This becomes the idea, the first step, that you have about your future. An idea is a combination of your vision, goals, dreams, and aspirations. What will you do once you become who you want to be? How will you enhance your life? How will you bring a change to your society? Your vision as you see yourself ten years down the road will decide the level of practice you must do in your present.
Practice is the second step. As strange as it sounds, you will not achieve greatness unless you are not practicing the tasks that will help you achieve your goals. A person aspiring to write should not write but read. A person aspiring to become a pilot should not study the flying manuals but observe the rationale behind how a pilot works across the instrument panel. Students dreaming to become doctors should practice being calm and logical when dealing with patients—whether they are in the OPD or the operation theatre. Practice brings clarity to the mind, serenity to the soul, and wisdom to actions. Imagine a person desirous to play cricket for the national team. His inclusion into the squad will not be fruitful if he does not know the strategy to use when bowling or batting while playing on hard, wet, grassy, dry pitches. Practice will help him achieve this logic.
The vision of the future merged with practice enables the person to arrive at the third step: planning. This is when the person plans on how to achieve the dream. The students hoping to become doctors will plan to perform exceptionally well in Intermediate/A-levels so they can get admission to a medical university. Once planning is complete the person enters the action stage—the fourth step. At this point, the person combines experience gained with instructions from elders/seniors and textbooks. The person begins implementing the plans and instructions to move closer to the dream. An aspiring cricketer will perform in a match as per the experience gained during practice sessions and by instructions learned from senior players and coaches. An aspiring engineer would have developed an acumen to complete tasks based on experience and the learning acquired through mentors. The action phase requires one to translate ideas and plans into actionable strategies and tactics. The fifth and last step, but the most important, is learning. Any person with a goal and a plan must become a lifelong learner. This includes reading books related to their professions, conversing with experts to know insights, and observing how actions are completed. Learning and re-learning will continue as the person will update their intellect based on changing trends.