Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks are the 2011 NBA Champions. High fives all around for the over-the-hill gang. Not many prognosticators had the Mavs as favorites to win it all at the beginning of the season. For one most of their impact players are a little long in the tooth. Also, This team as well as Nowitzki have a reputation of being soft. And that doesn’t bode well when trying to win a championship. But that was at the beginning of the season. At the end of the season they proved that they had more than enough intestinal fortitude to overcome the most talented team in the NBA, the Miami Heat.

As the undisputed leader of the Mavs, Dirk has reached the pinnacle of his career after 13 years of painstaking effort. In a post game interview, he mentioned his training regimen of shooting and drills well before his NBA career commenced. He has been persistently honing his skills while no one else was watching … a common refrain for champions.

In 2006, Nowitzki had a golden opportunity to take home the championship when He and the Mavs were up two games to none on the Heat. But they faltered losing the next four games and on came the criticism. Dirk can’t finish. The Mavericks are soft. Five years had passed and the two teams met again with very different rosters. Miami would seemingly have the advantage with two of the best players in the league in LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Dallas had Dirk and Jason Terry returning as well as a collection of aging cast-offs who never quite made it to the top despite varying degrees of success with other teams.

Dallas showed the kind of perseverance that makes champions by coming from behind in the fourth quarter in the three of the four games the Mavericks won. The fourth quarter is what they call “winning time” in the sports biz. When it matters the most you bring your best. Dirk proved he had what it took went it came to the most important part of the game and arguably his career. He scored 10 of his 21 points in the last frame to help his team bring home the Bill Russell trophy.

Sports and business are easy to parallel. We can also be faced with naysayers and critics as we go for our goals. The trick is to keep working hard when no one is looking. It is not good enough to just show up when it is “game time” and hope for the best. The skills must be honed. The price must be paid to be a success when it matters most. The best way to quiet the detractors is to perform.

Previous failures do not dictate future success. What have you learned from your shortcomings? Many of the players on the Mavericks came very close to winning it all with previous teams. If they chose to learn nothing from those experiences would they have been able to become the champions that they are today? As the famous quote says, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” What do you remember that you did then that you can now do better? Failures should not be forgotten, they should be purposeful stepping stones to the next triumph.

It should be noted that Dirk did not win this on his own. As mentioned before he had scored half his points in a quarter of the game. The first three quarters were not his best. In fact in the first half, he only made one shot. His teammates were essential to the win. If we are going to persevere to fulfill our potential we have to rely on the right people around us. We need those with experience, passion and a desire for us to succeed. Many of the younger players on the Mavs expressed their desire for Nowitzki, Terry, Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion to get the championship they had missed out on previously. Find the right kind of people and surround yourself with wisdom.

Perseverance is not easy. Maybe that’s why the word severe is stuck in there. On the journey of persevering there will be pain. There will be disappointment. There will be loss. That is not where it ends, though. It ends with joy. It ends with contentment. It ends with success. It ends with raising a trophy over your head in celebration.

This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think I’m right. LeBron James may have been the most hyped athlete in the history of mankind. Everybody knew what he was destined to do years before he did anything of significance. Physically gifted like no other basketball player, James was made to play. I’m curious, though, if he lays awake a night and wonders what if. What if he did what he wanted to do?

Last night James dropped a real stinker in game four of the NBA finals. By far, it was his worst performance in his 99 playoff games. There has been other no show moments for LeBron like game five of the Boston series last year. Earlier this week he was asked by a reporter if he was shrinking under the pressure. James understandably bristled at the question. But the question remains, why the bad performances on the big stage?

Maybe he is doing what he is passionate about it. There are telltale signs that he is not, though. Moving to Miami to take some of the “heat” off of winning by himself; (pun intended) talking about building an empire and the aforementioned lack of execution in the most important moments at times.

In our careers and in our life, if we spend the majority of time doing something we are not passionate about it will show at some point. You may be good at your job, but if it is not your passion something is going to suffer. Your company, your family, your friends, your dreams and most of all, you.

It may not be feasible for you to drop everything to pursue your passion at this moment, but there has got to be an outlet for it. Not only that, but a plan to implement how you can transition your life to reflect that passion. Take some real, actionable steps to make your dreams come true.

Passion cannot be counterfeit. It comes out of who we are and what we were created for. Manufacturing desire for something that is simply a job or a task will not last. This does not mean that we should not put our best effort into things that we do not love to do. Being able to exist at the passionate level includes a lot of tedious and even boring moments that are essential.

Take time to examine who you are and what you love to do. Are you able to participate in opportunities that not only fulfill your dreams but also fulfill other people? My Granny Rowan always used to tell me, “Whatever you do make sure it helps other people.” Words to live by. When we reach beyond ourselves to positively impact the world around us we will be fulfilled.

I’m not rooting for LeBron to win the NBA championship. (It’s personal. Da Bulls.) I am rooting for him to find his true passion. I’m rooting for you, too.