Mandatory Vs Voluntary

So, here's a situation: your teacher at school or boss at work has given you a project. This project will be used to determine your achievement level; may it be a grade or promotion. You have also been given the criteria you will judged on: one criterion is that which is mandatory, without which the project is invalid and the second criterion includes items which are not mandatory and these will give you "brownie points"; they may be the deciding factor between an A or A+.
You and a friend begin work on your individual projects. You are not too concerned about the criteria and randomly include all information relevant to the project you can get your hands on. Also you are a glitzy person, so you beautify your folder, use different technologies and add files upon files of info. To an onlooker, you are working ferociously and they tell you maybe you will be winner.
Your friend on the other hand, spent his time getting the mandatory criteria fulfilled. Once he was sure he had all the required elements down pat; he moved on to work on brownie points. Obviously, he had spent a big chunk of his time with the first part of the project so he isnt left with a lot of time for the second and time comes to submit.
The project is evaluated. Who do you think made it?
This is the situation of life, my friend. Allah has told you clearly the criteria you will be judged on. Until you fulfill your mandate, any effort is INVALID. So, if you're giving charity but not zakah, if you're helping your friends but not your relatives, if you're working honestly but are disobedient to your parents; if you are praying salatul tasbih every thursday but miss your fard prayers regularly; if you are staying up in the nights of Qadr but dont even pray Isha in your regular nights, if you are abstaining from food and drink during ramadan but do not asbtain from mixing freely with the opposite sex for "iftaars", if you pray but your aurah/satr is not covered properly... I'm afraid Allah SWT will deem your life a failed project.
Please my friends, lets focus on finding out what are the mandatory elements that will take us in to Jannah and without which all our other efforts may just be building castles in the air. Allah says again and again the Day of Judgement will be a day of regrets: those who did good, will wish they had done more and those who didnt do good, will wish they could go back if for a day so they can fulfill their fards!! But there will be no going back for anyone. THAT is eternity.