We put on weight over the years, but then we want to lose it overnight. We spend years getting deeper and deeper into debt, but we want to become financially independent overnight. We decide we want to run that marathon-when it's only a month a way. We want to ace that exam, but we only allow ourselves an hour to cram all the material. We start thinking about retirement when it looms only five years out on the horizon. There are many examples of things we want to attain in the shortest amount of time possible and with the least effort possible, but it rarely happens that way. Success is a process and not a quick fix. Progress comes in steps and the foundation first has to be laid.

We want to make this a natural process. What do I mean by that, especially since new skills and new habits will initially feel unnatural? When you write a term paper, you research what the experts have said about the subject, you organize your data, you determine what is best going to support your thesis, and then through that process, you arrive at your own conclusion. As you observe, study and apply the skills and strategies used by successful people, you will learn to sift and sort, essentially "cutting and pasting" together your own roadmap that will lead you to the top.

You are unique, your perception of success is unique and what you want to accomplish on your way to achieving that success is unique. You are destined for greatness. Your mission in life is to find and tap into that greatness. That's why you need to customize a success plan according to your needs, talents, drive, personality, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. You can't live "exponentially" by following someone else's predetermined formula. Whose definition of success are you pursuing? Someone else's roadmap might help you make progress in some areas and you may achieve some degree of success along the way, but the greatest successes and happiness will always escape you if you are throwing your heart and soul into fulfilling someone else's definition of success.