Kobe Bryant Offers Important Life Advice In Letter To 17-Year-Old Self

Spending two-plus decades in the limelight has taught Kobe Bryant that saying “no” to people he loves is hard but that it’ll pay off in the long run.

The retired NBA superstar revealed his insight into this enduring lesson in a “Letter to My Younger Self” published Wednesday on The Players’ Tribune. Bryant detailed the difference between giving to people and investing in them.

“Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision …” Bryant wrote.

“But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.”

Few can truly empathize with Bryant, with most of us having never borne the tag of “NBA superstar” and the responsibility that comes with it. However, Bryant powerfully explained the toll that giving — instead of investing — took on him and his relationship with his loved ones.

“I’m writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately, and so that you don’t have to deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning them off of the addiction that you facilitated,” Bryant wrote. “That addiction only leads to anger, resentment and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.

Bryant’s letter makes us wonder just how much emotional pain he endured as he sought to reach and remain at the top. He even touched on his relationship with his parents, advising a younger Mamba to allow his mother and father only to parent him and never to manage his affairs.

In the end, Bryant helped teach that giving is good, but investing in others makes for a greater good.