Kobe Bryant, after 20 years in the league, retired as a legendary players. On Wednesday, Bryant penned an open letter to his 17-year-old self on The Players’ Tribune, with particular focus on personal finance and investment. “You need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family and friends,” Bryant wrote. Bryant explained: “I said INVEST. I did not say GIVE. 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.” (theplayerstribune.com)
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