Ninety Five Percent

Did you ever hit the “Post” button on a blog, only to discover that you forgot to write about something — like I just did?

I’m traveling at the moment and am blogging by email, so I can’t go back and edit my last post. So allow me to explain the significance of my 95% goal on my recent certification test.

Back when I went back to college to finish up my degree (10 years ago), the instructor in the first class I took had us take out a piece of paper at the start of the first class session. He then gave us our first assignment, which went something like this: In exactly ten words, write down why we were taking this course.

After some thought, here is what I came up with:

“If I am not careful, I just might learn something.”

My goal was a college degree back then (and I reached my goal in 2003), but I figured if I had to invest a chunk of my life in getting that degree, then I might as well use my time wisely and apply myself. I took the same approach when I started working towards this certification. The goal was to get the certification, but I figured that I might as well try to learn as much as possible while doing so. While a 70% score would have secured my certification, I set a goal of 95% for myself. It helped keep me focused during my studies.

There’s a Proverb in the Holy Bible that goes like this:

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.
(Proverbs 22:29, NASB)

Seems to me that there’s a lot of emphasis on being ordinary nowadays. I tried it for a while and simply don’t like it. I prefer to challenge myself, to do the best I possibly can on something. And I truly expect the rewards that will come from it — be it standing before kings, reaping the rewards of your work, etc.

And that’s another reason why I am working towards a permanent 100% 80/10/10 raw food lifestyle. It’s a challenge, but the potential reward is enormous. Just don’t expect me to eat much when that king invites me to dinner… (at least not if it’s cooked!).

So that’s why I set a goal of 95% (but “only” got 93%) — I simply wanted to challenge myself to do the best I could and ensure that I was not wasting my time. And I know that the rewards will come.