How to be a better software tester or even an excellent tester?

There are software / QA testers and then there are excellent software / QA testers. So what does it take to become a better or excellent software QA tester? What do these people do that differentiates them from a usual tester. Read on for more info on this...

Sr. No	Usual Software QA Tester	Better / Excellent Software QA Tester
1	Writes test cases with average to acceptable quality	Writes test cases which are very well written, contain the right amount of detail, have very less review comments
2	Reports defects with no frills	Not only does he report the defects, but he also provides inputs as to what could be the probable reason for the failure by doing some debugging, poking of the system on his own.
3	Reported defects may / may not be reproduced always	Reproduces the same erroneous behavior more than once on his or other systems, and then only reports it as a defect. The excellent software QA tester also make sure that the defect reports are well documented and contain all the necessary information (build, OS, defect snapshot, inputs, steps followed etc.) required to reproduce the defect.
4	Usual thinking approach - focuses only on the task at hand	The excellent software QA tester not only does he think about the immediate testing at hand, but only goes out-of-the-box in coming up with better test scenarios, test cases and testing approaches.
5	Laid back to okay attitude	The excellent software QA tester always is thinking about how to improve the system. He comes up with better processes, better ideas and innovations that can simplify testing, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the test efforts.
6	Minimal to Satisfactory System Awareness	This is the one of the most differentiating factor - the willingness to explore the system and understand it in as much detail as can be possible. Excellent software QA tester are not content in being plain aware of their system, they are the first people to break into every nook and cranny of the system, and understand all the intracacies, dependencies, backdoor entries etc.
7	Test with a tester's attitude	Tests with a customer's attitude. Excellent software QA tester always put themselves in the shoes of the customer, and then test. This allows them to use the system in a way that a new user of the system would, and in the process they come up with more realistic and real-world scenarios then what would be possible from a tester's by-rote-experienced-user attitude.