Too many people think there’s a winning formula and it’s buried in other people’s stories. And if they find it, they expect it will lead them to success.

If you believe what worked someone else will work equally well for you, prepare for disappointment.

No matter how long and how hard you study the winners, it doesn’t guarantee you a spot in the winners’ circle. And no matter how long and hard you look, you won’t find any formulas or golden recipes for success.

If it was just a matter of figuring out the key ingredients and the right mix and measures, more people would be further than they are. Universities would be cranking out winners.

Instead, people spend $40,000 or $50,000 to spend years studying with intellectuals. And those intellectuals give them insight into the brightest and greatest minds in history. After all of their investigation, analysis, discussing and debating, a lot of those students leave with a degree and a one-way ticket to the middle class. And they live, work and die there.

The reality is that some people get more preparation to succeed. Some get more tools for their toolbox. But it’s all comes down to developing the right personal strategy to achieve your personal goals.

The common thread between the most successful people is they aren’t copycats.

Successful people are visionaries and their accomplishments are the result of discovery, of trial and error. They create answers. They create solutions. They succeed by doing, and they carve out their own way as they go.

None of the leaders and legendary people I’ve ever read about followed a set of guidelines, checking off steps 1-10.

I’m not saying you can’t learn from others because you can, and you should. Some people have experiences that teach you what to do and some teach you what not to do. Lessons, influence, and guidance all have their place.

But something you learn today may not be relevant until 10 miles down the road. And you’ll never get to that point if you’re busy collecting pieces and fiddling with parts, trying to chart your course.

Get started. Keep it moving. Bring along the bits and pieces you gather. Apply them as needed, if needed. But no matter how much you’ve  gathered, remember success is a personal story. Other people are only a reference, not your guide.

If you want to make it, you’ll have to make a way. And if you need some guidelines try this:

Work. Learn. Reflect. Strategize… Go back to work and repeat that again.

That’s the basic process for making a winner from what I can see.