WEEKLY MOTIVATIONAL PIECE!

Greetings!

For those that had an opportunity to watch the Miami Heat’s remarkable comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, there was one big lesson to be learned … and this was to “Seize the Moment” when opportunity presents itself!

Doesn’t matter what your game performance looked like in the previous minutes. It always comes down to your Mindset, your Discipline and your ability to Block out all Distractions! There are no better examples than to look at two of the Heat’s most accomplished veterans – Chris Bosh and Ray Allen.

Before touting their accomplishments, in recent weeks, media talk was rampant that Bosh would be traded if the team lost out to the Spurs in the Championship Finals. Some accounts were labeling his play as ‘soft’. Even his hometown fans were booing his play on the court. As for Allen, he has been a frequent seat warmer on the bench during his team’s last two playoff series. So one would expect his shooting rhythm to be off kilter somewhat.

At Tuesday’s game, Allen had missed four of his first six shots, including his first two attempts from 3-point range. But despite his misses, Allen put himself in position to be on the court at the most critical stage. Down by three. He rose up and buried the game-tying shot, his only 3-pointer of the game, with 5.2 seconds left in a season that was ticking away to its end. If you stayed with the game to the overtime conclusion, you would have also seen Allen make two very clutch free throws in OT to eventually help the Heat seal the win at 103-100.

Said Allen on his shot that prevented San Antonio from winning the NBA Championship in regulation play:  "I had to get myself in a position where I was ready. Once the ball came off the rim, I just knew to get to the 3 point line. We needed a three. Two points isn't going to cut it. So my mental checklist is really to have my legs ready and underneath me, so when the ball comes, if it comes, I was ready to go in the air. Once I get my legs there, I let the ball go. I'm going to give myself the best chance to make it."

Added LeBron James: "He's got ice water in his veins! Ray can be 0-for-99 in a game and if he gets an open look late in the game, it's going down. That's just the confidence he has in himself.”

Allen’s shot doesn’t happen, however, if Chris Bosh doesn’t fight through the clutter of bodies jammed around the net in the waning seconds of regulation to snare the biggest rebound of his career - and flip out the basketball to Ray Allen who was standing open from the far corner - the Spurs were going to be crowned NBA Champions!

Know going into that moment, Bosh’s game performance was adequate at best. Offensively, he was 5-12 shooting from the floor and was criticized by the fans and broadcast media for not being more aggressive around the net. Even more concerning to those watching the game was how Tim Duncan of the Spurs just dominated the paint against Bosh. Everyone saw Duncan run wild and score 25 points in the first half alone. With the clock ticking down to the end of the season (that would have been classified as a major disappointment) and the hometown fans leaving the arena by the thousands, Bosh found a second gear at the ‘put-up or shut-up’ time in the game to not just rebound the ball but to have the court awareness to also see Ray Allen open at the corner and get him the ball.

"Offense, it wasn't going for me. That's going to happen sometimes,” said Bosh. “But you still have to be in some kind of rhythm and help the team out in some kind of way during the game. I just wanted to stay with it and play good defense."

Then as the remaining fans and Heat players were rejoicing in Allen’s magic, the Spurs had one last shot to take the title in regulation. And there was Bosh, again, coming to the rescue and keeping the Spurs away from celebrating a title, by blocking Danny Green’s last second shot attempt at victory.  During the OT with the Heat now clinging to a one-point lead in the closing seconds, Bosh, for the third time in a matter of minutes, sprung out of nowhere to get a hand on Tony Parker’s shot to help preserve the Heat’s unimaginable comeback win!    

"I think part of being a great athlete is continuously proving yourself to doubters,” said Bosh. ”I don't think that will ever go away. There's always another hurdle to jump over until you retire."

It doesn’t matter if you’re the starter or coming off the bench, leave no regrets when you get your opportunity to perform!

All the best always!

Jim Loria

----------------------------------------------------------
"Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential" – stated by Liane Cardes

----------------------------------------------------------
“When you expect success, your mind focuses on success” – stated by an unknown author

----------------------------------------------------------

"Nothing on earth can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude" – stated by Thomas Jefferson, American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and our 3rd U.S. President

----------------------------------------------------------

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves” – stated by Edmund Hillary, one of the world’s greatest explorers

###

WEEKLY MOTIVATIONAL PIECE!

“Changes are what makes life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful” – stated by Eddie Nogay, a New York high school volleyball player who played with one arm

Greetings! Everyone in life has a checklist of some sorts starting with their teenage years. Most would look something like this …

ü  Play sports during high school. Check!

ü  Help my high school team reach the playoffs. Check!

ü  Attend High School Senior Prom. Check!

ü  Celebrate 18th Birthday with friends. Check!

For this week’s subject matter, the story ends right there but in many ways, it truly just begins! I am hoping that this story will inspire those of you that felt disappointment from last week’s Major League Baseball Draft or for some of you feeling dejected because of a lost season due to injuries or maybe from a feeling that you simply lacked progress with your on-field development?

Meet Eddie Nogay. He was just 18-years-old and lived to exceed this age by all of just one minute. Seriously!! This young man was considered one of the best volleyball players in the New York City public schools who gained national attention in 2013 when he began competing in games with only his left arm. His (dominant) right arm had to be amputated below the shoulder after a Sarcoma (which is a malignant tumor made of cancerous bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, vascular hematopoietic tissues) was found to be forming in his right elbow during the fall of 2012, but he refused to stop competing in volleyball and eventually helped spark his teammates to reach the playoff quarterfinals this past year.

If there ever was an athlete who deserved the label of a “hero” or a “fighter” it was Eddie Nogay. He was not a professional athlete. He received no signing bonus. He was an everyday student who filled his days by competing in sports. But things started to spiral for the worse for him when the calendar year turned 2013. One of Eddie’s lungs collapsed in January, a condition that would need two surgeries to correct. Yet, he still managed to suit up with his teammates and play despite his missing one of his limbs.

In early April, Nogay’s cancer-stricken lungs collapsed for the second time in four months. Still, after having surgery, all he could think about was getting back on the volleyball court again. After discovering the collapsed lung, Eddie’s doctors told him he could no longer play. But his one last wish according to his coach was to play in his team’s playoffs. Last month, without anyone knowing he was coming, Eddie showed up minutes before his team’s first playoff game on May 7th.

“The two teams were going through warm-ups,” said his coach Kim Tolve. “We find out Eddie kind of snuck into the school through the back entrance, and he comes walking into the gym with his uniform and knee pads on, with a smile on his face and a letter in his hand (which was a medical waiver). And that just got the guys all fired up. It was hard to hold back the tears.”

In true storybook fashion, Eddy then helps his team score their very first point of the playoffs and his team goes on to win game one!  “I’m so proud of him,” Nogay’s mother, Natalya Kan said. “Before he was diagnosed, I never knew how much volleyball meant to him. No matter how much he has pain, he wants to play.”

Here is a young man, obviously devoted to playing the game of volleyball, yet  many days he would wake up in a hospital with a tube that would pass through his stomach and into his lungs to drain the bloody fluid. He would battle through the many blood transfusions given to him. He eventually knew that there was no medicine out there that could help eradicate the cancer. Rather than be angry, what does Eddie do? He thought up an idea to print T-Shirts and give to each of his teammates that would commemorate their first playoff division victory, which he paid for himself!  The design on the front was of a heart-shaped volleyball with a special inscription on the back that read “HEART IS WHAT SETS US APART!”

"Throughout the whole situation, Eddie told his coach: “I’m going to make a difference. When my arm was amputated, I'm pretty sure people didn't think I was going to play. But I'm going to make it happen. I'm not going to sit around and let the disease kill me”.

And now there was only one last goal remaining for Eddie to achieve in his young life. To live to celebrate his 18^th birthday!  Eddie’s mother and brother had planned a birthday celebration for him at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on June 3^rd. They even invited more than 50 of Eddie’s high school classmates and friends. Once everyone gathered by his room, there would be no party. Eddie’s condition wouldn’t allow it. Instead everyone found themselves giving their final goodbye to their friend and inspirational fighter who would pass away ONE MINUTE after his birthday came to an end at 12:01 AM on Tuesday, June 4th.

Fellas – when you wake up every day, take a deep breath and take advantage of your opportunities given to you in life … and leave no regrets!

My best for you always!

Jim Loria

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Success is just not making money, a good name and fame, but also standing firm after failure with more energy, spirit, enthusiasm & courage to face what's next" – stated by an unknown author

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like” – stated by an unknown author

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Courage is being scared to death...and saddling up anyway" – stated by the great John Wayne, legendary actor and director

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is never easy to keep reaching for dreams. Strength and courage can sometimes be lonely friends...but those who reach walk in stardust"- stated by an unknown author"Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman"Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity” – stated by Keshavan Nair, Author – Lessons from the Life of Gandhi

###

WEEKLY MOTIVATIONAL PIECE!

"I love how you are with your teammates. Stay that way man, stay that way. This is going to be your league in a little while. I appreciate you giving us this year" – words from Tim Duncan, spoken to LeBron James after San Antonio defeated Cleveland for the NBA Championship back in 2007 when James was just 21 years old.

I have written well over 150 stories and sent too many of you over the last three years. If there’s ever one person that sums up every single human element and lesson I’ve tried to bestow upon you during this time, it would be LeBron James! I have never seen a player overcome the obstacles he has … and just in the last 13 months? Go back prior to the start of last year’s NBA playoff season, James was still carrying many labels. Some thought he was not able to perform in the clutch. Some thought his game seemed to shrink under pressure? Before that he was literally crucified and hated by America let alone the city of Cleveland and state of Ohio for exercising his right to explore free agency?

Through it all, he grew up. He learned some valuable lessons. Sought help from other professionals to better his game. He actually turned one of sport’s biggest negatives into one amazingly positive one! Today, he has truly earned the moniker “King James” and as dominant of an offensive talent as he is, what makes LeBron even more awe-inspiring is that for a player of his stature, he might be the BEST TEAMMATE in any sport and perhaps the most giving of one’s self? And that is a rare, if never seen before combination from a global superstar and icon!

As an example, prior to the Miami Heat’s Game #7 series-clinching win over Indiana on Monday, it was reported that James delivered an inspirational address of sorts to his team during their morning meeting and shoot-around. Then he stood up and volunteered to guard Paul George, the Pacers’ best offensive weapon (who was averaging 21.5 points per game in the Miami series playing up against a less than 100% Dwayne Wade as the principal defender). James’ motive was to allow Wade to take a breather on defense and use what strength he had left in his body to focus on his offensive game and be able to use his legs to drive with more authority to the basket.

“Any little pressure I could take off D-Wade, I wanted to do that,” James said. “I told him, I’ll take Paul George. I’ll allow him to focus on his offense and not have to worry about stopping Paul George every possession and allow him to get out in transition and get a few cuts and get to the line. I think that was huge for him.”

And to make sure James’ strategy would work, LeBron went out of his way to get Wade some buckets right at the start Monday night. “First play of the game, I called a play for D. Wade,” James said. “Even though he didn’t shoot the ball, he got a touch in the paint. Just make him feel a part of the offense. I called a couple of sets for him early in the game. Just get a feel for it. He showed early in the game he was in a good rhythm, started to attack the lane, started to make his free throws.”

"LeBron was like a coach on the floor," Wade said after the game. "To call sets, to put us in situations where he felt like I would succeed early on was pretty good … he understood”.

What blew me away from Monday’s outcome was that not only did LeBron shut down and smother George’s offensive game (he held him to 2-of-9 from the floor and “7 points” before this player fouled out of Pacers’ biggest must-win game of the year) yet he managed to score 32 points himself and worked both ends of the court relentlessly! Even better than that, James’ selfless play as a teammate helped spark Wade to pump in a series high 21 points for himself!

"He's the best player in the world," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of James after the series. "Maybe the best defensive player in the world too."

And yes, the NBA is HIS League now!  But in order to achieve this plateau, he had to overcome his fears just like everyone else.  He got the memo and realized that he wasn’t born to be a villain or a bad guy. In the last year he found himself and how much that distractions only lead to wasted energy. He found peace in his mind! With every one of my stories, that is the key word – winning the battle of your mind! When you do, that is what triggers the skill from your neck on down to unleash its natural abilities within and allow you to perform out on the field! And then there is the part of being a helpful teammate! Don’t ever forget that lesson as well!

ALL THE BEST MY FRIEND!

Jim Loria

-------------------------------------------------------------

PLAYERS: PHIL JACKSON ON KEYS FOR A TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL: “Commitment to Giving”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Follow the three R’s: RESPECT for Self! … RESPECT for Others! … RESPONSIBILITY for all your Actions!” – stated by Unknown Author

-----------------------------------------------------

“The Past is your Lesson; the Present is your Gift; the Future is your Motivation” – stated by an Unknown Author

-------------------------------------------------------------

“Sooner or later, something seems to call us onto a particular path – this is what I must do, this is who I am” – stated by James Hillman, American Psychologist

###