"We become what we think about." ~ Earl Nightingale

Welcome to Sacred Ruminations

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Another Word-filled Wednesday

A few days ago I received the following letter and "book excerpt" in email. I watched the video, but wasn't impressed ... in fact it didn't worth my time. The concept, however, felt intriguing enough for me to leave the email in place as I moved on to other matters. This morning while clearing out my my inbox, I rediscovered it and decided to share here because the idea intrigues me still.

Dear storyteller,

212°...The Extra Degree is one of my all time favorite publishing projects. There is something magic about the simplicity of the 212° concept...

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

It’s that one extra degree, just one, that makes all the difference. And, so many times, it’s that one extra degree of effort in business, and in life, that separates the good from the great. How true it is!

The beauty of 212° is not only its simplicity, but also its many applications. You can apply the concept to 212° service, 212° attitude, 212° leadership, 212° kindness, 212° commitment, 212° focus, 212° perseverance...the list goes on. Whether you’re the truck driver or the CEO, you’ll get it! In fact, once you’ve heard this simple uncomplicated analogy for excellence, it’ll be hard to forget!

In the back of the 212° book we have 10 stories to reinforce many of the 212° applications, and I’d like to share the one I wrote on 212° Belief. Enjoy!

Live With Passion,
Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths



212 The Extra Degree

What happens when you believe something with all your heart? Belief fuels enthusiasm, and enthusiasm explodes into passion. It fires our souls and lifts our spirits. In 1991, when Successories hired Tim Dumler as a corporate account manager, he shared his goal of becoming number one in the company with his manager, Neil Sexton. But Neil, quite frankly, had serious doubts that Tim could make it through the first month, much less be number one.

Neil’s first two interviews with Tim were conducted over the phone, and he passed those with flying colors. But when Neil met Tim for the first time, he was shocked when Tim told him he was legally blind. He began to lose his sight when he was in the third grade from a rare disease called macular degeneration. Tim acknowledged he would have problems entering orders into the computers, but he had a solution. He told Neil about a machine that he could hook up to magnify the letters on the screen to two inches high. Tim was willing to buy it if he could have the job.

After the conversation, Neil came to my office and explained the situation. Mac said, “Neil, let’s give him a chance,” but I must admit, I had serious doubts that Tim could do it.

Well, we were dead wrong. We grossly underestimated Tim’s passion and his determination to succeed. Even though it took him much longer to enter the orders, Tim made it work. He came in early, he worked late. Whatever it took, he did it.

In 1991, Tim’s first year, he was number one out of ten experienced corporate sales reps, with over $500,000 in sales. In 1994 he was number one again with $700,000, and again in 1997 with $950,000. His customers loved him because when you can’t see, you become a great listener. His peers loved him because of his caring, positive attitude.

He was certainly an inspiration to me, too. I asked him one time, “Tim, how do you stay so positive?” He said, “Mac, it’s unfortunate that I’m visually impaired, but I have to tell you that fighting through the adversity has made me a better person. I have come to realize that I have a lot more than I don’t have. I love my family, my work, and the people I work with. I’ve been blessed in many ways.”

Tim’s 212° belief enabled him to overcome many obstacles, and propelled him to success.

Henry Ford said it best...

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t...you’re right.”

P.S. If you’d like an instant “shot of inspiration” just watch our 3 minute 212° movie. Click on the link below. It will make your day, and possibly change the way you think about life!!

212° The Extra Degree

The article above was excerpted from the book "212° The Extra Degree" By Sam Parker and Mac Anderson. It is reprinted here with permission. You may share this story as long as you do not edit the content; leave the links and this resource box intact.

As you know if you've been reading my blogs lately, I've watched lots of tennis matches. This idea of adding just a little bit more energy, inspiration, and/or desire DOES seem to give players like Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic (and this year Tsonga) an edge that makes them hard to defeat. Perhaps this holds true for all things?

It seems I must leave

the links in place

to share here (legally), so I will because

I am curious what YOU think of this idea?


10 comments:

Momisodes said...

Whoa...just read all of this and saw the video. Very powerful message. I like the underlying message here. I reminds me of "the Secret"

Mike Golch said...

great message,and thank you for sharing this.

storyteller said...

Sandy and Mike,
I'm glad you found the information worthwhile. It's been on my mind most of the day ... the thought that there's a point at which an idea takes off ... an action becomes more powerful, producing significant and/or magnified effects. I suppose the challenge is to find that point and maximize the potential. Thanks for stopping by and sharing.
Hugs and blessings,

Eve said...

Ah, yes. The power of positive thinking. Some things are worth that extra 1 degree. Others are not. Wisdom is knowing which is which. There's always a trade-off. If you give an extra degree in one place, it likely takes away a degree somewhere else.

Karen said...

I actually read this entry yesterday, but I needed to time to ponder it. My thoughts are going on along the same lines as Eve's--you need to figure out what is worth the extra effort. You'd think that would be obvious, but it really isn't. Just looking over the past year, I can see where I've wasted energy.

storyteller said...

Eve and Karen,
I think you’ve hit on the point that kept ME thinking about the email for a day or two before posting it in the first place … and kept it the back of my mind ever since. I suppose it’s why I put the story out there, because at first glance it DOES seem obvious. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I suspect I’ll be considering this one for a while … and revisiting it from time to time.
Hugs and blessings,

Joyce said...

I love all of the Mac Anderson stories.

And thank you, Storyteller, for visiting my blog to read my Haiku. :)

storyteller said...

Joyce – I love Haiku Fridays and the opportunity to visit others easily using the Mr. Linky at Mommy Story. I can’t help but wonder what prompted your Haiku this morning, but having spent 34 years teaching in the public schools and trying to teach this lesson about the power of words … I appreciated your message. Thanks for returning the visit and sharing your thoughts.
Hugs and blessings,

Anitra said...

Hello,
Just wanted to let you know that Sam Parker also developed a video to go along with his book. It is different than the video you saw. I wanted to pass it along in case you were interested in watching it. You can see it at http://www.just212.com/video/

(in the spirit of full disclosure - I am an employee of MaxPitch Media, and Sam Parker is a cofounder of our company.)

storyteller said...

Anitra - Thanks for visiting and leaving the additional link. This video is more intriguing and informative than the original one sent in the email. Your comment here raises a couple of questions in my mind not the least of which is how you found little old me. LOL

I guess search engines are powerful things indeed. Who would have guessed my tiny new blog would catch anyone's eye, and I suppose this is a reminder to everyone that my parents were right in teaching me to obey copyright laws.

That leads to my next question. Since YOU made the link public here in comments (rather than sending it to me in email privately), does that give ME permission to add the link to my sidebar and/or "reference" it in future posts? I have no idea ... but perhaps you checked the little box at Blogger to receive follow up comments in email and will let me know?

At the moment I'm too overloaded to give any of this much thought, but I do like to think out loud ... and public comments beget additional traffic, so perhaps just having the link here is enough. Thanks for the "full-disclosure" tag.
Hugs and blessings,