“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.” African proverb.

On Saturday, I watched England play South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final. Sadly England didn’t win as they were beaten by the better side on the day. South Africa thoroughly deserved their victory.

There was a moment in the second half of the game that could have been a turning point and could have led to a different result. England had a penalty that would have reduced South Africa’s lead to just three points and given them some momentum.

However, England missed the chance and two minutes later South Africa scored a penalty to stretch their lead to nine points. This seemed to deflate England and South Africa didn’t look back after that. They eventually secured victory with a twenty point advantage. Tiny margins and a few moments often determine outcomes.

In the first blog that I published in 2014, I used a great example of small margins from the one and only time England has won the Rugby World Cup in 2003.

In the final seconds of the 2003 final, Johnnie Wilkinson secured the cup for his country against Australia with a drop goal. Wilkinson’s kick won the game in the final seconds of the match.

The amazing thing is that Wilkinson had spent the previous Christmas day practicing his kicking. Johnnie had figured that any opponent he faced in the finals who ever that may be would not be out practicing on Christmas Day. He figured that this little bit of extra practice and preparation may just give him the edge. The result of the game proved his theory to be correct.

Johnnie Wilkinson’s story of dedication reminds us that life is all about tiny margins.

There is often a small difference between winning and losing, success and failure, hitting or missing a target, winning or losing an election. I’m sure that you can think of countless examples from your own life experiences where a tiny amount of additional effort changed the course of events.

As I’ve said, it can be the tiniest of margins that determine the outcome of a situation. We all sometimes mistakenly think that we have to keep taking massive action to get a result. The fact is that small incremental steps towards a goal accumulate into massive progress when applied consistently.

One action per day applied every day of the year, towards a specific goal amounts to 365 separate actions and somehow seems bigger when you look at it like that! Fifteen minutes of focus a day amounts to over 90 hours in a year.

Finally, this week’s quotation is a reminder to always keep in mind the power of small! A small action is better than no action and that we don’t achieve anything without some sort of action!

It could be that 1% extra time, focus or effort will bring outstanding results in your life. It could bring the breakthrough that you are looking for in your career, relationships, goals or projects.

This week, why not pause to reflect and ask yourself where you could apply one per cent additional focus, time or effort. What impact could this have on your life and results?

What small daily and weekly actions can you commit to in order to achieve a goal you may have?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk