What is the difference of one degree? How about we use the example of 211 degrees vs 212 degrees – basically nothing, what’s one degree in the grand scheme of things?

Maybe you should put that thought into a different perspective and consider the following:

211 degrees is hot water. 212 degrees is boiling water – a bigger difference than you might think. With boiling water comes steam, and steam can move the world; steam can power the world. Steam can power a locomotive…because of one degree. It’s that one degree that makes all the difference. This analogy reflects the ultimate definition of excellence, where that one degree of extra effort can separate the good from the great. Your extra degree can produce extraordinary results.

As Rory Vaden states in his book Take the Stairs…
I believe it is that one degree that is the minuscule, almost unnoticeable, nearly invisible, yet tantamount difference between choosing an attitude that says, “I’m not sure yet,” and one that says, “I’m in for good.” That is, one that asks, “Should I?” versus one that asks, “How will I?”
This one-degree difference of commitment distinguishes which people you can count on, and which ones will flake out on you. It determines whom the world will say yes to and to whom the world will say no.
It is this difference that causes some to leave a lasting legacy while others are just a fleeting shadow of comprised potential.
It empowers us to live a life dictated by choices rather than one that is ruled by circumstances.
It enables us to develop momentum and resolve or to become subject to resistance and worry.
It dictates whether our life will be one of straightforward consistency or one of complicated indecision.
It foreshadows who will be married to their commitments and who will suffer divorce from their dreams.
It creates the marginal separation, which eventually turns into a gaping crevasse segregating the winners from the losers.
It is the “it factor” that will ultimately decide whether you are a success or a failure in life.

Remember, one extra degree.

“It’s a small price to pay but investing a little extra effort into the life you choose will move you from average – where all the competition is – to the top.”
-Richie Norton

“The difference between good and great is just a little extra effort.”
-Duffy Daugherty

“Over deliver in all you do and soon you will be rewarded for the extra effort.”
-Zig Ziglar

“Almost everyone does just enough to get by. Those who achieve spectacular success also do enough to get by; then they add a little bit of extra effort. That little bit of extra effort makes an enormous difference.”
-Ralph Marston