Let’s be clear…
I’m not a Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors fan.
I’m not a Lebron James or Stephen Curry fan.
However, I am a fan of good basketball and a real sucker for greatness.
For those of you who followed the NBA Finals, whether you’re happy about the results of this 2016 season or not, we’d all have to agree that the Cleveland Cavaliers achieved what many of us thought was impossible.
In the NBA, no team has ever been down in a championship playoff series three games to one, and come back to claim the crown.
Based on this truth…to win, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were faced with the impossible!
You might hate Lebron James.
You’re entitled to feel however you choose to feel as an independent human being.
Despite your hate, I am imploring you to look past your personal feelings so you can receive a extraordinary lesson that Lebron taught us in the last three games of the 2016 series.
Like Lebron, we all have seemingly insurmountable barriers and obstacles that clog the road to our goals, dreams and aspirations.
Our success and personal greatness is only achieved when we address these forces of resistance!
Here are the 3 things I learned from Lebron James on winning despite the odds, facing the impossible, and surmounting that impossibility to achieve greatness!
1. Clear your mind of CAN’T
They say 90% of your performance when playing basketball is mental. As a former high school and college basketball player I completely agree.
The longer I live the more I’m beginning to believe that the game of life is 90% mental too!
Whether you’re playing basketball or simply living your life, our achievements are based on what we believe we can do.
As a young man, I was often told, “You can’t a lot!”
- You can’t play college basketball
- You can’t speak well
- You can’t lead because you can’t speak
- You can’t apply for this job with no degree
You can’t…
You can’t…
You can’t…
Most of the world thought Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t win three games in a row against such an offensively potent Golden State Warriors team.
The Cavalier’s victory despite those odds was wonderful reminder that we can do anything we put our minds too!
They did!
We can!
Clear your mind of can’t!
2. Don’t quit…leave it all on the floor
At the end of Game 4 of this 2016 series, I can recall sharing with my brother that the only way Lebron James could come back and win this series, was to take it one game at a time and leave it all on the floor every night he played.
Lebron had two options:
- Feel sorry for himself, curl up and quit
- Give his best effort and push to win
Lebron chose option 2.
The proof is in the numbers.
Check out his stats:
Game 5: 41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Game 6: 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Game 7: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals
The lesson I learned from this is simple, yet difficult:
- Don’t quit.
- Take life one day at a time.
- Bringing your best everyday is the formula for achieving your ultimate vision and dreams.
- Leave it all on the floor!
3. Ignore the haters and naysayers
Haters gonna hate!
…and in 2016 the hate is exponentially great!
Throughout the series, it was almost impossible to get online and look through a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter news feed without seeing a hilarious meme or video animation about the current standings of the NBA Finals.
Regardless at what side these insensitive memes and videos were aimed, it was difficult not to chuckle a bit.
This is an example of just a few of the crazy video animations that surfaced during this series:
I couldn’t help but wonder, how is Lebron handling all this?
From what I observed, most of these memes poked fun at him more than anyone else.
How did Lebron maintain his mental fortitude with so much outside noise?
When I have the opportunity to interview him in the future I will ask, but for now my assumption is…he simply ignored it.
All to often we give way to much thought to what people think about us.
What are they saying?
What are they thinking?
What will they say?
What will they think?
The truth is…it doesn’t matter.
My dreams are my dreams.
Because I dreamt them I get to pursue them.
Doesn’t matter what you think.
The more we wonder about what others are thinking the less mindshare we have going into navigating our own road full of barriers and obstacles.
I believe many of us end up being stopped by circumstance and situations not because these events are substantial. We are stopped because we get discouraged and lose our motivation.
Your dreams are your dreams.
Your goals are your goals.
Learn to ignore the haters and naysayers and focus on your dreams.
Congratulations to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thanks for showing us how to win despite the odds, face the impossible, and surmount that impossibility to achieve greatness!
Before we know it, another season of basketball will be upon us…until then, stay inspired; it’s a lifestyle choice!
About the Author:
Linal Harris
Global Entrepreneur – Certified Life Coach – Media Personality – Speaker
Linal Harris is a Corporate America graduate, global entrepreneur, certified life coach, and media personality. He has penned over 200 blog posts on his popular website of 5 years, InspirationalPerspective.com and recorded over 200 radio shows on his weekly WVON 1690 AM talk radio program, “Inspirational Perspective”—which he also broadcasts live to his Periscope channel. Harris is a heavily sought-after speaker for conferences and events across the country. He is gifted in custom designing presentations for specific audiences that motivate and inspire. He has been called upon by numerous professional career organizations, universities and Fortune 500 companies to facilitate goal-setting sessions and provide inspirational talks. In 2015, Harris was inducted into Triton College’s Alumni Hall of Fame and he was the recipient of the 2013 Chicago Defender’s Men of Excellence award and the 2012 Chicago Urban Roundtable’s 40 Game Changers Under 40 award.
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