To ensure a successful first C project, follow these practices:

1. Use a code formatter like clang-format.
2. Rely on Valgrind and sanitizers to detect memory issues and undefined behavior.
3. Avoid recent C features unless necessary; specifically, avoid VLAs.
4. Employ namespacing and prefix non-static function names for modularization.
5. Write destructors for types that manage their own memory.
6. Check allocation and free all allocated memory properly.
7. Use compiler builtins for checked arithmetic operations.

Experiment with modularization and naming conventions, and rely on tools like clangd for better code navigation. Stick to older, more stable C features for better compatibility and fewer bugs.