John Smith is a technology executive with a high six-figure salary, lots of money put away for retirement, a big house in suburbia, works out regularly but still has all the signs of an out of control, frustrated individual.

Do any of these challenges sound familiar to you:

1. He is jolted out of a deep sleep by your 6:30 AM alarm clock, you need to get rolling in time to attend yet another meeting. Even though you could miss this one, putting in an appearance is necessary to stay in your boss' good books.

2. He starts with a coffee, that's going to get him through the morning no matter what happens

3. John logs into his network and finds a few hundred emails he needs to catch up on - it's been less than 12-hours since he last logged in, imagine what he finds after a weekend or on very rare occassions, a holiday.

4. He puts off listening to his voice mails because he has to rush to his first meeting. He finds his blood pressure rising with the stupidity exhibited in the meeting. It finally ends, 1-hour longer than it should have gone, with a page full of actions, most of which nobody will ever follow up on and chances are, two-weeks from now he'll need to cover the same issues all over again. But thankfully for now, the meeting is over.

5. The brief sigh of relief doesn't last long, a co-worker meets him in the hall and wants to spend 30-minutes picking his brain for information on the "new" project. What should have been a 5-minute discussion turns into 45-minutes because this Bill likes to hear himself talk, unfortunately, you have to listen too.

6. There are actually 1 or 2 priorities John had started the day with as important to either his personal or business life, and for the umpteenth day in a row, those tasks are not achieved.

7. John gets home, already in a state of frustration only to meet his wife who has had a similar day, both seething with frustration because their entire day has been controlled by someone other than themselves.

Now, that's just one day in the life of John. Imagine the cumulative impact of dozens of days, weeks, even years racing through the same, uncontrolled day.

There's only one way out and that's to craft a success personal growth plan that puts you back in control, where you call the shots.

Here are some ways to increase your productivity, efficiency and overall happiness.

First, are you working in the right area? For many people, they actually enjoy their work, like the market they serve, actually think that what they could be doing may make a big difference, it's just that their work day is a mess. For others, the answer will be no - you need to consider slowly changing career paths by exploring alternative markets and ways to add value to the marketplace.

Second, a success personal growth strategy must take into account your own interests and strengths. We are all born with certain traits and strengths that give us a unique advantage in the marketplace - it's up to you to discover those strengths making sure that your career and business role is congruent with your strengths.

Third, act as if you already have control. Chart out a day that puts top priority on the most important tasks leading to achievement of your objectives. We're all afraid to take charge, take control - concerned that we will rub someone the wrong way and get fired or rejected. Often, the opposite is true, those who take control end up being viewed as leaders admired for their strength.

Fourth, separate yourself from distractions that include computers, PDA's, TV and even your co-workers, employees or family until you have achieved your top objectives.

John could take back control in his life with a sound success personal growth plan, a little courage and some internal examination into what he really wants out of life.