Summer is here, with record setting temperatures this past week. Hot! The Miami Heat were also red hot this past week, scorching a very game OKC Thunder on Miami’s way to their second ever franchise NBA championship and the first one ever for superstar Lebron James.  I love sports, and although I’m not as diehard a NBA fan as I used to be, I do still like watching games and following the finals. One thing for certain is that people either LOVE Lebron James or they HATE HATE HATE him. I haven’t seen a basketball player polarize the fan base so dramatically in a long time. A lot of it had to do with the way he handled his departure from Cleveland to join the Heat. Despite taking a pay cut to get to Miami, many  thought he was arrogant in the way he handled himself. When the Heat made it to the finals last year and lost, tons of fans were very happy. Most rooted for the Mavs just because they wanted Lebron to lose, and when they finally did all fingers pointed at Lebron. He took so much criticism on just about anything you could think about criticizing. This year, many wanted the outcome to be the same. I think some people would have enjoyed watching the Heat make it to the finals every year and lose every year until Lebron retired. But it didn’t happen. Lebron not only elevated his game to help his team win the championship, he shut up an ARMY of haters. Well, at least some of them. And at least for a little while.

Valuable life lessons can be taken from sports all of the time. You win some, you lose some. There will always be critics, naysayers, trolls and haters if you are doing anything of value and anything worth doing. Always. Bet on it. They’ll be there laughing at you when you stumble or fall, only to quietly slink away waiting until you fall again. No critic was ever idolized. No statues were ever built for them.

Get up, stand up, persist, and do what you were put on this planet to do. You aren’t going to always win. Hell, if you’re like me, you are probably going to lose a lot more times than you win. That doesn’t necessarily make you a loser, but it does make you more resilient. And hopefully a little bit better.