Master the Basics, Be Curious, and the Message You Share

What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you striving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. My name is Brian Martin. I'm a second grade teacher and host of the teaching champions podcast. And one thing that I've found to be extremely important is that we can take lessons from people in every walk of life. Because everyone, we've traveled different paths. We have unique experiences, everyone's overcome challenges. And they've found success in their own way. And last week, on January 26, and mark the third year anniversary of that tragic helicopter crash that saw Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others lose their life. And Kobe is one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. But he was so much more than that. An interview after interview, you would see him smile from ear to ear, as he talked about being a girl dad. He was fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, he won an Academy Award. He was creating books for youth, and so much more. And truthfully, as a kid, I was never a fan of Kobe Bryant until his final season. I grew up in the MJ era. So I was a huge fan of his when Kobe came on the scene. There were all these comparisons and others were talking about who was better. So naturally, I was all in on MJ, but is Kobe is legendary career came to an end. And I started listening more and more to his interviews and the things that he talked about my respect. And my offer, this man just skyrocketed. Because He's beyond intelligent. He was driven the way he saw the world was truly special. And the message that he shared was so important. And today, I want to share three takeaways from Kobe. These are deep lessons. They're little reminders. They're things that all of us should take some time, and really think about. And the first story that I want to share comes from a gentleman named Allen Stein, and he's an author, a speaker, and a consultant. But at the time, he was big into the world of basketball. And he talks about a time that he got invited to a Nike all American camp that Kobe was running. And he had always heard about these legendary workouts that Kobe will put themselves through. So he decided that he was going to go up and he was going to ask Kobe if you could come watch one of them. So he goes up to Kobe. And he asked him Kobe, can I come watch your workout? And Kobe said, Sure, he goes, I'm going to be going at four. Well, Allen said that he took out the itinerary for the camp. And he looked and he saw that the kids were having drills done at 330. And he said Kobe, we're gonna be busy at four. And Kobe looked at him and said da, four in the morning. So he said he didn't have many excuses, not to be available at that time. So he said he set the alarm clock for three. He got up. He said he wanted to impress Kobe. So we wanted to show up early. So he jumps in the cab gets there at 330. And it's dark outside. But all the lights in the gym are on. And he can hear at 330 in the morning. That basketball pounding the sneakers squeaking on the floor. And he walks into the gym. And there's Kobe all by himself, getting himself ready. At four o'clock, the trainer comes in. And Kobe and this trainer go through this intense workout. And Alan said for the first 45 minutes he was absolutely blown away because the things that Kobe was doing He said these things were the most basic things that any basketball player would do. He said he would teach his middle school girls, these drills. And he said, Of course, it was Kobe Bryant. So Kobe was going super hard on them. He was doing it very precise. But the drills, they were extremely basic. And Kobe Bryant at this time, was the greatest player in the world. But he was doing the most basic drills. So is that the workout wraps up after a couple hours. And he didn't want to disrupt Kobe or the trainer. So respectfully, he just went out the side door. And then later in that day, he runs into Kobe at camp. And he said, he had just been gnawing at him all day long about what he saw. So he goes up to Kobe, and he said, Kobe, you're the greatest player in the world, but you're doing the most basic drills. And Kobe looked at him. In Kobe said, Why do you think I'm the best player in the world? I never get bored with the basics. And I think that's just such a wonderful reminder for us. Because sometimes, you know, we get caught up with the flashy new things, we get caught up with the latest trends. But as teachers, mastering those basics, that make learning happen, mastering those basic fundamentals that make our classrooms successful, and really hammering home for our students about mastering the basics, and their path to success. And second, is when you listen to Kobe Bryant speak, or you hear his friends talk about him. The one thing that always comes up is his quest for understanding his pursuit of knowledge, being curious, and he said, when he was in high school, he had a teacher that just sparked this curiosity in writing. So he said that he was always studying stories, the messages that were contained in them, and he said that he would analyze them, and he would look for lessons that he could take away to help them become a better leader, a better teammate. He talked about looking at stories to help them understand emotions better. He said, when he came into the league, he looked at who he considered to be the Mount Rushmore of basketball players, from Jordan to bird to Jerry West to Hakeem Olajuwon, and he seek them out. And they asked them questions. And he really dove into those minut details of their game. And what made them great and how they saw the game. He said that he also looked outside of the world of basketball. And he looked at other greats, from conductors, to actors to writers, and he would talk with them. And he would learn from them on techniques on how to get into character, how to stay locked in, in that creative space. And as he transitioned out of sports, and he moved into more of a creative space, where he was writing books, and he was creating movies, and he was creating podcasts. He said that he became a student of movies, and that he will watch them often. But he said he didn't just watch them once. He would watch them again and again and again. And you watch them from different frames with different lenses. And one time he would watch. And he would just do it through an entertainment lens. And watch for how the movie look to capture the audience's attention. And then he will watch the movie again. But this time through the lens of a director. Then he would watch the movie again. And he would pay close attention to lighting and how the music was used. Then he would watch the new movie again, without any music and sound. And he would watch it from that perspective. And it was all about being curious, looking for new insights, looking for answers, looking at different things, from different perspectives. And there were so many amazing things that we can take from this, from finding those people who are crushing it, and asking them the minut details about how they approach the craft, from looking outside of the teaching profession, how are people in different industries doing things? How can we take those back into our own class? It's looking at things from different angles, not just the angle in which we see, maybe from a student's perspective, maybe from a parent's perspective, and what can we take away from that. And this understanding that the world is our library. And we can learn from everything and everyone in a third powerful point that Kobe is shared in many interviews, is all about the power of words in the message that it sends and the effect that it can have on us. And Kobe said, when he was young, around 1011 years old, that he was playing in this really competitive league in Philadelphia. And he said that he wasn't really good at that time. In fact, he went through the whole summer league. And he didn't score one point. And he said, This really affected him. And he was bummed out, and he was hurting. And his dad picked up on it. And his dad had been a professional basketball player. He was a legend in the city of Philadelphia. So this really affected Kobe and his dad, he sat down with Kobe, and he looked at him. And he said, Kobe, I want you to know, whether you score 60 points, or you score zero points. I will love you no matter what. And Kobe said, right then and right there. That was one of the most profound moments in his life, because it gave him the permission to fail. Because if you put them out himself out there, and he didn't succeed, his father would still love him. And Kobe said, it gave him that permission to fail. But looking at that, from that moment on, he said, No, I'm just gonna go out there, and I'm gonna score 60 points. And right there this moment, it's so powerful. Our words, the message that we send others, whether it's your own children, your own athletes, your students, when you let them know that no matter how they do, whether they soar and do amazing or whether they slip in whether they stumble, that you will always care about them no matter what. That's powerful. Now, I'm going to leave several links in the show notes to other podcasts that Kobe has been on. And these interviews are so much more than just about basketball. There's so much wisdom in them. And I encourage you to check them out. I think you'll really enjoy them. And there's three things today. Three lessons that Kobe shared with us, number one, master the small things, fall in love with the basics. Number two, be curious. Ask questions. Look outside the teaching profession for inspiration. And number three, always remember that your message matters. Do you let those people around you know that you'll love them? No matter what. Thank you for being here for being part of the teaching champions community. And if you think someone will benefit from this message, please share. It's all about supporting, encouraging and lifting each other up. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. In always remember, whether we're from rural America, to urban America, to Canada to Spain to Bahrain. We're all on that same team. We're all on that same mission. And we're always better together. Keep being amazing, my friends, and as you round to the week may step into your strength. May you step into your shine, and let's build our champions up. Have a great week, everybody