Sam Parker, a motivationalspeaker and salesman created a video and accompanying book called 212: The Extra Degree.  The explanationof the name is this:  "At 211degrees, water is hot.  At 212 degrees,it boils.  And with boiling water comessteam.  And with steam, you can power alocomotive.  The one extra degree makesall the difference."[i] The short text goes on topoint out that many races are won by just a very small margin, and how thatsmall margin can often be created by just a small amount of extra effort.  Parker further asks:

"How often do we miss an opportunity tocreate better results because we don't apply a small amount of effort beyondwhat we normally do? Consider the impact of making an extra contact each day atwork... a sales call... a customer follow-up... a brief discussion with acolleague... an encouraging talk with a member of your team. With contact comesopportunity. At the end of a year you'll have opened more than 200 additionaldoors of possibility."

This is a powerful lesson to learn.  Many times we look at the steps to success asif each one were overwhelming, so much so that many people fail even to begin.  What sets successful entrepreneurs apart isthat they are ready, willing, and able to take that extra step and to believethat what others see as impossible, is indeed possible.  And why are these big goals possible toattain?  Because you don't have to attainthem all at once.  You can instead beginchipping away at them step by step, degree by degree, until you achievesuccess.

I can't think of one marathon runner who startedout by running 26 miles the very first day of practice.  Rather, they ran a couple of miles until theybecame comfortable or bored with that. Then they added a few more miles to their daily routine.  They kept building up until suddenly theyrealized they had run 26 miles in one outing. It's not a matter of running 26 miles so much as it is a matter ofrunning the 26^th mile.  It'sthat incremental extra effort that separates successful marathoners from otherlong-distance runners.

It is said that when Sir Walter Raleigh discovered that hewas the number two student at his boarding school, he set out to become numberone.  The boy who was ahead of him livedacross the grounds from Raleigh, and each night when young Walter got ready forbed, he'd look across the grounds and see that the other boy's candle was stilllit.  One night, he resolved to see howlong the other boy stayed up, and found out it was only 15 minutes.  Raleighthen began staying up 20 minutes later than he had been.  By the end of the school year, he had becomethe number one student.  It only took alittle extra effort - 20 minutes more than he had been doing, and a mere 5minutes more than the other student.

Think about the way you are running your businesstoday.  Are there five minutes more youcould give to get yourself over a hump? Maybe you could take a 55 minute lunch rather than a full hour.  Perhaps you could come in 5 minutes early orleave 5 minutes late.  Is there onedegree more you could get out of your raw materials or your process?