It's often said that the little things make the biggest difference and that was perfectly illustrated during last month's Olympics. Time and time again, we witnessed athletes who gained glory by the slightest margin. For example, American gymnast Paul Hamm won the gold medal in the men's gymnastics all- around by a margin of 0.012. In all likelihood, the difference between victory and defeat was a bent leg or a half-step on a dismount.

Another great example of the tiny difference between success and failure was the men's 100 meter sprint final. In this race, the winner won the race by just 1/100th of a second. In fact, the fourth place finisher crossed the line just 4/100th of a second behind the leader. This is less than a single step in a 100 meter race. Yet, this smallest of distances separated the gold medal winner from a person who left Athens with nothing to show for his efforts.

And while most of us will never compete in front of a worldwide audience, the margin of error between success and failure for us is no larger. The smallest things determine your success. Whether or not you make the sale is often determined by a little thing; the firmness of your handshake, the brightness of your smile, the friendliness with which you greet the prospect's secretary and so on. Likewise, whether or not you get the funding to start your non-profit organization can be determined by the neatness of your grant proposal, the professionalism of your answering machine and so on.

Perhaps, the most striking area in which the little things make a big difference is in relationships. The difference between wedded bliss and acrimonious divorce can come down to whether or not you remember an anniversary, greet your spouse with a kiss at the end of the day, or just say a simple "Thank you!" And surely, if you're a parent, you know just how much the little things mean to your children. A pat on the back, a story at bedtime or a trip to ice cream parlor can mean more to them than all of the gold in Fort Knox.

It's particularly important to be mindful of the little things because they have a strange way of adding up over time. Sure, now, the difference seems too slight to notice. Yet, with time and distance, that little difference becomes huge. In fact, it's the little difference in my golf game that keeps me from competing on the PGA Tour. The simple truth is that my golf shot is only a little less straight than Tiger Woods' - say 5%. Yet, that 5% difference in accuracy over a 500-yard hole results in Tiger's ball landing in the fairway and my ball landing somewhere between the rough and the parking lot. Seriously, it doesn't take a lot of difference in angle to create drastically different results in destination.

This is most often illustrated in the area of finances. We all know people who retire to a life of comfort. Sure, they may not be rich but they certainly don't have any financial worries. They're free to spend their golden years traveling and living the good life. And then we also know people whose golden years are anything but golden. They struggle to make ends meet between social security and a meager pension. They may even have to go back to work in an effort to maintain the current lifestyle.

When we look at the difference between these people, it's seldom income. In many cases, they worked in similar jobs, perhaps even for the same company. And in many cases, even their saving patterns were similar. However, the well-to-do retiree simply did a little better job of saving for retirement. Perhaps, she put aside an extra $5 per week. Over 40 years, this small amount invested conservatively could yield an extra $250,000. Or perhaps, they both contributed equally to their retirements, yet the well-to-do retiree chose investments that did slightly better. Once again, over the long term, this will make a great difference. The difference of just one or two percent of interest over 40 years could be the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

While the truth of this principle may be bad news to the runner who is a step slow in the Olympics or to all of you would-be PGA pros out there, it is great news to us Dashers because it provides a blueprint for ultimate lifelong success. If we want to succeed on a massive scale, then we simply need to work a little harder and smarter than our competitors. To achieve remarkable success, we don't need to do remarkable things. We simply need to do a little more than others and we need to do it just a little bitter.

To become a superstar in your field, you don't necessarily need to work 90-hour weeks and spend the remainder of your time reading trade magazines. You can achieve all of the long-term success that you could ever imagine, if you simply give a little extra effort. Come in 15 minutes early. Leave 15 minutes late. Take a single class at the local community college. Sure, in the beginning, your extra effort may not seem to be doing much for your career. However, over time, your extra minutes of work will turn into hours, days, weeks and years of added experience. Your extra knowledge will speak volumes about your expertise and commitment to your craft.

The same thing can apply to your home life. To create a blissful marriage, you don't have to go out and buy your spouse a mink coat or a new set of golf clubs. Nor do you need to take them on a cruise or to Tahiti. Sure, these things are nice but in the long run, you'll get a lot more mileage out of taking the effort to do the little things on a consistent basis.

Remember, the different between winning the gold medal, whether in the Olympic 100 meter sprint or in your own dash, comes down to the tiniest margin. Perhaps, that's why they measure gold in ounces.