The One-Degree Difference
Staying on Course Despite Life's Waves
“You cannot expect to stay on the right path if you are walking with the wrong people.”
- Anas Hossain
The One-Degree Difference
Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life. This week’s story can be found in the third Chasing Influence Workbook for leaders, coaches, and teams.
Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27-man crew faced a perilous situation in 1915 when their ship was caught in ice and sunk, leaving them stranded with small lifeboats in Antarctica, a thousand miles away from any human settlement. Shackleton led his crew on an incredible small-boat journey, which would become one of the most dangerous expeditions ever undertaken, in an attempt to save their lives. Their goal was to reach the safety of a small whaling camp 800 miles away from their location, across open seas in a 21-foot lifeboat.
The journey was treacherous. The sea was about to freeze for winter, and waves as high as 60 feet battered the small lifeboat while a small crew bailed water out in frigid conditions. To navigate, they relied on rudimentary tools and brief moments when they could see the sun. Despite the odds, they miraculously stayed on course, managed to find the whaling camp, and survived. Any miscalculation in direction would have led to certain death. The difference between staying on course or missing by a single degree was a life or death reality.
This experience highlights the importance of staying on course in life. Just like a slight deviation in navigation can lead to disastrous consequences, the same can be said about the choices we make in life. Even small deviations from our intended path can lead us astray and make reaching our goals harder.
Think of it this way. If you're going somewhere and are off course by just one degree, after one foot, you'll miss your target by 0.2 inches. This may seem insignificant, but consider what happens as the distance grows.
After 100 yards, you'll be off by 5.2 feet. It is not a huge distance, but it is noticeable.
After a mile, you'll be off by 92.2 feet. One degree is starting to make a difference.
After traveling from Minneapolis to Chicago, you'll be off by a little more than 6 miles.
If you were trying to get from the desolate Elephant Island Shackleton's crew was stuck on to the whaling camp on South Georgia Island in the Antarctic, a miscalculation of one degree would have meant missing their chance of rescue by 14 miles.
Over time, a mere one-degree error in course makes a huge difference! So, the longer you travel off course, the farther you will be away from the intended target. Are you accepting deviations on the path to where you want to be in life?
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”
- John F. Kennedy
Connecting this quote to the story. JFK's quote has many parallels to Shackleton's small-boat journey. The crew faced unimaginable challenges and had to muster great courage and effort to survive. However, this alone was not enough. They also needed to have a clear sense of purpose and direction to stay focused and make progress toward their goal of reaching safety at the whaling camp.
Chasing Influence tip: Success isn’t just about effort; it’s about having a clear destination and the discipline to stay aligned with it.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
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©Troy Urdahl, 2024