Though the reasons he recommends emulating a role model aren't that obvious. It's a hack to beat procrastination by making you more confident in your plan. Since the same plan was used successfully by someone else, you're more likely to stick with it. It seems like the quality of the plan isn't what matters, but that it actually worked at least once. A plan you've come up with on your own is unproven, so is more susceptible to procrastination.