Napoleon assembled a list of eight important factors that are common amongst men and women who have the quality, Persistence.

I list them below.

DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE. Knowing what one wants is the first and, perhaps, the most important step toward the development of persistence. A strong motive forces one to surmount many difficulties.

DESIRE. It is comparatively easy to acquire and to maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire.

SELF-RELIANCE. Belief in one’s ability to carry out a plan encourages one to follow the plan through with persistence. (Self-reliance can be developed through the principle described in the chapter on auto-suggestion).

DEFINITENESS OF PLANS. Organized plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence.

ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE. Knowing that one’s plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; “guessing” instead of “knowing” destroys persistence.

CO-OPERATION. Sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence.

WILL-POWER. The habit of concentrating one’s thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definite purpose, leads to persistence.

HABIT. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experiences upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this.

When reviewing the list above it is good practice to ask yourself if you too hold these same qualities. Be as brutally honest with yourself as you can when doing this.

• Do you hold all eight of these factors?
• Are you persistent enough to follow through with your goals?
• Is there anything you could do differently?

To help you answer the questions above and to also aid you in acquiring the quality, Persistence, I have put together a free worksheet that you can download below. This worksheet contains important questions for you to ask yourself so that you too can become persistent in whatever you’re working towards.

Click here to download: Eight Factors of Persistence Worksheet