TTD (Things To Do): To Become Really, Really Good...

1. Practise: If it's basketball, until your arms ache. If it's cooking, until the souffle does rise. If it's Spanish, until you've got the difference between ser and estar. 
2. Study the feed-back you get: most of it is fair and useful. Look for the themes.
3. Listen for and feel for a deep passion for the subject within in you.
4. Learn from those who already are really, really good in your chosen field.
5. But be willing to be different and create the next step changes in the field.
6. Look after yourself to avoid the burn-out that passion and fanaticism for your field can generate. 
7. Do it because it is there, not for the money. 
8. The money will follow. But it may take time. 
9. Read widely and deeply into your subject. Get steadily wider and steadily deeper. 
10. Take notes and study your subject. 
11. Ask questions of those who know what they are talking about in your field. 
12. Practise even more: get back on the mat until you have so little energy you have to crawl off.