PERCENTAGE OVER GRADE

I watched Top Gun: Maverick two months ago and I think it is safe to say it is a really bad movie. Just kidding! I'm pretty sure you muttered a few words of shock and borderline insults towards this author upon hearing those words. In truth, I love that movie. It's a well-written screenplay, with great cinematography, high-paced action sequences, great dialogues, and a captivating climax; I should have said no spoilers. In short, it's a great movie I would recommend to anyone. Now, take a movie like Jurassic world dominion or Thor: love and thunder. The immediate mention of these movies, if you have watched them, give you a mixed feeling at best or an underwhelming feeling of expectation subverted. These movies had the potential to be extraordinary but the storyline and stakes were not very clear and urgent to us, the audience, so we weren't as invested in it as we should.

A juxtapose of these two scenarios unearths a very pressing phenomenon, which is: we appreciate quality. We all love good things, excellent things. We enjoy the best. It's because we enjoy or demand for the best so we can tell when something is below bar or average. For a bar or standard to be set, it was first put there; it didn't magically appear. And for anyone to reach that bar, they must become that bar to reach it and stay there. For an athlete who specializes in a 100-metre foot-race, aiming to consistently break 10 seconds, must develop the skills, capacity to become a below 10-seconds athlete, barring the influences of torrid weather conditions or injury. An entrepreneur, a student, a footballer, an artist, all subscribe to attaining a high level of success; they become a standard of excellence. Their "becoming" sets the pace of standard to the level of achievement.

I often tell individuals, especially students I teach or coach, to value percentage more as opposed to grade. Why? The percentage relates very well to real world situations and demands. The grades, though good and important, can be altered as a result of the grade boundaries in school. Grades can cover a range of scores and doesn't give an accurate reflection of the level, performance or ability. And in the demands through life, there aren't grade boundaries. There are different service levels, product qualities, and even, life situations. But the individual who keeps focus on the percentage, "the becoming of that standard" sets a precedent to consistently be at that standard. Life demands the best of your God-given potential or the worst of cumulative errors. The people who go on to create conglomerates, work in top, top organizations, or establish sustainable businesses and careers, have set the stage from the outset to become great, become disciplined, become excellent in everything they do, become a modicum of light to individuals who lack clarity.

For instance, when I teach students I encourage them to focus on their scores or percentage in tests and assessment. They should aim for eight-five percent and above in everything they do. That's a challenge initially but after a while, there is a shift mentally and they are well on-board and it invariably translates into all areas of their levels. To keep improving and developing.

It's the clarion call to everyone to assess the path of their journey especially students in school if it's based on grades or emphasis on percentages. If it's based on the dictates of the environment or based on the standard you need to achieve and be associated with consistently.