10 Ways to Apply the Mamba Mentality To Your Life

This Monday, February 24th at 10:00 AM PT, thousands of mourners will gather at the Staples to honor Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna and the others that perished in the helicopter on January 26, 2020.

Are you still feeling the loss about the fact they are gone and how it happened?

We always seem to react strongly to the death of a celebrity especially when someone dies before their time, or when they are about to reach superstardom like Aaliyah for instance.

What was most troubling is that Kobe was on the verge of a budding second career that was about to make him more popular than he was as a basketball player. Kobe was known for applying this “Mamba Mentality which meant despite his success, he was still on a continued quest to be the best version of himself whether it was in business, as a parent, or in life.

Are you struggling in your current job, or how you would like to create your mark in this world and you would like to do whatever it takes to separate yourself from the rest of the pack. Here are 10 Ways to develop that Mamba Mentality.

1. Have a champion mentality. (Be Driven)

Do whatever it takes to succeed in the endeavor you are passionate about. You have to give 100% fully to that thing.

2. Commit Fully

Study, take a course or read up on that thing you are passionate about. If it’s creating a podcast, get as many books, or watch as many videos on podcasting you can get. Talk to someone that has created a podcast in your field so you can hear the pitfalls.

3. Be a better leader

Having empathy and compassion for the people in your life personally and professionally. It will help you become a better communicator when you know the people in your life on a deeper level. People will understand that you are interested in their goals outside work. By acting as their coach or accountability partner, you build lasting relationships and a more loyal tribe.

4. Learn from Failures

In any given area, there are some landmines that you must avoid if you want to succeed. It’s your job to figure it out. If you do fall on one, how quickly do you get back up and go forward?

5. Be a Long Term Thinker.

The process of becoming great at something may not happen in a day, a week, a month or even a year, but if you keep working your passion and being curious about how to get better you will see results.

6. Challenge yourself to grow

Some of us feel we are already great at passion, so we don’t even think about trying to get better. Remember, change is constant. There are always new ideas being developed in your chosen passion. Seek them out in order to get better.

Jordan Strauss/AssociatedPress

 

7. Keep Going

Kobe Bryant learned this quote from one of his HS coaches, “Don’t rest in the middle, rest at the end.” When a thing that we are the most passionate about gets challenging, we quit or put it aside to pick up later. Don’t do that. Figure out how to get going. If you need to talk to a mentor, or a trusted friend, do that. Everyone needs encouragement.

8. Nurture your relationships

Don’t always seek out people that can help you get to where you want to go. There is a point where you will have to reach back and help someone that has the same passion you have but just isn’t as experienced.  Don’t hesitate to help them for fear they will take away your opportunities. There are more than enough clients, but there aren’t enough compassionate people.

9. Focus on One Thing

If you have many passions, decide which one you are going to focus on.  You will have time to go to the next one. It’s hard to have the mamba mentality if you are trying to do several different things all at once.

10. Have Fun

If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then why are you? When you find that thing you are passionate about, do that.

Even though Kobe Bryant died before his time, we can honestly say he lived his life on his terms applying the Mamba Mentality way. His legacy is leaving his playbook of life so you can do the same. And that is what made Kobe great.

Keith Dent is a certified relationship and leadership coach and the author of In The Paint, how to win at the Game of Love. To contact him for a consultation, email him at info@keithdent.com

Strive 2 Succeed’s Favorite Things – Gift of Perseverance

As we are headed into the homestretch before Christmas there is some alarming things going on! Folks are giving out ‘gifts of divorce’ for Christmas. I’m not surprised that this is happening, but I am surprised right before the holidays.

In the past couple of weeks Kobe & Vanessa stated they were ending their marriage, and just this past weekend Deion Sanders let all of his FB friends know that he would be single this Christmas. Celebrities aren’t the only one’s getting divorced. I just heard of an acquaintance of mine that was headed to divorce court. It’s already stressful enough deciding what to get the kids for the holidays, you are also going to add the fact that you also will be staying in a different house.

Divorce is not on Strive 2 Succeed’s list. Coach Keith is giving out the gift of perseverance as one of his favorite things.

Anyone can begin the marathon of marriage, but it takes great perseverance to finish one.  We quit when things get difficult, so the difficulty wins and we lose.  When we keep at something in spite of the difficulties we encounter, we’re beginning to win!

It’s similar to owning a home, when you first open the front door for the very first time, it’s a wonderful thing. You can’t wait to decorate it, add new furniture and have your first party. As the years go by, and you live in your home long enough, things start to break down, or even worse your house suffers major damage due to a natural disaster. Do we abandon our homes? No! We salvage what we can until we rebuild. We perservere. Marriage should be the same way.

Marriage and other close relationships require perseverance. In the beginning marriage is great. Left to itself, a marriage will wind down and the couple will drift apart. As soon as that storm of constant arguing, or infidelity, the natural disaster of marriage, lands in your marriage, we  cut our losses.

It takes perseverance to keep a marriage, or any relationship, alive and growing deeper. For Christmas and in 2012, I challenge those of us who are married to persevere at making it work. If you have allowed yourselves to drift away from saying nice things to each other, treating each other with respect, making each other laugh, and providing delightful moments for each other? It’s never too late to turn things around. We all know our mates very well. Think of just three things you could say or do that would please your mate.