I can&#x27;t remember where I first read this, but one basic piece of advice I&#x27;ve carried in my head for at least three decades is &quot;if you want to be good at something, find a person who is good at that thing, and then do what they do&quot;<p>This helped me a lot in my first few jobs, i.e. identify a person who is successful and well respected, get to know them and try to do things the way they do.<p>Works in school too -- if you want to do well, do what the successful students are doing. Usually boils down to pretty simple stuff, e.g. studying a lot more.