Jay Shetty is the close friends of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, but he’s also an author and entrepreneur. He was was one of the most recent guests at Nick Kyrgios’ podcast, “Good Trouble,” with the two discussing their careers and how they manage to stay true to themselves while finding success. Shetty also took the opportunity to talk about Kobe Bryant and the importance of having passions outside of your career, no matter how succesful you are.

Kyrgios and Shetty were discussing navigating unconventional careers, with Shetty bringing up Bryant and praising the fact that he was more than just a basketball star.

“The best example I can give you is I had the honor of doing one of the last interviews that Kobe Bryant ever did,” said Shetty. “And he was one of the most peacefully retired athletes I’ve ever met, because as an athlete, I can imagine retiring is one of the hardest things. It’s all you’ve known for two decades of your life, if not more. And the reason was because he loved how his life and his experience could be turned into storytelling, and he wanted to inspire the next generation.”

Shetty explained that Bryant was making TV and putting stories together in order to cement his legacy and inspire others, communiting his message. “And what I loved about that was he was at so much peace because I realized he didn’t see basketball as his purpose,” said Shetty.

Shetty also praised Kyrgios and his career

Shetty drew parallels between himself and Kyrgios, who’s one of the world’s leading tennis players, yet is someone who acts very differently when compared to his contemporaries. This quality has attracted some controversy to his career. “You don’t see tennis as your purpose,” continued Shetty. “It is a medium. I don’t see being a podcaster as my purpose. That is just one method of communication.”

He continued to say that while the world prizes and rewards people who find their purpose in their profession, it’s important for everyone to find fulfillment in other areas of their life. “My goal is simply to learn, to experiment and to share,” he said. “And as long as I can do those three things, I’ll be happy. The world is made up convinced that your title or your profession is your purpose.”