Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure. If you have a defined purpose and a plan for success, persistence is a weakness that can be overcome by effort.

No person that has ever achieved great success, has ever done so without persistence. Persistence is a habit that all successful people incorporate into their daily lives and cannot be a sporadic or occasional effort. Without persistence you will be defeated before you start. With persistence you can accomplish anything. So what causes us to not have persistence?

Defeat

Most people quit at the first sign of defeat. There is no such thing as easy when it comes to being successful and making your dreams come true. You will have obstacles and failures that you will have to overcome before you reach your final destination. Successful people take the punishment of defeat and look at it as temporary thus igniting a greater effort until that defeat is finally changed to victory. To be successful, you will have to look at every temporary defeat as an obstacle to overcome getting you closer and closer to your dreams.

Criticism

Most people allow family, friends and the general public to influence them so that they are not able to live the lives that they want to because of fear of criticism. Be your own person! Who cares what other people think. Don't end up settling for less because you are afraid of what people think. People neglect to acquire higher educations, take chances in business and select careers for themselves because they fear the criticism of other people.

Make Your Own Breaks

Many people believe that success is the result of favorable breaks. " He was in the right place at the right time", " her family has money ", " they were lucky." Make your own favorable breaks!

Anyone can learn persistence, Here are four steps that can teach you the habit of persistence.

1) Have a definite purpose with a burning desire to succeed. It all starts here. You have to ask yourself if you truly have a passion for what you are doing. If you do not like what you are doing, then find something else to do.

2) Have a definite plan and take action. Work your plan on a daily basis. Success will not come overnight, but if you work your plan with passion and persistence, you will succeed.

3) Close your mind to all negative influence including negative suggestions from family and friends. Live your life the way that you want to and don't let negative people change your desires.

4) Form a friendly alliance with one or more people to hold you accountable to your purpose and plan. Surround yourself with people that share your vision and believe in you.

Persistence is a habit. If you can learn to practice persistence on a daily basis then you will succeed!