Planning and following a plan is the best way to succeed. Clarify your goals, then work backward to create a detailed plan. List all the steps needed to achieve your goals, and be as detailed as possible. Anticipate and plan for various potential setbacks.
In addition to planning, you should also cultivate an action-oriented mindset, always staying motivated to move forward. This requires a certain degree of self-discipline, but is crucial for any achievement. Before starting any new activity, ask yourself if it will help you get closer to your goals. If the answer is no, reconsider whether to proceed with the activity at this time.
Commitment stems from understanding that everything has a price and being willing to pay it.
Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography, mentioned that in his youth he decided to pursue moral perfection. He listed 13 virtues, dedicating one page to each. Under each virtue, he wrote more detailed explanations, and then practiced each virtue for a period of time in rotation. To internalize these virtues into habits,
Acres of Diamonds… you’ve read the famous story, or at least had it related to you. A farmer hears tales of diamonds and begins dreaming of vast riches. He sells his farm and hikes off over the horizon, never to be heard from again. Rumors say that years later he died destitute, never having found the diamonds he spent his life seeking. Meanwhile, the man who bought that farm found a large and “interesting looking” stone in a stream that ran through the property. He put the stone on his mantle where a visitor recognized the large stone as a rough diamond. It turned out to be the Hope Diamond.