"Champions Place"

"The Miami Heat won the title but have you found that special place in life yet?"

With the NBA season just wrapping up and the Miami Heat hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy I thought that it would be a great time talk about what winning it all really means. So many people get excited about the possibility of their team winning a championship that they never stop to think about what it means to be a champion in their own life. Fans put in a lot of time hoping for a title but the only problem is they aren’t on the team. Very few people take the lessons that sports teach us and relate them to their own lives.

Winning is something that everyone can do on a daily basis whether you're playing sports or not. The goal should be for us all to get to Champions Place and hoist the trophy!

Championships are not won on game day! Your level of success is contingent upon your commitment to it. In other words, how bad do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it. I constantly hear people talking about being great! The problem is, so few ever understand what that takes. There is only so much room at the top. Therefore, if you're going to hold a position in that zip code, someone either has to move out or be thrown out.

The word of God says, "A man reaps what he sows" Galatians 6:7. You're only going to get out of it what you put in it! How can a man withdraw what he has not put in? Life can only be as good as the effort by which you live it. Therefore, stop looking for someone else to give you permission to be great!

It's not some place that others can just open the door and let you in. You have to earn the right to be there by your determination and will to succeed. Everybody has a dream but not everyone is willing to wake up and pursue it.

Only the great ones understand that it's the little things that breathe life into winning titles in life. Waking up early to put in work when everyone else is asleep. Being on time when it's fashionable to be late. Having integrity which is simply doing the right thing when no one else is looking! Understanding that sacrifice is necessary in order to sharpen your skills.

Champions push past the point where most people tend to give up. It's a place where only the most diligent can finally rest and the most talented can only dream of being. Talent doesn't get you into this place it only allows you to imagine what it would be like to be there. It’s only one-third of the combination that unlocks the doors to greatness.

Skill can be the most deceitful gift that a person can possess because it tells you that you've got everything that it takes to win. It lies and tells you that all you've got to do is show up. Unfortunately, so many people miss out on the opportunity to be great because of their lack of effort.

The elite few that can unlock the combination will become Champions! Bo Schembechler always said, “Those that stay will become Champions!” Vince Lombardi expressed it this way, “We will relentlessly pursue perfection. However, it’s impossible to be perfect but in the process we will find excellence!” Aristotle said it better than any of them when he recited, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit.”

So as we continue to watch our favorite teams this year. Pay close attention to what it takes for them to be great! Follow the story lines of the best teams and be curious to know what they’ve done to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and incorporate those things into your own life. Sports is entertainment but most importantly it should be a motivator for us to get to Champions Place in our own lives!

 Congratulations to LeBron James and the Miami Heat on being a great example of perseverance. I hope that the fans at the parade today stop and think about what it would take to win in their own lives and then pursue it. Like my wife always says, "Those people are already rich and doing what they've always wanted to do. I can't spend too much time on them cuz I gotta get mine too!"

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport