Interview with Kobe: I don’t have to motivate those lazy people. I just want to challenge the reader now.
Shen Yang
In "Journey to the West", "Qi Tian Da Sheng" Sun Wukong describes himself: "My old grandson is beyond the three realms, not in the five elements."
Like "Fighting the Buddha", Kobe is also the most unique existence of the NBA. For a long time, the league seemed to have only two players, one called Kobe and the other called Other.
After retiring, he also chose the most unique entrepreneurial path.
Sun Wukong will have "three heads and six arms" and "seventy-two changes". Kobe is also like a lot of avatars. From "players", he has changed into "director", "host", "writer" and other identities. The film has also been featured in the show, winning both the Academy Award and the Emmy Award. Recently, it has just published a "Mamba Spirit" called "Basketball Bible", which became the first best-selling book in the New York Times. name.
Everlasting, Kobe’s “post-player era” entrepreneurial approach is based on a keyword – “content is king”.
"Kobe", the owner of the big IP, is now determined to start from "Kobe" and build an IP empire.
Kobe's studio, Ganity Studios, is located in an unobtrusive factory-style office area on the south side of Los Angeles. The place is not big. The first floor is a simple front desk, and the real office is distributed on the second floor.
The decoration style here is full of modernity, the cool colors represented by white and blue are the main tone, and some little green dots are interspersed among them. The few dry branches dyed in silver and grey, combined with the wood on the bookshelf, the artistic atmosphere of the original industry.
On a white wall, there are five huge photos: Walt Disney, Oprah, Jobs, JK Rowling and Michael Jackson. The five faces are arranged in turn, each conveying the glory and precipitation of the winner in a close-up.
In the four miles, there is no trace of Kobe’s past player career. You may even find out if this studio, which is closely related to art, really belongs to the legendary star of the NBA.
It’s also a coincidence that the day that came to Kobe’s studio was November 29, 2018, US time. Three years ago, Kobe published a sad and moving little poem on this day, "Dear Basketball," announcing that his NBA career will end.
Three years later, he sat in his own entertainment-rich chair and talked about his 959-day retirement.
In 959 days, sometimes it is not enough for a person to go through chaos, but this is obviously not Kobe's understanding of time and the way to spend.
In 959 days, Kobe launched his own animated short film "Dear Basketball"; basketball interpretation program "Details"; podcast series "the punies"; wrote the first book after retiring "Mamba spirit"; Also won the Oscar and Emmy trophy. Recently, his Mamba Sports Academy officially opened to the public and will help young players tap their athletic potential.
A total of less than a thousand days, from one in the morning to four in the morning. When someone else’s eyes are closed, Kobe has done something else that others can’t do.
businessman
Interviewing Kobe's day is hitting the extreme weather of Los Angeles once a year, the wind is raging, and the storm is pouring down. But Kobe is still starting a new day in accordance with the well-known timetable: get up at three in the morning and go to the gym at four.
Just after retiring, Kobe wanted to take a rest for 20 years, and he didn't step into the gym for two months. After two months of "distraction", the lights in the gym were lit again at four o'clock, this time he also took his eldest daughter.
After breakfast, watching the daughters get on the school bus, he drove to the studio to start a day's work.
This is the case in the past two years. Now Kobe is sitting in the office to handle various matters, and it is as long as the time spent in the arena, just changing a battlefield.
Kobe's cultural and creative studio has more than 10 projects, plus the newly established "Mamba Sports Academy", as well as various investments, busy and imaginable.
The animated short film "Dear Basketball" was a great success. After winning the Oscar, Kobe was preparing to change the production mode of the studio. He doesn't want to be a content product of a single product category, but to create a production mode with more categories and forms. The dozens of projects in this hand are the initial attempts of Kobe to transform his studio. He wants to make the most comprehensive combination of sports and entertainment products.
"Next, I will publish five novels," Kobe introduced to Tencent Sports for his next two years. In 2019, three novels will be published first, and the next two will be seen in 2020. These five novels are all from Kobe's conceptual design. "The five novels that will be released are the characters I created. They are all self-imagining. One is that I created in my mind when I played in the last year. The world; a universe about sports and magic..." When he said this, Kobe’s eyes were lit up.
Kobe is accustomed to arranging his future ahead of time. Aside from letting him earn nearly 200 million investment projects, he only said that the core of Kebi's post-retirement business - content creation, was implemented as early as the end of his career.
When you are still in the poem "Dear Basketball", his animated short film of the same name has already been produced; when you are still lamenting why the "Details" show is so magical, his new book "Mann" The Spirit of Pakistan is ready to be published...
Kobe's way of defeating others is always better than you think, more than you do.
"If you follow this speed, maybe Kobe can create a content-based industry empire in 10 years," said Dear Basketball executive producer Dan Goodman to Tencent Sports. "With Kobe's ambition and energy." Even if he did it, it would not be surprising."
Kobe wants to be the best, no matter what he does, he hates failure. This is the most well-known character of his 20-year career. Today, he brings those Kobe-style paranoia and pursuits from the stadium to the commercial field.
"Dear Basketball" is Kobe's first animated short film, and his first attempt to enter the animation industry market. But the producer, Dan Goodman, was surprised at Kobe’s understanding of the subtleties of the animation industry. "He knows too much about what he wants to do and knows how the industry works. He knows where to find the most suitable partner, what he is responsible for, what other people are responsible for. If there is something he doesn't know, he will not Stop asking questions until you understand thoroughly."
Kobe's pursuit of detail has even reached the limit. This kind of chase for the ultimate is an interesting part of Kobe. He gave an example. "For example, we will have a fantasy novel to be published in March next year. We thought about this book, how to design this book, what kind of material, what kind of The pages and what kind of fonts... all of this is very important. We won't make any compromises, because everything is best."
Whenever he is, he is not a person who can be fooled. At this point, his staff deeply understands: "As long as it is work, he is very focused, strives for perfection, and strives for perfection, especially the pursuit of details. He is very serious in the work meeting, meticulous in discussing the problem, stunned black Mamba The status is like his focus and dedication to the game on the court."
When interviewing Kobe, his work "Mamba Spirit" was placed beside him. For this book, from content, printing to distribution, and even cooperation with Tencent Sports on the Chinese version, he asked for the best, he called this book the Bible in the basketball world.
“From design to production line to market segment, when we look at each other's faces, look at the book, watch it in the bookshelf, we are proud of it, and success comes with it because this is We can do it best."
Kobe wants people to understand that even if he stops playing basketball, the focus on detail is the same as himself.
Players and merchants are different, and the most gratifying of them is that there is no way to choose a teammate for basketball, but to choose a teammate for business.
"I really like this very much. It's very difficult in basketball. Because you will meet people who don't want to work harder, then you will be disappointed, and find ways to motivate them and tell them. What to do. But here are people who have great passion for work at the same time as you, so you just have to find them," Kobe said.
Literati
Just after the release of Dear Basketball, the old partner, now old friend O'Neill, said with great eyes, "When did this younger brother become a poet?" The old acquaintance of the past 20 years is not I know that Kobe’s blood has always been a literary gene.
Even Andrew Posten, the photographer who has been shooting Kobe’s career and the author of Mamba Spirit, doesn’t even know that Kobe has a writer’s dream. "The outside world knows nothing about the more personal Kobe in the jersey."
Walking heart and temperature-filled text, this is like a legendary player who used to sneak up the old man like Lin, from one dozen to five? Not only is O'Neill and Kobe surprised by the photographer, but those who care about what Kobe is doing after retirement are even more unbelievable.
Usually the way out for retired players is nothing more than making a fuss about basketball, or doing some investment and financial management to maintain income levels. The literature and art categories seem to have little to do with them, and the threshold for this road is too high. Therefore, what Kobe wants to do is not understood at the beginning.
“When the last year of my career, people came to ask me what to do when I retire? I answered them, I want to be a storyteller. Later I said tired, because everyone would ask, 'That’s exactly What do you mean? 'I told them, I wrote a dear basketball, I will turn it into an animated short film. Then their reaction is: Oh, well, that's great. So after that, when people ask When I am going to do something after retirement, I said that I will play golf. Will they ask the truth? (I said) No! But I tell you what I want to do, you don't understand, so forget it."
In the impression of others, Kobe is the guy who only knows the paranoia to the boring around the basketball, but does not know that writing has always been his hobby.
"Many of my Nike sneakers, even other people's advertising words are written by me," Kobe said proudly. "I really love writing. In the early NBA career, I always wrote, every time I write. I am very happy."
To this day, Kobe will not forget the teacher who opened the door to writing. "The story tells me back to the third year of my high school. I have a great teacher, Ms. Marian, who teaches us how to talk about art. And teach us how to write stories, then I fell in love with it. The place where writing really fascinates me is the ability to tell stories. How do you put words together is the most appealing part, so that it can infect people Emotions."
Since then, Kobe has been insisting on learning to write, and even occupied most of his basketball career. You don't even know when he learned, but he just found time, took the championship, and silently became a person who can write stories.
"This is what we are doing in Dear Basketball. How can I tell a story about basketball, thinking about basketball, but you can learn different things at the same time. I have been learning writing for 15 years, how to set it up. The plot, how to organize the story, this is what I have been learning for a long time."
The Chinese version of "Mamba Spirit", the editor of Tencent Sports Basketball, Huang Wei, when reading the original version, commented on Kobe’s writing. "The style of writing is consistent with his style in "Details". He is not the kind of literature. Expression, more is a natural oral statement, but the text does not have a sense of saliva." This is a literary style that belongs to Kobe alone, similar to the look of his past stadium.
In the world of literature, Kobe wants to tell others that it is most important to impress yourself. "What we have to try is to base everything on the facts. Don't worry about whether people like your story, but focus on whether this story has touched you. Is this story from yourself, because if this story is for you? Really, you will also link to others inadvertently. Right?"
dreamer
The man is forty, is a point in time to be marked. There is a so-called forty confession. At this time, as a dividing line, it has officially entered the wise and unconfused, can truly understand the world and understand its own stage.
Kobe’s forty years old is equally self-satisfied. "I love this age, I love to be 40 years old." He is not afraid of mentioning his age.
A person who has never lost a single-handedness has now become a peaceful, wise, and philosophical person. His cultural products, stories, words, speeches, and interviews are always revealing. When he conveys his values, the spiritual core and the inner world, and the methodology through all means that can be spread, the image of such a evangelist will become clearer.
"If you go back to the past, if you tell me 21 years old, this is what I will be and what I will do now. I will say, "What, you can get it, it is impossible. Kobe laughed.
But obviously this is not happening at the time of the 40-year-old, and his uncertainty is already doomed.
"I found my love when I was very young. It used to be basketball. For me, this is what I want to do, there is no confusion at all. Now it is the same. Building a studio is what I want to do. The thing, the book is what I have to do, the movie is what I have to do, the cinema is what I have to do, then we will do it," Kobe said.
Kobe admits that he actually has a difficult choice. "In the process of doing things, we will make good decisions and make bad decisions. We will make better decisions and make even worse decisions. But we are never confused about where we are going. We will eventually arrive and will definitely arrive."
He made a very poetic metaphor for this. "It’s like the Polaris is always in front. This is where we are going. Maybe you will encounter a gust of wind that will make you deviate from the runway. You have to find another way to get there. Place, this is the fun of the journey."
What is Kobe’s Polaris? What is the guide to him when he does not have a championship trophy?
"That is to educate the next generation of children to become better people. I want to tell them that basketball is not just about the championship, only to win or lose. What is important is focus, selflessness, compassion and empathy." In the Mamba Spirit, Kobe once wrote on the title page, "I would like to use this book for the great athletes of the next generation. May you draw strength from others' journeys and write your own legends."
"It's them, they are always them. It's like when we were doing this book. The general purpose of writing a book is to let people know more about you and know more about your story. And I asked myself why I want this book?" What can I do for the person reading the book? If nothing can be given, just provide some information? What can this information do? I don't like it. I want to do things that can challenge the reader. Instead of letting them know more about me, That doesn't mean anything. So we try to create content products that let viewers and readers see their own content and help them become better people. This is always the most important thing," Kobe said.
"Teacher" Kobe knows his mission and the burden he wants to carry. He wants to know the young people he wants to teach and help, just as he did to understand his opponents. “Learning and teaching are always the most important.”
“I am learning to understand what emotions are. And all emotions represent what. Sports is a very emotional thing. We infuse sports in fantasy worlds and magical worlds, through content and stories, we want to bring them To the world.” Kobe said, “Why is Dear Basketball the most proud of our work? Because this story is higher than basketball, about dreams.”
Kobe’s office doesn’t have a photo of himself, but he put JK Rowling, Disney, Oprah, Jobs and Michael Jackson together. It’s his new goal and ideal, his new championship. Trophy. Because "the storytelling talent can lead people forward."
Kobe dominated the court in the first half of his life and intends to push the world for the rest of his life.
专访科比：终于不用激励那些懒惰的人 我现在只想挑战读者
沈洋
《西游记》里，“齐天大圣”孙悟空这么描述自己：“我老孙超出三界外，不在五行中。”
像“斗战胜佛”一样，科比也是NBA联盟最独一无二的存在。在很长一段时间内，全联盟仿佛只有两种球员，一种叫科比，一种叫其他。
退役之后，他同样选择了一条最与众不同的创业之路。
孙悟空会“三头六臂”、“七十二变”，科比也像是拔根汗毛化出无数分身，从“球员”摇身一变出“导演”、“主持人”、“作家”等多种身份，又拍电影又做节目，既拿了奥斯卡金像奖，又得了艾美奖，最近还刚刚出版了一本被称为“篮球圣经”的《曼巴精神》，成为《纽约时报》全美畅销书第一名。
万变不离其宗，科比的“后球员时代”创业之道，根基建立在一个关键词上——“内容为王”。
“科比”这个大IP的主人，如今下定决心要从“科比”出发，打造出一个IP帝国。
科比的工作室Ganity Studios坐落在洛杉矶南边一片不太起眼的厂房式办公区之中，地方不算大，第一层是个简单的前台，真正属于办公的地方分布在第二层。
这里的装修风格现代感十足，白和蓝所代表的冷色系为主调，一些星星点点的绿色穿插其中。染成银灰色的几个枯树枝，和书架上的木器完美结合，原始工业的艺术气息扑面而来。
一面纯白的墙上，挂着五幅巨大的照片：沃尔特-迪斯尼、奥普拉、乔布斯、JK罗琳以及迈克尔-杰克逊。五张面孔依次排列，各自在特写镜头中传递着属于成功者的荣耀和沉淀。
四下里，根本找不到关于科比过往球员生涯的任何痕迹，你甚至会恍惚这个和艺术息息相关的工作室是否真的属于这位 NBA的传奇巨星。
说来也巧，来到科比工作室的这一天是美国时间2018年的11月29日。三年前，科比正是在这天发表了哀伤且动人的小诗——《亲爱的篮球》，宣告自己NBA职业生涯行将结束。
三年以后，他坐在自己专门打造的娱乐气息浓重的椅子上，谈论着自己959天的退役生涯。
959天，有时候还不够一个人去混沌度过，可这显然不是科比对于时间的理解和度过方式。
这959天里，科比推出了自己的动画短片《亲爱的篮球》；篮球解读类节目《细节》；播客系列节目《the punies》；撰写了退役后的第一本书《曼巴精神》；顺便还捧起了奥斯卡和艾美奖的奖杯。最近，他的曼巴体育学院正式对外开放，将帮助年轻球员挖掘他们的运动潜能。
总共不足一千天，从一个凌晨四点到另外一个凌晨四点。别人眼睛一闭一睁的功夫，科比就又干了点别人干不了的事情。
商人
采访科比的这天正碰上洛杉矶一年一次的极端天气，狂风大作，暴雨倾盆。但科比依然按照众所周知的时间表开始新的一天：凌晨三点起床，四点前往健身房。
刚退役那一会儿，科比想要让疲惫了20年的身体做彻底的休息，整整两个月的时间都不踏入健身房一步。两个月的“放肆”之后， 健身房的灯光再次在四点钟点亮，这一次他还带着自己的大女儿。
早餐过后，看着女儿们上了校车，他就开车前往工作室开始一天的工作。
这两年都是这样，现在的科比坐在办公室里处理各项事务的时间，和当年待在球馆的时间一样长，只是换了一个战场而已。
科比的文化创意工作室有超过10个项目，加上刚刚设立的“曼巴体育学院”，以及各种投资，忙碌可想而知。
动画短片《亲爱的篮球》获得巨大成功，拿到奥斯卡奖之后，科比却在准备变革工作室的制作模式。他不想只做单品类的内容产品，而是要打造一个品类和形态更加丰富的内容生产模式。这手上的十几个项目，就是科比给自己工作室转型的初步尝试，他要把体育和娱乐产品做最大范围的结合。
“接下来，我会有五部小说出版，”科比向腾讯体育介绍自己接下来的两年计划。2019年，首先有3部小说面世，之后的两部会在2020年看到。而这五部小说，全部来自科比的概念设计，“即将发行的五本小说都是我创造出的角色，他们全是出自我的想象。一个是我在最后一年打球时脑子里所创造出的世界；一个关于体育和魔幻的宇宙……”说这话的时候，科比的眼神像被什么点亮了一样。
科比习惯提前安排好自己的未来。抛开让他赚了将近两个亿的投资项目不谈，只说科比退役后创业的核心——内容创作，就早在他球员生涯末期开始实施。
当你还在为《亲爱的篮球》这首小诗唏嘘的时候，他的同名动画短片就已着手制作；当你还在感叹《细节》这个节目为何能如此神奇的时候，他的新书《曼巴精神》就在准备出版了……
科比击败别人的方式永远都是比你想得早，比你做的多。
“如果按照这种速度，也许科比用10年就可以打造出一个内容类的产业帝国出来，”《亲爱的篮球》执行制片人丹古德曼对腾讯体育说， “以科比的雄心和能量，他即使做到了，也不令人惊讶。”
科比无论做什么都想要当那个最好的，他最痛恨失败。这是他20年球员生涯中最被人熟知的性格特点。如今，他将那些科比式的偏执和追求，从球场带到商业领域。
《亲爱的篮球》是科比的首部动画短片，也是他进军动画产业市场的第一次尝试。但是负责发行的制片人丹-古德曼却惊讶于科比对于动画产业各个细微部分的了解程度。“他太知道自己要干什么了，也知道这个产业是怎么运作的。他知道去哪里找到最合适的合作伙伴，自己负责什么，其他人负责什么。如果有他不了解的地方，他就会不停的追问，直到了解透彻为止。”
科比对于细节的追求，甚至已经到了极致的地步。而这种对于极致的追逐在科比看来才是有趣的部分。他举了一个例子，“比如，我们会有一个幻想类小说将在明年三月份出版。我们看这本书的时候就在想，这本书要怎么设计，用什么样的材料，什么样的页面以及什么样的字体……所有这些都是十分重要的。我们不会去做任何的妥协，因为一切都要最好。”
无论何时，他都不是一个可以随意糊弄的人。这一点，他的员工深有体会：“只要是工作，他非常专注，精益求精，力求完美，尤其是对细节的追求。他在工作会议中是非常严肃的，讨论问题时一丝不苟，俨然黑曼巴的状态，就像他在球场上对比赛的专注和执着。”
专访科比时，他的作品《曼巴精神》就摆放在身旁。对于这本书，从内容、印刷到发行，甚至还有和腾讯体育关于中文版的合作，他都要求做到最好，他将这本书称之为篮球界的《圣经》。
“从设计到生产线，再到市场部分，当我们看着彼此的脸，看着这本书，看着它摆在书架里，我们为此感到骄傲，而成功就随之而来，因为这是我们能做到的最好了。 ”
科比想要人们理解的是，即使他停止打篮球，但是对于细节的专注，和当初的自己是一样的。
球员和商人是有所不同的，而其中最令科比感到欣慰的是：打篮球没有办法挑选队友，而做生意却可以去挑选队友了。
“我真的特别喜欢这一点，这在篮球上是很难的。因为你会遇到那些根本不想付出更多努力的人，然后你就会很失望，还要找到方法去激励他们，告诉他们该怎么做。但是在这里都是跟你一样在工作上拥有巨大激情的人，所以你只要去找到他们就行了，”科比说。
文人
就在《亲爱的篮球》退役宣言发布之后，他过去的老搭档，现在的老朋友奥尼尔瞪着大眼睛乐着说，“这老弟什么时候变成诗人了？” 过去20年的旧相识却不知道科比的血液里一直还流淌着文艺的基因。
甚至连一直拍摄科比职业生涯的摄影师、《曼巴精神》图片作者安德鲁-波斯特恩，都根本不知道科比还有个作家梦。“外界对于球衣里的那个更加个人的科比，却一无所知。”
走心和充满温度的文字，这哪像一个昔日混迹长人如林，从一打到五的传奇球员？不仅是奥尼尔和科比跟拍摄影师感到意外，那些关心科比在退役之后要做什么的人更加觉得难以置信。
通常退役球员的出路无非就是围绕着篮球做文章，又或者做些投资理财之类的保持收入水平。文学和艺术门类似乎跟他们的关系不多，这条路的门槛太高。所以，科比要干的事情，在最开始并不被人理解。
“当我职业生涯的最后一年，人们来问我退役了要做什么？我回答他们，我要当一个写故事的人。后来我都说累了，因为每个人都会问，‘那到底是什么意思？’我告诉他们，我写的《亲爱的篮球》亲笔信，我会把它变成动画短片。然后他们的反应是：哦，好吧，那很棒。所以那之后，当人们问我退役以后要干什么的时候，我说我会打高尔夫球。他们会接着问真的吗？（我说）不是！但是我告诉你我要干什么，你也不明白，所以还是算了吧。”
在别人印象里，科比是那个只知道围着篮球转的偏执到无趣的家伙，却不知道写作一直是他的爱好。
“很多我耐克球鞋的广告词，甚至是其他人的广告词都是我写的，”科比骄傲地说，“我真的很爱写作。NBA生涯早期，我总是写作，每次写作的时候我都非常开心。”
到今天，科比都不会忘记开启自己写作大门的老师，“讲故事对我来说要追溯到我高中的第三年。我有一个很棒的老师，玛瑞安女士，她教我们如何谈论艺术，同时教我们如何去书写故事，然后我就爱上了这一切。写作真正让我着迷的地方就是能够去讲故事。你如何将词汇放在一起是最吸引人的部分，让它能够感染人们的情绪。”
此后，科比一直坚持学习写作，甚至占据了他篮球职业生涯的大部分时间。你根本不知道他是什么时候学习的，但是他就是找到了时间，一边拿总冠军，另外一边默默的成为了一个会写故事的人。
“这就是我们在做《亲爱的篮球》的目标。我如何去讲述一个关于篮球的故事，想着篮球，可同时你又能从中学到不同的东西。我已经学习写作15年了，如何设置情节，如何组织故事的起承转合，这是我在很长时间里学习的东西。”
《曼巴精神》的中文版译者、腾讯体育篮球主编黄祎在阅读原版的时候，这样评价科比的写作，“写作风格和他在《细节》里面的风格一致，他不是那种文学范的表达，更多是自然的口头陈述，但是文字却没有口水感。” 这是一种独属于科比的文学风格，跟他昔日球场上的样子迷之相似。
在文学的世界里科比想告诉别人的是，打动自己才最为重要。“我们要试着做的就是将一切基于事实。不要去担心人们是否喜欢你的故事，而是聚焦于这个故事有没有打动你，这个故事是不是来自于你自己，因为如果这个故事对你是真实的，也会在不经意去链接到别人。对吧？”
梦想家
男人四十，是一个要被重点标记的人生时间点。有所谓四十不惑，也就在这个时候，作为分界线，正式步入了那个睿智、不惑，可以真正了解世界，了解自己的阶段。
科比的四十岁，同样怡然自得。“我爱死这个年龄了，我爱死成为40岁了。”他完全不怕别人提及自己的年龄。
一个从来没有输过单挑的人，现在竟成为了平和、睿智、充满哲学气质的人。他推出的文化产品，所讲的故事，说的话，做的演讲，接受的采访，总是透着这样的气息。当他将自己的价值观、精神内核和内心世界，以及方法论通过一切可以传播的手段传递出去的时候，这样一个传道授业解惑的师者形象便越发清晰。
“如果你回到过去，如果你告诉21岁的我，这就是我现在会成为的样子以及会做的事情，我会说，“什么，你可得了吧，绝不可能。”科比大笑。
但显然这一切不是在40岁这个时间点一夜发生的，他的不惑早已注定。
“在我很小的时候就已经找到了我的所爱，它曾经是篮球。对我来说，这就是我想要做的事情，根本没有困惑。现在也是这样，建立工作室就是我要做的事情，出书是我要做的事情，做电影是我要做的事情，建电影院是我要做的事情，那么我们就去做，”科比说。
科比承认自己其实也有面临艰难选择的时候。“在做事情的过程之中，我们会做很好的决定，也会做坏的决定。会做更好的决定，也会做更不好的决定。但是对于要前往的地方我们从没有困惑，我们也会最终到达，一定会最终到达。”
他为此做了一个极为诗意的比喻，“就像是北极星一直都在前方，这是我们要去的地方。可能你会遭遇一阵风，让你偏离了跑道。你必须要找到另外一条路到达那个地方，这就是旅程的乐趣。”
科比的北极星是什么？当他没有总冠军奖杯在召唤的时候，指引他的到底是什么？
“那就是教育下一代的孩子们成为更好的人。我想告诉他们的是篮球不是只关于总冠军，只在意输赢。重要的是，专注、无私、同情心和同理心。” 在《曼巴精神》里，科比曾经在扉页中这样写道，“谨以此书，献给下一代的伟大运动员，愿你们从他人的旅程中汲取力量，书写自己的传奇。”
“是他们，永远都是他们。就像是我们当时做这本书的时候。一般写书目的就是让人们更加的了解你，更加了解你的故事。而我问自己为什么要出这本书？我能为看书的人做些什么？如果什么都给不了，只是提供一些信息吗？这些信息能干些什么？我不喜欢。我想做能够挑战读者的事情。而不是让他们更加去了解我，那什么意义都没有。所以我们试图去创造让观众、读者能够看到他们自己的内容产品，帮助他们成为更好的人，这永远都是最重要的事。”科比说。
“师者”科比知道自己的使命和想要承载的担当。他想去了解他所要教导、帮助的那些年轻人，就像他当初一个个的去了解自己的对手一样。“学和教，永远都是最为重要的。”
“我正在去学习了解到底什么是情感。而所有的情感又代表着什么。体育是一个非常具有情感的事情。我们把体育灌注在幻想世界和魔法世界，通过内容和故事，我们要将其带给全世界。”科比说，“为什么《亲爱的篮球》是我们最骄傲的作品？因为这个故事高于篮球，关于梦想。”
科比的办公室里，没有一张自己的照片，但他将JK罗琳，迪斯尼，奥普拉、乔布斯和迈克尔-杰克逊放在一起，那是他新的目标和理想，是他心中新的总冠军奖杯。因为“讲故事的人才可以带领人们前进。”
科比用前半生主宰了球场，并且打算用后半生推动世界。
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