When you have a strong desire to succeed but never quite achieve the success you crave it can be very frustrating.

You have your goals, plans and a burning desire, yet you feel like you've tried everything and still no success.

So, why are some people successful but others are not? If only you knew what the vital missing ingredient was.

Well, luckily I'm about to tell you.

The Main Reason People Fail

Assuming you already have a desire to succeed, and I guess you do because you're reading this, then you already posses one important attribute.

However, the number one reason why people fail to achieve success no matter how strong the desire, is a lack of persistence. Persistence is the vital attribute which usually decides who succeeds and who fails.

Anyone who lacks persistence will never succeed in anything they undertake. Sounds harsh but I'm afraid it's true.

So how do you know if you or someone else suffers from a lack of persistence?

Procrastination, blaming others, indecision, wishing rather than taking action, making excuses and a tendency to quit easily are all characteristics indicating a lack of persistence.

Why Persistence is so Important

Persistence is vital to success simply because success doesn't come easily. On the path to achieving anything worthwhile there will always be issues and challenges to overcome.

Things won't always go to plan and even when they do, the plans themselves might not be good enough and may need correcting before success is achieved.

Those who quit at the first sign of trouble or when they don't see the results they expect will never achieve anything worthwhile.

A lack of persistence is the reason why so many people never achieve what they're capable of. It's the reason why so many people make do with what they have, accept their current circumstances and never better themselves.

Many people try to succeed at some point in their lives but give up easily, probably blame someone else, then use their failure as an excuse never to try again.

How To Ensure Your Own Success

So, how do you make sure you don't fall into this 'lack of persistence' trap?

Plan your path to success, take continuous positive action, ignore criticism and associate with like minded people.

Accept that you will fail in some of your task and when you do, pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes and try again. See failures as inevitable steps on the road to success and see them as an opportunity to learn something important.

There are very few (if any) successful people who haven't failed at some point. None of them gave up altogether when they did fail. They all tried again.

Don't pay any attention to people who criticise your attempts to better yourself. For example, if someone says something like "you'll never succeed, 80% of businesses fail in the first year you know", do what I do and tell them you'll start 5 businesses, then according to their own statistics you're bound to succeed at one. That usually shuts them up.

Ignore this type of person or better still, don't associate with them any more. They're usually only jealous anyway. Associate with people who will encourage you and who have similar goals to you.

Follow Your Own Path to Success

If you follow this advice you'll be well on your way to following your own path to success. I can't tell you when you'll succeed in your goals but I'm confident that if you remain persistent you will succeed at some point and it'll all be worth it.

Jason is a freelance Software Engineer who is a keen blogger, has run a number of online businesses and is also in the property letting business. His interests include researching and teaching the business mindset, his goal being to learn all there is to know about how to be a successful entrepreneur and to pass this information on to others. For more information visit: http://www.BusinessMindsetExpert.com or follow him at http://Twitter.com/JRKtm