by, you know, pivoting regrouping, reinventing your business model.
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  These are all things that all of us have had to do.
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  I mean, I've been in business now.
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  It'll be my 21st year a little bit later this year.
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  Plus, I have twisted and turned my business model several times, and you have to do that in
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  order to be responsive to what your customers need, but also just because things change the
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  way people buy, what people need, you have to be listening to your customer and you have to
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  respond.
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  You know?
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  But the thing is is that he one of the other things that Kobe said was There's a choice that
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  we all have as people as individuals.
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  If you wanna be great at something, there's a choice you have to make.
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  We all can be masters at our craft but you have to make a choice.
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  And what I mean by that is there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that.
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  Family time hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew,
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  whatever the case may be, there are sacrifices that come along the way with making that
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  decision.
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  And I think that that could be said about football, basketball, running a business.
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  When you first get started in business, you don't have time to hang out.
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  You might not have time to date.
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  There might be programs at your kid's school that you miss.
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  And so that all is part of it.
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  But if you made the decision to put your shingle out to say you are open for business
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  you're taking on 10 to 12 jobs at one time.
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  And but you made that choice.
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  And that's okay, but you gotta put in the word.
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  And you can't be afraid of the choice that you made.
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  You just have to put in the work to execute.
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  And and and the other thing that I like that he says, he said, if you if you if you are afraid
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  to fail, then you're probably gonna fail.
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  So you can't be worried about failing, you have to be worried about doing.
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  And and that's really what do you have to get done today?
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  What are your top 5 priorities that you have to get done every day to move your business
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  forward?
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  Are you doing them?
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  Are you making the calls?
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  Are you sending the emails?
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  Are you writing the content?
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  Are you putting it out on social media?
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  Are you getting on the phone and calling your existing customers just to check-in?
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  What do you need to do to move your business forward.
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  The fact that it's Friday, the fact that it's, you know, Christmas Eve, whatever.
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  You still can reach out to people and make a difference.
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  You know, Kobe Torres Achilles tended in 2013.
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  And really, it was an injury that dramatically affected the rest of his career after he tore
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  his Achilles and he only played a 107 more professional basketball games before he retired
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  in April of 2016.
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  And his very last game, he scored 60 points, which is great.
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  You know, the last season that Kobe Bryant played in the NBA, he kinda did a victory lap
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  around the country and It was his farewell tour, you know, sort of like, out John, being
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  out here, telling people he's gonna quit in 2 years.
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  And so he's playing all the stadiums.
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  And I remember when Kobe Bryant came back with the Lakers to play the sixers in 2016, In fact,
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  I bought tickets and my son and I went to the game.
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  And we went to the game because the time my son was going to lower Marion's school district,
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  and they announced it on email to every parent in the school district.
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  You know, Kobe Bryant is about to retire.
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  This is gonna be his last game as an NBA player.
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  And he went to Lower Marion, and they wanted everyone in Lower Marion School District to be
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  at the game.
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  And I think it sold out and it was sold out because people wanted to see Kobe.
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  And me and my son went to that game, and the sixers actually won that game that night and
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  beat the Lakers believe it or not, but it wasn't about the game.
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  It was about seeing Kobe.
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  And I'm so grateful that my son and I got a chance to go to that game.
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  We got a chance to see could we Brian play?
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  And he played well even though the the the Lakers actually didn't win.
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  And it's funny because the team was doing so bad that year, but they actually beat the 70
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  sixers, which was, like, you know, kind of interesting.
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  But I guess I say all that to say is that sometimes, you know, you never know where
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  you're gonna get inspiration from.
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  You never know what can happen.
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  And so I think it is important to think about this.
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  How you live is how you love.
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  And it's okay to love your work, but it's really important to make sure that the people
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  you love know that you love them.
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  You know, one of the things that I heard about Kobe Bryant after he passed is that he did over
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  200 make a wish visits for sick kids.
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  200.
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  I mean, I I and the thing that's sad to me is that I wish they had talked about this stuff
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  when he was alive I wish they had talked about how he had evolved.
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  I mean, his dear basketball movie that that was really a a letter that he wrote because he was
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  sad about his career ending turned out to be in a amazing short movie, and he won the Oscar for
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  it.
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  And he's got a series of kid leadership books that have come out and He was doing so much.
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  He was really interested in preparing the next generation of leaders whether they be athletes
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  on or off the field.
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  And and you can be an academic athlete too.
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  And I think that I'm struck by how many people have been touched by him and by his light.
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  And my heart goes out for his daughters that are still here mainly the littlest one because
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  she'll never know her daddy other than in pictures and and video, but I think that it's
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  important for you to think about that dash in your life.
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  What is what will people say about you?
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  What will your employees say about you?
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  What mark are you leaving on this world?
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  Are you just trying to get paid?
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  Are you just trying to make money or are you trying to really have an impact?
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  Do your products and services make a difference in people's life?
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  Does your leadership make a difference in people's lives.
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  I mean, I was very fortunate earlier this week, one of my former interns that I hadn't seen in
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  5 years, came to visit me, and she's all grown up now.
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  She's got a master degree, and she wants to start a visit.
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  So she wanted to come talk to me and I was so struck by all of the things she told me that
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  she learned while she worked for me and I think it's important that I always try to leave
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  people better than I found them no matter whether it's an intern, an employee, even a
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  customer.
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  And I think that it's important for all of us to think about how we leave people.
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  If we left tomorrow, how would we leave people?
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  And so with that, I just want you to think about that.
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  That is really my action point for the week.
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  How will you leave people?
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  How will you leave your family?
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  How will you leave your employees?
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  How will you leave your customers?
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  What indelible impact will you have on them?
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  I think it's really, really important to think about because it might make you make different
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  decisions.
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  Do what you can, but make sure that, your family feels like they're your number one
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  customer because at the end of the day, they are all you have.
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  And when the business goes under, when the business is doing well, It's your family that's
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  gonna love you either way.
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  I am Milan Emerson, the small business lady, and this is my ode to Kobe Bryant.
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  And we'll see you next time.
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  Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
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  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
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  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.