3 essentials to crack IIT-JEE

I would sum the 3 essentials to succeed at IIT-JEE or AIEEE as
 

1. The right study material
2. Hard Work
3. The desire to succeed

Let me clarify in the very beginning that the 3 essentials highlighted here are no magical tricks or tips that will help you crack IIT-JEE or AIEEE. This article is meant to clear the clutter or misconceptions in the minds of students as well as their parents. There is no short cut to IIT-JEE or AIEEE for that matter.

The Right Study Material
School Text Books Are Enough
There are umpteen number of books which one can read to prepare for IIT-JEE. A concise list of books is provided here.
Since a student does not have unlimited time to prepare for IIT-JEE, he / she cannot study so many books. A student gets two attempts to appear for IIT-JEE; that too in two consecutive years. There is also an age limit. Ideally, one gets 2 or at most 3 years to prepare for IIT-JEE, during his / her class 11th and 12th.
Most Education Boards in the country have an extensive syllabus in these classes which more or less covers the entire syllabus for IIT-JEE or AIEEE. Books published by NCERT are written by a team of well qualified experts on the subject. These are one of the best text books I have come across. Students aspiring for IIT-JEE should study these text books thoroughly during their Class 11th and 12th, to get their concepts in place. Other than these, students should take up a good correspondence course.
A Good Correspondence Course
Some of the good correspondence courses or distance learning courses are provided by Vidyamandir Classes, Brilliant Tutorials, MissionIIT etc.  Distance learning Pack by MissionIIT is one very good package available.
These correspondence courses cover the entire syllabus for IIT-JEE and AIEEE. They do not delve much into theory and are divided into 3 sections
Chapter Summary / Fundamentals
Solved Examples
Practice Exercises
Most Correspondence Courses also offer a Test Series. The Distance Learning Pack by MissionIIT offers an Online Test Series. These tests are conducted every 2 months based on the chapters covered till date. Test Series drill the students under simulated IIT-JEE conditions and also provide rankings on a state and country levels. Since these tests are taken by thousands of aspirants all over the country, these give the students an evaluation of their preparation levels.

Hard Work
I would have called this Smart Work but I fear being misunderstood for suggesting unfair means or some tips or tricks. But believe me, none of the usual smart works work in IIT-JEE.
I have come across some parents and teachers who suggest studying for 18 hours a day for 2 years. This sounds impossible. If an aspirant studies for 4-5 hours everyday, but on a regular basis, I feel he should do well in IIT-JEE and AIEEE. But this 4-5 hours study is to be done with full concentration and on a regular basis. This study time does not include the time spent at coaching institutes. This is dedicated self study; with a pen in hand; solving problems.
Coaching, Coaching and Coaching
Some parents believe in keeping the students occupied with one coaching or the other. The student attends one coaching institute on MWF (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)  and another on TTS (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). Besides this the student has a home tutor to help him / her prepare for Board Exams. There could not be anything worse than this.
Coaching is meant for guidance.
After the coaching class, the student should be studying the topic on his own and solving problems for gaining proficiency. But with coaching after coaching, there is hardly any time left with the student. So he performs miserably in his school exams as well as in IIT-JEE / AIEEE. The parents put the blame on the coaching institute and the teachers.
IIT-JEE is all about intelligence. An aspirant needs to sharpen his problem solving skills to be succesful at IIT-JEE. No coaching institute can instill these skills in a student if he himself is not putting in sufficient practice.

The desire to succeed
Call this Positive Outlook or Positive Thinking or Being Ambitious; but without dreaming big one cannot succeed. Mahatma Gandhi once said "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. "