The Cleveland Cavaliers have been quite successful over the last few years. They have reached three straight NBA Finals, all against the Golden State Warriors. Though it may sound like it has been an easy road for this team, it has been far from easy. They have had to overcome many obstacles to achieve the success they have had.
In the 2016 NBA Finals, the Cavaliers were down 3-1 in the series against the offensive powerhouse, Golden State Warriors. Many people ruled the series over and the Warriors back-to-back champions. Not so fast. The Cavaliers put their heads down, focused, and fought the uphill battle. Taking the series to game 7 and winning off of a clutch three pointer from Kyrie Irving and an insane block from Lebron James to seal the game. The Cavaliers won the battle and took the Championship trophy. They earned it.
This past season they were in the same boat. Down 3-0 in the series against the Warriors. Everybody was ruling the series over at that point. Sound familiar? The script was there for Cleveland to top their incredible comeback from the 2016 season. However, there was one extra piece in their way, Kevin Durant. Durant was added to the already powerful, 73 win, Warrior team that came one shot away from winning a championship in 2016. This move created yet another obstacle for Cleveland to overcome.
In the end, the obstacles were too much for the 2017 Cavaliers to overcome. They failed to win the championship. For most teams, making the finals is good enough, but not for Cleveland. Each of the last three seasons, it has been championship or bust. However, there were too many obstacles standing in their way last season.
In business, there are going to be major obstacles in your way. It’s about how much effort you put into overcoming the obstacles, how you learn from the experience, and how you bounce back.
Sometimes just doing your best to overcome the obstacle will not be enough. So what? Are you just going to give up? No. Keep your head up, understand that the obstacle standing in your way was too big at the moment, and focus on the future. That same obstacle will always be there, don’t let it take you down again.
The Cavaliers went into this past offseason with one thing on their mind, overcoming the large obstacle (the Golden State Warriors). Now that they have attempted to crush through the obstacle once, they have gained experience, an inside edge, and the self-awareness needed to build off their loss.
You are not going to be able to crush your obstacles all in one shot. Give it your best shot, if you fail, learn from it, make the proper improvements, and go for it again. Just because an obstacle was too large for you once, doesn’t mean you cannot handle it in the future. Just like the Cavaliers will do this year, prepare to knock down anything standing in your way, and tear down those obstacles that once held you back.
Image of Lebron James was taken by Erik Drost under the Attribution 2.0 License.