I have completed a PhD in theoretical physics (general relativity) several years ago. I don't know if you call it successful, since I am not working in academia (and there are no industry jobs in theoretical general relativity, save for a couple of people at NASA).
First, phdcomics is basically a documentary, if you take an average PhD student.
Second, unless you are very good and very lucky, at some point you will burn out and think of quitting daily or even hourly, the same way clinically depressed people think of suicide. There is an even chance that it will get better at some point later.
On the bright side, the feeling of discovery when you figure out something no one has before, rare though it is, is something else. And having it published and recognized as such is nice, too.
As for advice, one which is a bit late for you: pick an advisor who has a proven track record of seeing her grad students through and into a postdoc position, and the other is probably still relevant: on the bad days, just keep grinding and don't despair. Oh, and one universal advice: network.
First, phdcomics is basically a documentary, if you take an average PhD student.
I find it hit or miss sometimes. Lots of it is very much true but I have a much better relationship with my adviser, for example. This is coming from pure mathematics.
Second, unless you are very good and very lucky, at some point you will burn out and think of quitting daily or even hourly, the same way clinically depressed people think of suicide. There is an even chance that it will get better at some point later.
This is true; the only effective strategy I have for avoiding this is remembering how universal it is.
There was some support for the idea of starting an advice repository for grad students much in the same tradition as the Boring Advice Repository and the Solved Problems Repository started earlier by Qiaochu_Yuan. So here goes.
Please share any advice, boring or otherwise, for succeeding at grad school. I realize that succeeding might mean different things to different people, but I believe most people largely agree with what it means in this context. Feel free to elaborate on what you believe it should mean, if you have views on the subject.
I am a theoretical physics grad student, so I'm personally more interested in advice for mathy disciplines (i.e. physics, math, CS), and I also suspect that there are many grad students from these disciplines on LessWrong; but advice for any discipline is welcome as well.
Advice is welcome from anyone, but please do mention your background for providing the advice so that people can weight the advice accordingly. For example, I would be more be open to listening to advice from someone who has completed a very successful PhD, than from someone who has simply interacted with a lot of grad students but has never been to grad school.
Also, feel free to link to advice from other sources, and maybe quote the most useful parts in what you read. Remember, this is meant to be a repository, so that people can come and find the advice, so don't worry if it seems to be something most people would've already read or known.
Thanks!