Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA finals.  Not only was it a close game, but Cleveland made history by coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the series to take the prize.

The Most Valuable Player of the finals was LeBron James.  And the decision was unanimous.

When LeBron was born his mom was 16 years old.  She raised him on her own.  They moved around a lot in Akron, Ohio as she struggled to find work and take care of a child.

In fourth grade, after moving many times and LeBron missing about 100 days of school, his mom allowed him to move in with a local youth football coach who introduced him to sports.

This was the beginning of his rise.

He played basketball during high school and was named USA Today All-USA First Team for three years in a row.  He also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  His high school’s home games were moved to the University of Akron arena to keep up with the amount of people who wanted to come and watch James play.

He was the first overall pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft.  He set an NBA record for the points he scored in his first professional game.  And he was named NBA Rookie of the Year.

After a number of years with Cleveland, he made the decision to move to Miami Heat. This drew fire from many Cleveland fans who felt he had turned his back on his roots.  He won two finals with Miami and then re-joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.

And then last night, he led the Cavaliers to win the NBA finals.  James said, “I came back for a reason.  I came back to bring a championship to our city.”

The last time the city of Cleveland won a major sports title was when the Cleveland Browns football team won the Superbowl in 1964.

This is a story of struggle, opportunity, hard work and perseverance.  A young boy with dreams who was given a chance and took it.

As William Shakespeare once said, “Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.”

Whether it’s winning NBA titles or winning at the game of life, we can all learn from LeBron’s journey.  Anything is possible if you keep your eye on the goal.