212 The Extra Degree by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson is a small book with some big ideas and a great way of simplifying the notion of taking action and achieving more.

The premise is:

“At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive.”

So, it’s about the power of one degree, or that tiny bit of extra effort that can make all the difference in our lives.

It’s about raising your awareness and understanding that one extra bit of effort, one additional bit of action, can totally change your results. To that end, they have included some quite interesting stories, statistics and quotes throughout the book.

Some of these you will be familiar with, particularly if you are a student of motivational literature. But, some, you might find worth learning about.

One of these is that the average margin of victory in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 over the last ten years has been 1.54 seconds (how quick is that?) and that the winner—the driver who got there 1.54 seconds faster than the one behind him won more than double the prize money. That’s an expensive couple of seconds.

The book is divided into five sections/chapters.

1—Introduction – What 212 degrees is all about.
2—Thoughts and Facts—quotes and examples that illustrate the concept.
3—Stories about Success, Attitude, Leadership, Kindness, Commitment, Belief, Focus and Perseverance.
4—Actions. Sample action steps which will help you heat things up to 212.
5—Reflections. Information about using the 212 information to improve your life—with examples on such ideas as practicing kindness, stopping complaining, and more.

This book is very motivating. The stories and examples are inspiring. You will find yourself wanting to do more in many areas of your life. You will think about how you can do a little more to be a better parent, a better friend, a better business owner.

Maintaining motivation can be difficult. Inertia overtakes us and we dig ourselves a rut and hunker down in it, or we burn ourselves out trying to do and be everything and dig ourselves a hole and crawl in. Having resources like this book on hand can help you climb back out and get back to work on what you are supposed to be doing. Then, you’ll find yourself climbing mountains and raising the bar. The view is so much better up there!

Buy from Amazon: (Great for gifts, too!)



Also available in DVD, which I have seen and loved as well!