I don't like the focus of this article. I think it sidesteps the real issue - which is 'develop a passion for your subject' - and suggests that success would be very achievable for a student, if only the student managed to 'court' their professor/s in the correct way.

I might be wrong, but I don't believe this is true.

Develop (and progress) a passion for your subject, and everything will fall into place.

I partially disagree. I think in a graduate program at least (esp. one that requires close relationships with faculty, like a PhD), it is reasonable to assume that most of the student are passionate about their subject. But professors have limited time, and the article is correct that the approach matters when trying to get attention from faculty. As the article argues, proving that you are not wasting their time is key for professors to decide how to allocate their time spent working with students.

To be honest I can't really relate to this whole extra-help from professors/lecturers business. Nobody's going to magically make you understand something. Your best option is to come up with some specific questions which you figure are key to advancing your comprehension - but actually there's many places to go for those answers. If I was looking for feedback on a large (extra-curricular) project I would at least prototype it or draft it before asking for an appointment. I guess I'd just feel sort of embarrassed asking something to the effect of "i've got no idea where to start, I need your guidance." On the other hand, maybe that's been a hinderance to my (academic) career. Shrug.

This goes for pretty much anything too - to get people to use your website, show them that it is worth their investment. To get people to join you in cause X show them that it is worth it for them.