親愛的17歲的自己，

當你的湖人夢即將成為現實的時候，你需要想辦法投資你未來的家庭和朋友。這句話聽上去很簡單，你也許會覺得這個根本不需要動腦思考，但是花些時間想想未來吧。

我說的是投資

而不是給予

我來解釋一下吧。

只是單純的給予你的兄弟姐妹和朋友物質上的東西看上去似乎正確的。因為你愛他們，他們陪伴著你長大，所以讓他們分享你成功成果是唯一正確的。所以你會給他們車子、買房子，為他們買單。你希望他們過上舒適愜意的生活，對嗎？

但是，有一天你會意識到，你所認為的在為他們做正確的事情，實際上是阻礙他們前進。

你會開始明白，你照顧他們其實是因為這樣會讓你自己感覺良好，看到他們面帶微笑只會讓你自己感到高興，但那樣的你真的很自私。當你自我感覺滿意時，其實是在蠶食他們的夢想和野心。你給他們提供良好的物質條件，但卻剝奪了他們最珍貴的禮物：獨立和成長。

要明白你即將成為這個家庭的頂樑柱，這也需要你做出艱難的選擇，即使你的兄弟姐妹和朋友們當時並不理解你。

投資他們的未來，而不是隨便給予。

用你的成功、財富和影響力把他們置於最佳的位置去實現自己的夢想，尋找人生真正的目標。讓他們完成學業、為他們的工作面試牽線搭橋並幫助他們自己做決定。讓他們保持著那些讓你達到今天這樣的位置的努力和奉獻。

我現在寫信給你是為了你可以立即展開這一行動，為了你可以無需修復他們脫離你帶來的便利而給你帶來的傷痛和掙扎。這種癮會讓每個人憤怒、怨恨和嫉妒，包括你自己。

隨著時間的流逝，你會看到他們獨立成長，擁有他們自己的抱負和生活，你與他們的關系也會好得多。

我還會給你寫很多的信，但是在你17歲的時候，我知道你沒有耐心坐下來看完兩千個字。

下一次我給你寫信的時候，可能會涉及到與商業方面的挑戰。我能給你最重要的建議就是，要確保讓你的父母扮演父母的角色，而不是做你的經理。

在你籤署第一份合同之前，要想清楚一份你給父母的正確預算，一份可以讓他們過著優雅的生活，同時讓你自己的事業成長並保持與人們之間長期關系的預算。這樣一來，待時機成熟之時，你孩子的孩子以及他們的孩子都能投資他們自己的未來。

你的生活即將發生改變，事情會來的非常快。但在經歷了一天9個小時的訓練後就安靜地躺進被窩吧。

相信我，在一開始就把事情往正確的方向安排就可以避免無盡的淚水和心痛，其中的一些傷痛依然持續到今天。

無盡的愛

Kobe Bryant

原文如下：

Letter to My Younger Self

ar 17-year-old self,

When your Laker dream comes true tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends. This sounds simple, and you may think it’s a no-brainer, but take some time to think on it further.

I said INVEST.

I did not say GIVE.

Let me explain.

Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision. You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it’s only right that they should share in your success and all that comes with it. So you buy them a car, a big house, pay all of their bills. You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?

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.

You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.

Understand that you are about to be the leader of the family, and this involves making tough choices, even if your siblings and friends do not understand them at the time.

Invest in their future, don』t just give.

Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their owndreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

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. That addiction only leads to anger, resentment and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.

As time goes on, you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and their own lives, and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result.

There’s plenty more I could write to you, but at 17, I know you don』t have the attention span to sit through 2,000 words.

The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers.

Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents — one that will allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up for long-term success. That way, your children’s kids and their kids will be able to invest in their own futures when the time comes.

Your life is about to change, and things are about to come at you very fast. But just let this sink in a bit when you lay down at night after another nine-hour training day.

Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day.

Much love,

Kobe

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