If you have a dream, you have to guard it at all costs, and there are few people as fiercely protective over their ambitions as Kojo Mensah-Bonsu. In this all-access episode, we get to know this incredible man, brother, son, husband, and friend. As a quintessential leader, Kojo is compassionate, trustworthy, loving, and endlessly competitive. While he is never been afraid about pursuing his personal aspirations, he understands the role he plays in contributing to the greater cause.
Kojo’s relentless pursuit of excellence is truly what separates him from the pack, and throughout this show, where we celebrate him, we see this trait showing up time and again. We take it all the way back to his childhood, growing up in London, falling in love with comic books, and ultimately discovering basketball. As a natural-born athlete, Kojo could have pursued several sports, but the challenge of basketball, a sport he discovered relatively late in life, kept him coming back.
Simply playing basketball was never going to be enough for Kojo — He wanted to make it all the way. He shares the incredible story of his arrival in at a camp in America, and how he threw away the return ticket to London because of his dogmatic devotion to his dream to play Division I basketball. We hear when he realized that his biblical lessons were being actualized, what sparked his antagonist mindset on the court, and the role that coaches and friends have played in getting him to where he wanted to be. Kojo’s unique life story shows us that hard work, intent, and focus can get anything done. This is just part one, and there’s still a whole lot more to come…Tune in to Part 2
Key Points From This Episode:
· Unpacking a clip from The Pursuit of Happyness and the takeaways on how to live life.
· Hear some things that Kojo’s family have to say about him and what he means to them.
· Cedric articulates three exemplary things that show Kojo’s relentless pursuit of excellence.
· Where it all began — Kojo’s childhood, growing up in London, and his family life.
· Understanding day names, a Ghanaian tradition.
· The origins of ‘Mensah-Bonsu’ and the symbolism it holds about defeating the British at sea.
· How living two doors down from a comic book store influenced Kojo.
· The origin story of T’Challa—Black Panther—and what that character means to Kojo.
· Some of the civil right leaders Stan Lee has based Marvel characters on.
· How Kojo, as a natural athlete, ultimately decided on basketball.
· Kojo’s memories of watching tapes of old basketball games and the spark it ignited in him.
· Cycling across London — Kojo’s 2.5-hour commute across London on a bicycle!
· How Kojo secured funds to get to a basketball camp in America.
· Making the decision to get away from negativity people and people putting him down.
· Hard work is as important as natural talent and serves you in all aspects of life.
· Why Kojo threw his return ticket to England away when he was in America.
· A look at The 48 Laws of Power and Kojo’s main takeaways.
· Getting celebrating by coach, Joe White, and how this motivated Kojo even more.
· The incredibly valuable exposure Kojo got from AAU.
· There is something to be said about having confidence and a steady demeanor.
· Getting the letter to say he was ineligible to play Division I basketball and why the NCAA turned Kojo down.
· What happened after and finally going to Washington State.
