In order to succeed at anything, you only need to do two things. First, set a detailed goal. Secondly, recognize where you are right now relative to the goal.
In order to make this work, you must know what a detailed goal looks like. For instance, the goal “I’ll become a great pianist” is NOT a detailed goal. “I’ll become a pianist who wins the Chopin competition” is better but still not enough. A sufficiently detailed goal cannot be explained solely with words because it takes the form of an image.
For instance, imagine yourself as a candidate of the Chopin competition. Do some research on the appearance of the music hall, so that you can enrich your imagination with details. You are a participant waiting next to the stage. Soon, your name is called out and you walk up to the piano, pull out the chair and sit on the chair. You take a deep breath and put your fingers on the keyboard. Imagine how you would press the keys, and how the music would sound. This is how all goals should look like.