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Tuesdays with Ryz- Kobe Bryant and Life’s Fragility

Life. It is the most precious and fragile thing on this earth. Every day we wake up and face the day ahead, not knowing the events that will transpire. These events can make us as equally as it can totally break us down. We don’t know what the day will bring, nor if we will have another day after it is over.

As I, like most people, come to grips in my own ways with the shocking news of the tragic helicopter accident that took the life of one of the all-time greatest basketball players, Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year old daughter and 7 other individuals on the morning of January 26th, it doesn’t matter if you knew who he was. It doesn’t matter if you understand the game of basketball. It doesn’t matter if you knew about the impression, impact and influence his life had on millions and millions of people across the world. It doesn’t matter about his transgressions or his turnovers on and off the court. What does matter is that we know, in a moment, the day ended forever for 9 individuals. A father, a husband, a wife, a sister, a brother, a team, a pilot, an aunt, a best friend, a daughter, an icon, a coach. The impact of the incident does not stop at the Bryant family…it only begins. The fragility of our lives are forever impacted because, regardless of your thoughts or knowledge about him, regardless of if you know him, met him, watched him or connected with him, his tragedy, and the tragedy of all on board that helicopter, impacts all of us.

In the same token, a helicopter carrying 10 United States service men and women crashed that same day. They woke up prepared to lay down their life for you and me. Though it didn’t have the same exposure and coverage as the one that happened outside of Los Angeles, they too were people who woke up thinking that they would close their eyes in the same place they opened them that morning, reflecting on what the day had brought them. Instead, all of us are left with a reflection of what was and what could have been.

As we approach each and every day, we must be mindful that nothing in life is guaranteed, especially the next day or the next minute. At any point of our miraculous life we have been given, He can call us back to our true home. That is why each and every moment, however hard it may be at times, we must do our best to make it a minute worth living and a minute that leaves an undeniable impression on those around us.

It is the way Kobe lived his life in his profession. He was meticulous in his craft. He was relentless in being the best version of himself every day. He looked for ways to maximize his effort as well as maximizing his time with his family. Compromising nothing by giving his all to whatever was put in front of him. Even the helicopter was a way for him to travel. In an interview, he said that the 15-minute helicopter ride from his home to the workout facility was a way for him to workout and be home to get his kids up in the morning, see them off to school, be there when they got home and maximize every single moment of the day to its fullest potential.

The past is history. The future is a mystery. The only thing we have is, “the present,” which is the gift of today.

I tell our team here that the only expectation is that they be the best version of themselves they can be THAT day. What happened yesterday doesn’t matter. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. However, by being the best version of themselves THAT day, they will give the best effort to clients, the best love to those special to them and the best impact to the community around them.

Today, tell someone how thankful you are for them or how special they are. Hug you parents, your partner, your children or yourself a little tighter tonight. Make sure that, no matter what may happen to tomorrow, today was a moment they were grateful they had with you.

Everyday I make sure my wife, my daughters and each one of the “family members” in our office knows that from me. As a follower of our company and who we are, I hope you know that 898 Marketing feels the same about you as well.

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