If you want to hit a home run, go for the dunk.

I deliberately mixed my metaphors because one can do just that--score a home run if he is a goal setter.
I don't know how many people out there are goal-setters, but I have always been.  I don't write down my goals, but they are quite well articulated in my mind.
I set short-term and long-term goals, and I work toward them with every ounce of will power and determination that I have. 
For example, when I was a Junior in high school, I suddenly realized that I had a chance to be valedictorian of my class.  So, when I picked my classes for my Senior year, I did so with that in mind.  I deliberately passed over a couple of super tough courses to give myself the best advantage possible. 
That was my long-term goal for my Senior year.  My short term goal was to make an "A" in every class every semester.  I had to do that to beat out my nearest competitor.    I applied myself twice as hard as before and finished that year with no grade lower than an "A".  By working hard on my short-term goals, I achieved my long-term goal as well.
In college, I decided I wanted to be President of my sorority.  That was my long-term goal.  My short-term goals involved getting elected to a lesser office and being the very best at it that I could be, having good ideas for projects, being a friend to all my sisters, as well as getting involved in lots of other activities on campus.    Again, I achieved that goal.
As an adult, I set goals in my work.  I determined where I wanted to be by a certain point in my work and how much I wanted to be making.  I came to  realize that the quickest way to get there was through sales.  I had spent ten years as a teacher.  Anyone who can succeed in the classroom can succeed in sales.   There is no better salesperson than a teacher.
My brothers were in sales.  They told me how much they made off one sale.  I did some calculations in my head and realized that even if I were a lousy salesperson, I only had to make two sales a month to reach my current salary.  I calculated that I could make at least five, even if I were downright pathetic.
So, I took a leap of faith, quit my job, and trained with them for two months.  Once I got my license, my brother sent me on my first appointment.  My short-term goal was to make one sale that week.  Instead, I made five.  I had hit my first monthly goal, and I was off and running.
Naturally, I had to reevaluate my goals.  Soon my weekly goal became to clear $10,000 a week.  Often I was able to work only three days; some weeks I didn't hit it, so the next week  I would work twice as hard to compensate for my  previous week.
I decided to see if I could make the Century Club by the end of the year, which I did.  That award goes to the top ten agents in the company.  I accomplished it in six months and was the first woman ever to do so.
The next year, I kept my weekly goal but upped my long-term goal to becoming an all-star agent.  I was fortunate to hit that goal as well.  Again, I broke ground as the first woman to do so.
It takes a strong-willed, intelligent, thinking, planning, determined individual to set long-term goals and achieve them.
But nothing is impossible if one wants it badly enough, is patient, and is willing to put in the effort, time, and sacrifice to achieve it. A person also has to be a risk taker. Furthermore, he must believe in himself--be convinced that he can do it; and that will do whatever he must to DO IT.
I always have some long-term goal on which I am working.  Sometimes, I have to modify my shot-term goals as I go along; but I can honestly say that I have yet to set a long-term goal that I haven't eventually achieved. 
Some just take longer than others. Never give up. Always believe in oneself first and foremost, and don't be afraid of stepping on a few toes. Never cheat or lie, but accept the fact that there will be others who may want you to fail. They have their motives; perhaps, they want the same thing. Someone has to win and someone has to lose. I have always had this burning desire to be the winner. It then becomes a matter of who is the better person with the stronger will and determination.

My brother once told me something he used to his advantage in sales. It went through my head many times as I was trying to close an especially tough client. Today, it's your kid or mine; and I am determined that today, it is going to be mine."