Kobe Shoots... and a Year Later, He Scores!

Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers were humiliated a year ago by the Boston Celtics, and he vowed to come back from that devastating loss. He came back, and he came up BIG when he led his team to a 15th NBA Championship last night in Orlando. He was a man possessed. His eyes, his mouth, said it all. He was focused, and as he drove to the basket, he was driven. And he was committed to driving out the claim that he couldn't win a championship without his former team mate Shaquille O'Neal.
And so after he was banished to also-ran status by Boston last June with a 39-point delta, he determined to return. After helping the American "Redeem Team" win an Olympic gold medal in China last summer, he declared, "My next goal is winning the NBA championship."

So the win is just part of the story. Kobe's fulfillment of his goal to reach the NBA finals again is just as significant. As I have written over the last year, Kobe succeeded in classic fashion. He prepared for this championship through proactive preparation, working with coach Phil Jackson to continually improve his individual play and his team play. He constructed the plan and executed it superbly, step by step, finally reaching his specific goal.

For those who think that their goals are too far in the future or simply unattainable, I point to Kobe Bryant as an example of picking his goal and pursuing it relentlessly. And the city of Los Angeles celebrates with him.