 I can't believe it's been over a decade, but back in 2007, Nike flew me out to Los Angeles to work the first ever Kobe Bryant Skills Academy. Nike brought in the top high school and college players from around the country for an intense three-day mini-camp with the best player in the world. And I know some of you follow Hoops, but I don't know if everyone does. So let me paint the picture. In 2007, Kobe was the best player in the game. Michael Jordan, who everybody's heard of, had already retired. In fact, twice at that point. And LeBron James, as great as he was, he was still climbing that mountain. In 2007, Kobe was that dude. Well, an important fact about me, I've spent my entire life in a basketball bubble. Basketball was my first identifiable passion, and I fell in love with the game at five or six years old. So I had always heard the urban legend of how insanely intense Kobe's individual workouts were. Well, now that I was on his camp staff, I figured this was my chance, and this was my shot. So for my earliest opportunity, I walked up to him and asked if I could watch one of his private workouts. He was incredibly gracious and flashed a smile and said, sure, man, no problem. I'm going tomorrow at four. And I got a little bit confused, because I had just got done looking through the camp schedule. And the camp schedule said the first workout with the kids was the following day at 3.30. And Kobe recognized the confused look on my face, and he quickly clarified that with a wink and said, yeah, that's four AM. Well, as a room of high performers and high achievers, you guys realize there's not really a legitimate excuse in the world on why you can't be somewhere at four in the morning. At least not one that a guy like Kobe's going to accept. So I basically committed myself to being there, and I figured if I was going to be there anyway, I may as well try and leave my mark. I may as well try and impress Kobe and show him how serious of a trainer I was. So I came up with the plan to beat him to the gym. So I set my alarm for 3 AM, and the alarm goes off, and I jump up, and I quickly get myself together, and I hop in a cab, and I get to the gym. Now, when I step out of the cab, it's 3.30 in the morning. It's pitch black outside. And yet from the parking lot, I can see that the gym light is already on. From the parking lot, I can even faintly hear a ball bouncing and sneakers squeaking. I walk in the side door, Kobe's already in a full sweat. He was going through an intense warm-up before his scheduled workout with his trainer started at 4. Not of professional courtesy, I didn't say anything to him, and I didn't say anything to his trainer. I just sat down to watch. And for the first 45 minutes, I was actually shocked. For the first 45 minutes, I watched the best player on the planet do the most basic footwork and offensive moves. Kobe was doing stuff that I had routinely taught to middle school age players. Now, don't get it twisted. This is Kobe Bryant. So everything he was doing was at an unparalleled level of intensity. And everything he was doing was with surgical precision. But the actual stuff he was doing was incredibly basic. Now, the whole workout lasted a couple hours, and when it was over again, I didn't say anything to him. I didn't say anything to his trainer. I just quietly left, but my curiosity got the best of me. I had to know. So later that day at camp, I went up to him and said, Kobe, I don't get it. You're the best player in the world. Why are you doing such basic drills? And again, he was very gracious and smiled. But he said with all seriousness, why do you think I'm the best player in the world? Because I never get bored with the basics. I never get bored with the basics. Kobe Bryant, the best player in the game of basketball, said, I never get bored with the basics. And as a young coach for me, that was a life-changing lesson. And that's just because something is basic? That doesn't mean that it's easy. If it was easy, everyone else would be doing it. But as you all know, we live in a world that tells us it's okay to skip steps, that tells us it's okay to circumvent the process, that all but pushes us to chase what's hot and what's flashy and what's sexy and just ignore what's basic. But as you all know, the basics work. They always have and they always will. And the very first step to improving your performance in any area of your life, personally or professionally, individually or organizationally, is admitting that the basics work. But it's also having the humility to acknowledge that implementing them with consistency is never easy.