Welcome to The Dish where Drew DeMaree & guests serve up a healthy dose of reality each week. This blog is about keeping it real ~ real challenges, real distractions, real-life getting in the way of, well…virtually everything. How we view our realities depends on individual mindset, and we want to discuss WHY MINDSET MATTERS. We are continuing our blog series with MG from Coaching Corner in Real Producers Magazine.

We can learn a great deal by reflecting on water and how it achieves different forms. At 211 degrees water is hot – really, really hot. But as long as water stays at 211 degrees, that is all it is- really hot water. At 212 degrees a dramatic change takes place and water boils. When water boils it transforms into steam. Steam can power a locomotive. The difference between 211 degrees and 212 degrees – 1 degree!

Think about that- 1 degree is all the difference between hot water and a powered train! I submit that your next biggest breakthrough (and mine too) depends on a series of actions possibly as small as 1 degree.
Harnessing the power of 1 degree can be broken down into a few simple (I didn’t say easy!) steps:

1. Realize your personal power, acknowledge it, and own it!

We are bombarded daily with messaging which promise “quick fixes” –how to lose weight, how to get rich quick, how to receive qualified leads without any action… if these “solutions” worked the world would be  filled with slim, fit, wealthy people. What these schemes do have in common is that they cost money and require little to no effort on our part. And these alleged fixes depend on something outside ourselves.

We personally have the power and ability by accepting the harsh and empowering truth that ultimately we are the result of our own decisions and actions. We are fully capable of being “good enough” and much of the world likes things that way because it does not threaten or challenge people. “Good enough” is a safe and comfortable place to hide.

People who honor and embrace their own power are frustrated by ”good enough”. They understand the importance and responsibility of being a good steward of what they have been given. Owning our personal power and being good stewards of our resources makes a positive impact, a positive difference in ourselves personally, our families, places of worship, our schools, our communities, and beyond.

We each have massive personal power right between our ears. When we decide we want a specific result, we must commit to the actions that will drive that result. In doing so we open our minds to unlimited thinking which creates exceptional possibilities and results.

2. Understand that the smallest things can make huge differences

1 degree thinking knows that things do not all happen at once and without effort. 1 degree mindsets know that hard work is within our grasp and will yield incredible results. The beauty is we are all capable of hard work. We just have to focus on exactly what actions matter and will drive the result. Each small action can advance the goal.

It is not complicated and it is not easy. If this knocks you back a bit, pick yourself up. When you learned to ride a bike as a child, you probably fell down a few times before you got it. Just accept the fact that it is going to take some work. The result is rewarding and not just an empty promise!

3. Commitment and Perseverance

For the hard work to drive results, it is going to take commitment to the process and to the objective. The power of the objective, what that looks like for you and does for you, is critical. Your reason “why” has to bond with your commitment to drive you to action no matter what. If you are tired or you just don’t feel like it, your dedication to the objective will push you forward. And each small step each day – every small action piles up higher and higher.

Consistency and persistence of small intentional action provides the platform on which to build. Hit or miss won’t do. Games are won one score at a time and your perseverance is required throughout the match. Just when you think you’ve given it all, you are likely 1 degree from boiling.