Kobe Bryant and the Power of Personal Myth-Making

What do Odysseus, Luke Skywalker, and Kobe Bryant have in common? They all lived a great story. More specifically, they harnessed the hero’s journey — the universal narrative of challenge, growth, and triumph that has captivated humans for millennia.

The hero’s journey, as described by mythologist Joseph Campbell, is a common narrative arc found across cultures and time. It typically begins with a hero receiving a call to adventure, which pulls them out of their ordinary world. They then face a series of trials and challenges, often including a defining ordeal or “crucible” that tests them to their limits. Through facing and overcoming these adversities, the hero grows, gaining new insights and abilities. They then return to their world, transformed and bearing gifts of wisdom to share with others.

For Kobe, this wasn’t just an intellectual fascination. It was a blueprint for his life. From a young age, he saw himself as the hero of his own epic tale. He devoured Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and mapped its lessons onto his own journey. As his high school English teacher Jeanne Mastriano observed, “It was obvious to [me] that Kobe, even at 15, saw himself on that trajectory.”

By consciously placing himself within this narrative framework, Kobe imbued his pursuits with a mythic quality. Obstacles became dragons to be slain. Failures became trials to be overcome. Championships became the ultimate boon. This perspective allowed him to find deeper meaning and motivation in his journey.

Kobe didn’t just passively absorb these mythic narratives. He actively reflected on his own hero’s journey, constantly envisioning the next chapters of his story. As author Roland Lazenby notes, “For the next six years, young Bryant had lived his life as if on a mythical quest. The only way he could keep the whole dream going was to work harder and harder and harder, to spin his fantasies around and around until they wrapped him tight in a new reality.” By continually pondering his role as the hero and the trials he would face, Kobe wove a powerful personal narrative that propelled him forward.

We all have the power to shape our personal narratives. Start by viewing your life through the lens of the hero’s journey. What is the “call to adventure” that beckons you? What “threshold guardians” — fears, doubts, obstacles — must you overcome? What allies and mentors will aid you along the way?

Continuously envision the next chapters of your story. Imagine yourself a year from now, having achieved your goals. What challenges did you face and surmount? How did you grow and change? Imbue these visions with vivid sensory detail, making them feel concrete and inevitable. Then, crucially, take action to bring these imaginings to life. As Kobe’s life demonstrates, it’s the potent combination of vivid visualization and relentless work that turns aspirations into reality.

Remember, you are the author of your own epic. As Kobe showed us, when you embrace the power of personal myth-making, you tap into a wellspring of meaning and motivation. You become the hero of your own grand adventure.

Your Challenge for the Week

Spend some time thinking about your story. What is your own hero’s journey? What is your mythical quest? What are the obstacles that you must overcome to reach your destiny? 

Want even more lessons from Kobe Bryant?

If you got this far, I bet you love the full podcast series we did on Kobe. Learn all the secrets of the Black Mamba here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkSd12rP281mNdawjcF-4nGD3TUpG0yQ

Book Recommendation

The Hero with a Thousand Faces — https://amzn.to/40TtNA4

I won’t lie to you… this is a pretty dense one. I recommend listening to the audio book. It does however beautifully illustrate the hero’s journey and all that comes with it. This is a great book for unlocking your imagination and helping you to view yourself as the hero in your own narrative!