日前读完一本英文书，书名是212度，副标题是the extra degree。作者是s.l.parker，书本只有薄薄的76页。
作者强调的是在华氏211度(约摄氏99.444度)时，水就滚了，但是要到212度（约摄氏100度）时，水才会开，而滚开的水就会冒出蒸汽，而有了蒸汽就可以驱动一部火车。
作者强调只有一度之差，就决定成功和失败，而领先一度的所获得的成就和奖赏就有如天壤之别。
书中还引用一些格言，例如：
．Inches make the champion.
~Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach
．Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
~Thomas Edison, American inventor
．Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
~George S. Patton, American soldier & general
．Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable.
~B.C Forbes, Founder & publisher of Forbes Magazine
．The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence, but by oft falling.
~Lucretinus, Roman philosopher
．It’s the final steps of a journey that create an arrival.Never stop. One always stops as soon as something is about to happen.
~Peter Brook, British theatre & film director
．Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal.
~Polybius, Greek statement & historian
．You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.
~Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame baseball player and manager.
．You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.
~Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister
中文有“差之毫厘，失之千里”同样的意义，意思即要不断坚持、努力，不要因一时失败而气馁，成功往往一步之远。而这一步所造成的结果就会产生显着差别。@
摘编自 《管理拾穗部落格http://blog.udn.com/ansercomtw》 安瑟管理Arthur 提供
