Which of your threads can you describe as 'hit', i.e widely accepted,debated,commented, and reached more than 5 pages? How many of your threads have also been seen as GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE HOMEPAGE, and made home page? Also,which of your posts do you see as your favourite?
Let me set the ball rolling:

Four of my topics have graced the HOMEPAGE

My hit thread: None yet, but nearest is https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-179323.0.html

My favourite post:

By the grace of God, I belong to this category. My secret? God's help of course.

But from experience, the following could be useful:
1, NATURAL BRILLIANCE: Most First class grads are naturally brilliant,not strugglers. Sure you still have to read. Yes, you just have to read. But if you see student X and student Y read for 3 hours, subject to the same condition, and X scores 80%(or let's say graduates with with Firts Class) and Y scores 50%(or more generally, graduates with 2-2), what is at play there is natural brilliance. First Class materials don't struggle academically, they are naturally brilliant. In my class for example, the guy that read most was not among the Top 60 students in class. Likewise, I wasn't among among the Top 20 heaviest readers, if hours spent reading is anything to go by.

2, OPTIMISM & SELF BELIEF : Most First Class students have self-belief that they can make it, right from year 1. They don't get swayed by the common pessimistic ranting of majority of the students that YOU CAN'TMAKE FIRST CLASS;THEY WONT GIVE YOU. First Class materials dismiss such claims, and go ahead pursuing it.

3, LONG TERM TARGET Most First Class studenst don't use the Fire Brigade approach. It involves setting targets and being conscious of it. I started a conscious pursuit of it right from my year 1. I always targeted A in every course.

4, CALCULATIONS: Most First Class students always have their brains doing calculations and permutations on how to achieve their target.Don't be surprised if you see a First Class reading a purely theoretical course but having calculator by his side.He is using the calculator, not for the course he's reading, but for calcualting stuffs and assumptions like: 'If i had B in this course,what will my GP be?', 'What if I misfire in a 30 marks questions(i.e misinterprete) in this course and eventually score D, won't i drop from First Class'. He will simply take his calculator by his side and work out what his GP will be under these assumptions.I, for one,didn't look at A from the point of scoring 70% but from missing 30 marks. 30 marks is too big to miss in a course.So in any course I didn't miss up to 30, I scored 70% and above and that was A. Later, A became so easy for me. I scored A in 76.6% of all the courses I did from year 1 to 4.

5, COMPETITION: I have always hated playing the second fiddle in my life. I think many First Class students also share this. I can't stand not being among the 'frontliners' anywhere I find myself. So the desire to top my class motivated me to study hard. My class was especially very competitive, and I can't afford not to among the best, if not the best.

I hope that helps!!!

posted in the thread https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-163757.0.html and the contribution was widely commended, and copiously referenced thruout while that topic raged. It was my favourite post.