Three years ago — January 26, 2017 — Dan and I had our first date at Caribou Coffee, followed by dinner at R Taco in Westminster, CO.
It was an instant perfect fit.
We spent the whole night flirting, talking, and later making out.
He spent two months courting me.
(I giggle even typing this.)
This past Saturday night, we celebrated our 3-year anniversary (a day early) at one of our favorite restaurants, White Chocolate Grill.
We loaded up on steak, veggie appetizers and healthy sides, and skipped the sugary dessert.
We reminisced on our three years together, and how they’ve flown by.
The next morning (Sunday), we heard the sad news about Kobe Bryant being killed.
He, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, CA, the morning of January 26, 2020.
Ugh.
My heart goes out to everyone impacted by this. RIP.
It shows the absolute tenuousness of life:
We never know when our last day is.
So we’d better make the most of our time, while we can.
Got goals? Dreams? Aspirations? Things to say? Loved ones to treat well?
Now is the time to do it. Not “maybe someday in the future.”
I don’t follow sports at all. But Kobe was such a legend at what he did, that even someone like me felt saddened by his early death, at 41.
Aside from seeing his name occasionally in headlines, most of what I knew about him came from reading Tim Grover’s book Relentless.
Relentless is about the mindset and behaviors of some of the world’s most successful athletes.
The author identifies three types of competitors:
“Cooler,” “Closer,” and “Cleaner” — who are “good,” “great,” and “unstoppable,” respectively.
Kobe was a Cleaner.
The author says Cleaners are “my name for the ultimate competitors and achievers who refuse to be satisfied with just trying or merely giving in ‘their best’; they…don’t just do a job, they define the job — champions like Michael Jordan, Kobe, Dwayne Wade, and many others in every walk of life.”
“When you’re a Cleaner, there’s no such thing as a meaningless game.”
This doesn’t just apply to sports; you can apply it to business:
When you’re a Cleaner, there’s no such thing as a meaningless day. Every day counts. Every small action adds up.
Every email you send to your list counts.
Every time you motivate, educate, and inspire (MEI) someone, it counts.
Every sale you make counts.
Every successful project you complete is meaningful.
Your small victories, big wins, AND your losses are all meaningful — because you can use all of it to improve yourself.
Regardless of whatever the circumstances are, “a Cleaner shows up to play.”
From the news I’ve read, Kobe, his daughter, and others were on their way to basketball practice when their helicopter crashed.
It was probably a typical day for them…
They probably woke up that morning and had no idea that would be their last day on earth.
It’s tragic, no doubt, but also kind of inspiring in a way: they died while they were on their way to practice.
It’s almost a positive message for the rest of us:
“Do your life and never stop practicing.”
It’s a bit strange for Dan and I to have our anniversary on the same day this famous, well-loved athlete died.
…But it’s a poignant reminder to treasure everything.
‘Cause life isn’t guaranteed.
What IS guaranteed is our ability to make simple choices each day to make our life what we want it to be.
(This morning I woke up an hour earlier than I normally do…so I could get to work sooner. I’ve got a book to promote. “This new wake-up time will be my new normal,” I told myself.)
I’ve decided to re-read Relentless and treat its message more urgently than I did the first time I first read it.
This has been day #6 of the 30-day “daily email” challenge. [Not all emails are posted to this blog. Email subscribers can read all of the daily emails.]
Michelle
Founder, The Anti-Marketing Manifesto
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 