The Difference That A Little Extra Effort Makes was the title of a Blog by Michael Hyatt that I read recently. In that Blog Hyatt noted that: “Sometimes, success is simply a matter of making one small adjustment. For example, at 211 degrees, water is hot. But at 212 degrees it boils. This makes all the difference.”

Sam Parker and Mac Anderson expanded on this simple metaphor in their short book, 212°: The Extra Degree. They wrote: “Raising the temperature of water by one extra degree means the difference between something that is simply very hot and something that generates enough force to power a machine—a beautiful, uncomplicated metaphor that ideally should feed every endeavor—consistently pushing us to make the extra effort in every task we undertake…. It reminds us that seemingly small things can make tremendous differences. Think about it:

• The margin of victory in the Men’s 800-meter Race in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games was only 0.71 seconds—less than one second!
• The average margin of victory in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 (combined) over the last ten years has been 1.54 seconds. And the prize money for second place was less than half that of first place.
• The average margin of victory for the last 25 years in all major PGA golf tournaments combined was less than three strokes.

The point is that it doesn’t take that much extra effort to win first place. What could you do if you were willing to push just a little bit more and break ahead of the pack?

Here’s how you can harness the 212° principle in your goal-setting:

1. Choose one goal. Select the one that matters the most to you this year. It could be one of your Financial, Physical or Spiritual Goals that you wrote down in our Celebration Worship Services on January 7-8.
2. Identify what’s at stake. Why is accomplishing this goal so important—to you?
3. Write down 2-3 key actions. These are the ones that could propel you into the winner’s circle.
4. Now execute! Stop planning. Stop stalling. Just get out there and do it.

I like to tell people that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb after failing over 700 times. What if he had not made the extra effort and had given up on the 700th time? We would be watching television in the dark (just joking). Thank goodness Edison didn’t give up. But he knew plenty of others who did. And Edison said: “Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Don’t give up. Giving that little extra effort will probably make all of the difference in your life, and in someone else’s life.