The most effective way to do it, is to do it.
Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.
The wise does at once what the fool does at last.
The dog that trots about finds a bone.
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
Who seeks shall find.
Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Know or listen to those who know.
I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape.