The habit of excellence

The Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with saying, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." The former center for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal, who, among his numerous nicknames, called himself the Big Aristotle, said it this way: "Greatness is not a singular act. We are what we repeatedly do." In light of the basketball history Shaq's former teammate, Kobe Bryant, made last week, those words are worth contemplating.

At the age of 17, the Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant with the 13th NBA pick right out of high school, then traded him to his dream team, the Lakers. He spent his entire 20-year career with this team he grew up idolizing, the only player ever to play 20 years with one team.

I remember watching him play for the first time, saying, "This guy is the closest to Michael Jordan we'll ever see." This was in the midst of criticism about his immaturity, his decision-making, his temperament. "He makes too many mistakes." "He takes too many shots." "He doesn't trust his teammates." It was endless, and it was unmerciful. But I watched this guy develop, outwork everybody and become the best in the league. With ball in hand, Bryant did the impossible, not just once or twice on a fluke, but repeatedly -- and as a Lakers fan, I loved every minute of it.

I saw him win five championships, just one short of M.J., under the tutelage of the coach M.J. loved, Phil Jackson. I saw him take and make shots no one else could have. I saw him develop into a great passer and an assists man -- once he could trust his teammates to do something with the ball after he fed it to them. I saw No. 8-turned-No. 24 materialize as a defensive talent, as well as an offensive one. I wanted to see him and Shaq stay together and win more championships together, but Shaq departed the Lakers, and Bryant won two more titles without him -- shutting up critics who said he could not do it. And on Wednesday, I saw him play his last NBA game, at the age of 37, scoring 60 points in a comeback win against the Utah Jazz. It was a game that meant nothing in terms of the standings; both the Lakers and the Jazz were eliminated from the post season. But anybody who knows anything about the Black Mamba, as he was known, knows that it meant everything to Bryant. In an amazing display of skill, he put on a show befitting a career steeped in success.

I won't use this space to rattle off his stats. Look them up; they speak for themselves. And as much as I love the game, this space is really not about basketball. It's about a determination to be great and to do what it takes to get there. It's about the lesson we each -- from the youngest to the oldest -- can take away from Bryant's greatness. Bryant was blessed with great talent. His dad was a professional basketball player, and Kobe played all his life, but he went beyond inheriting talent. He honed that talent. He perfected that talent. He took that talent to another level year after year. Thus, year after year, he proved that greatness is no accident.

Every person with a dream, even those with extraordinary skill, need only look at Bryant as a model of how to achieve excellence. Talents, gifts and abilities work wonders, but they're not enough. They allow us to hit the high note once or twice, but to consistently excel in our craft or set the standard in our field or epitomize the heights for which we reach requires hard work.

When asked how he wants to be remembered, Bryant said, "I was blessed with a talent, but I worked as if I had none." Let that be the lesson we impart into today's young people and the example we model in our own lives. Kobe Bryant's habit was hard work -- repeatedly -- behind the scenes, without the cameras, when no one was watching. Therefore, when he stepped into the public arena, when it was his time to shine, he lit it up -- repeatedly. "Excellence," indeed, "is not an act, but a habit." From his earliest days to his 60-point, basketball career-ending extravaganza at 37, Bryant was that excellence.

May we be the same.

Adrienne Ross is an editor, writer, public speaker, online radio show host, former teacher and coach, Southeast Missourian editorial board member, and owner of Adrienne Ross Communications. Reach her at aross@semissourian.com.