The secret to clear UPSC in first attempt lies in the 5 Jewels of UPSC 
 1. Right Knowledge 
 2. Right Strategy 
 3. Right Guidance 
 4. Right Attitude 
 5. Right Efforts

 How to acquire right knowledge ?
 1.Stop listening to people who have never given IAS exams or not cleared Prelims at all .
 2. Look at previous year question papers. 

What is the optimum/right strategy ?
 1. Start preparation with basic material including NCERTs.Prepare with Mains in mind .
 2.You should be able to finish atleast 1 optional paper and all static portions( Polity,History ,Geography and Economy) for Mains in the first 8 months of preparation .
 3. Last 4 months before Prelims- Focus on Prelims and CSAT.
 4. Interview preparation needs to start immediately after writing Mains exam.
 

How to get right guidance ?
 1. Identify a mentor /topper and be in touch with them. 
 2. Identify any good teachers or institutes which can help you .
 What not to do ?
 1. Listening to room mates/ seniors who have not yet cleared the exam .
 2. Listening to opinions of people from non UPSC field.

 How to have right attitude?
 1. Stay in touch with positive people . 
 2. Focus on the process and not results . 
 3. Stay away from all sorts of distractions and negative attitudes. 
 

 What do right efforts mean?
 1. Knowing which books to exactly read and what areas to focus upon 
 2. Knowing the best combination of online and offline resources 
 3. Knowing the level of importance to be given to writing skills ,language skills and various subjects knowledge. How deep to go and how much not .