college friends worked for me

Another hack that doesnt have a high bar: find a friend who is preferably technical and say you want to show them a demo of something you are making. Invite them to your “demo” 6 or 8 weeks out. Now start building. If you hold yourself to sharing that demo with a friend you will be amazed at what steps you can take to get there. If not, debug why? Try to understanding why showing that demo is not inspiring? Does it really excite you? What would it mean for it to work? What possibility does it create next?

You usually won't. It is not a realistic advice, or "hack" as the wise HN member likes to call it.