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Kobe Bryant's ambition was terrifying to his peers. He didn't want to be good; he didn't even want to be great. He wanted to be the best ever. He studied Michael Jordan, not to copy him, but to surpass him. He taught that ambition requires the courage to be disliked, the willingness to be misunderstood, and the audacity to set goals that others think are impossible. His ambition wasn't about trophies; it was about maximizing his potential as a human being.
"The fear of losing is what makes winning so sweet."
"Failure is just a part of the process of becoming great."
"Winning takes precedence over all. There's no gray area. No almosts."
"Be willing to sacrifice anything, but compromise nothing in your quest to be your best."
"I’m chasing perfection."
"I saw you come in the gym... I knew you were coming for the crown."
"If you want to be great, you have to be willing to fail spectacularly."
"I'm not afraid of anyone. I'm afraid of not being the best I can be."
"I'm not afraid of failing. I'm afraid of not trying."
"If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. For me, that meant obsessing over my physical conditioning."
"The fear of not living up to my own expectations was always greater than the fear of external criticism."
"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do."
"I didn't want to have any 'what ifs'. I wanted to know that I did everything I possibly could to be the best I could be."
"Fear is an illusion. It's something we create in our own minds to keep us safe, but safety is the enemy of greatness."
"From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best."
"If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness."
"I wasn't going to let anyone outwork me. I was going to make sure that if you were going to beat me, you were going to have to work harder than I was."
"If you want to be great at something, there's a certain amount of fear that comes with that responsibility."
"Everything I do, I do to be the best."
"I have no interest in being average."
"I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can."
"I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it."
"I never wanted to be the guy who said 'I wish I had worked harder.' I wanted to leave it all on the floor."
Seeing how Kobe Bryant approaches Ambition helps you apply the idea with more precision.
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