At 211, water is hot.

At 212, it boils. With boiling water, comes steam.

And steam can power a locomotive.

Andits that ONE extra degree that makes all the difference!

What is the importance of that extra degreefrom 211 to 212?

Discuss the outcomes of the extra degree.

What is the difference between a desire to achieve and a commitment to achieve?

Watch 212The Extra Degree movie play.simpletruths.com/movie/212-the-extra-degree

Discussion Questions:

1) 212 Service: Service is the lifeblood of any organization. Customer Service is not a

department, its an attitude.

What are some of your companys core values? How do those values fall in line

with great customer service?

2) 212 Attitude: The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the

will to try it and the faith to believe it possible.

How do you demonstrate unwavering passion at work? In what ways could you improve?

3) 212 Leadership: They dont care how much you know until they know how much you care.

What are some little ways you show your employees that you care? What more can you

do to become a good servant, and then a better leader?

4) 212 Kindness: It is one of the most beautiful compensations in lifewe can never help

another without helping ourselves.

What are some ways you have made positive differences in the lives of others? Create

short-term and long-term goals that you can act upon right now to impact someone elses

life in a positive way.

5) 212 Commitment: You cannot get what youve never had unless youre willing to do what

youve never done.

Write down a present goal that youre committed to and then the steps you need to take

to get you there. Remember your market value increases by knowing and doing more.

212 the extra degree

A Guide for Commitment

by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson

6) 212 Belief: Whether you think you can, or think you cant

youre right.

Name a time when you felt like someone underestimated

your abilities and how your beliefs powered you through.

What methods do you use to stay positive, even during great strife?

7) 212 Focus: Having a simple, clearly defined goal can cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.

If you had to name your companys most critical issue right now, would would it be? How

can this issue be improved or even eliminated by giving it your complete, undivided

attention? How can you create laser-like focus in order to bring attention and resolution to this issue?

8) 212 Perseverance: By endurance, we conquer.

Why is focus on short-term goals sometimes so imperative to long-term success? And

why is communication among team members so important to the overall success of the

team as a whole?

9) 212 Actions: With awareness comes responsibility...responsibility to act.

Name some actions you can take today to become a better friend, parent, and employee.

How can you go from just being an average friend, parent, or employee to the group of

and then somes the book describes?

10) 212 Reflections

Discuss the following reflections at the end of the book. Write down the thoughts you

have upon reading them and then the 212 commitment you are willing to make for

each one.

o Practice Kindness

o Cease to Complain

o Pause and Reflect

o Prune the Diversions

o Risk and Attempt

CONCLUSION

Let the number 212 serve as your constant reminder: Its a new way of thinkingyour new wayof action. Write it down and leave it wherever it serves you bestwherever you need a prompt to extra action (or just action itself). Its time to turn up the heat! Go to work.

Anyway, I was telling him something and he made some sarcastic response along the lines of Yeah, 212! I had no idea what this was until he explained to me the mathematically and scientifically challenged metaphor behind 212: The Extra Degree. In essence, it goes like this. People muddle along trying to improve, not knowing how close they are to being truly excellent and achieving breakthrough, but they are at 211 degrees. Often they dont realize that 212 degrees, and massive state change, is just around the corner. If they would push just a little bit more, they would achieve true excellence.

From 2000 to 2006, the average difference in PGA victories was 1.71 strokes.

In the 2004 Olympics, the 200m freestyle swim had margin of victory of .43 seconds (hey, in 2008, some swim events had a margin of victory of .01 seconds).

The implication being that these people who came in second were on the very brink of excellence, but they didnt give that last one degree to get there. The problem is that this is based on a fundamental understanding of the asymptotic nature of excellence. Yes, of course, many people give up just shy of their goal, when it was well within reach. What I have seen more often, however, is people who are very good and pour time, energy and money into becoming excellent, feeling like they are so close, they are at 211 and they need to just push on a little longer to get to 212.

As for 212, the unreasoning goes like this. If you have some water on the stove and you start adding heat, you take it from room cold water right out of the tap to 211 degrees and pretty much nothing happens. But if you go just a little farther, to 212 degrees, there is a state change, the water boils, real action takes place, nothing is the same. That little change makes all the difference. So in your sport/life/business/blog you have to keep pushing because sometimes youre at 211 degrees without really knowing it and if you can go just a bit farther, success, riches, sex and unlimited ice cream await you.

Asymptotic Curve

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Asymptotes

Put another way, excellence is asymptotic in my experience. An asymptote is a curve that approaches a line, but will never touch it. In other words, the trip from beginner to not bad goes really fast. The trip from not bad to damn good takes quite a while. The trip from damn good to the best takes luck, aptititude and 540 calories per gram. The trip from the best to perfect cant be attained short of divine intervention. it takes 540 calories to turn 1 gram of water (at 100 degrees C) to steam,

I remember a great magician I used to like to watch on the streets. Someone came up to him and said Youre really good. He said, No, Im great. Do you know the difference? The difference is that it only took him 80 calories to be good. But long years of trial and practice, the investment of another 540 calories made him great. From incompetence to competence takes 80 calories. From competence to excellence takes 540 calories.

My team and I are honored to be working with both the Pop Warner Football Summer Camp and The Bulldog Basketball Camp. I want to thank Coach Dave Reichner and John Pecararo for trusting me and my team with their athletes and their sports conditioning.

Our goal in working with athletes is to take whatever sports they are playing and make them one degree or one percent better. What we ask in return is that they give that one degree more effort!

We do this by increasing speed, agility, flexibility, coordination and balance, and even mental attitude. My friend and mentor Todd Durkin many years ago gave me a book called 212 Degrees. I also know many of the coaches have shared this concept with their athletes as well.

What is 212 Degrees? Let me break it down for you. At 211 degrees, water is very hot. If you crank up the heat just a bit more, it reaches 212 degrees. At this temperature water begins to boil, and with boiling water comes steam. With steam you can power a multi-ton locomotive.

With this one degree you can move hundreds of people across country. With this one degree you can change lives. With this one degree the unthinkable can happen. With this one degree you can achieve your goals!

Are you prepared to give that one degree, 212 degree effort? Probably not, but discipline and perseverance force us to press on.

When youre facing an insurmountable task like moving a locomotive, remember it only takes one degree to make a HUGE difference. When youre faced with adversity, trying to achieve a goal, when youre down in the fourth quarterGIVE THAT ONE DEGREE MORE EFFORT! Do this and see what occurs. It will be worth it