If you are a regular human being, one of the things that can drive you absolutely nuts is trying to figure out how you can succeed now, when you have lost your motivation and failed to achieve your goal so many times before. It's even more discouraging when the answer everyone gives you only complicates things even more.

Well, get ready to celebrate, because I am about to reveal the secret to motivation that will solve this frustrating problem for you once and for all. And relax! It doesn't involve any mystic rituals or weird substances.

I have learned how to move mountains. Just last Sunday I ran without pain for the first time since my car accident in 1989! I'm ecstatic! I know you don't care about my pain, but when you know the secret I use, you will be able to move your own mountains!

In the end, the force that moves mountains is not motivation, but persistence. This seems about as dramatic as water dripping on stone. However, the persistence of water DID created the Grand Canyon.

There are three simple steps.

STEP ONE: You have to know what you want, and truly want it! You have to be able to see it clearly in your mind, "taste" it in your mouth, or feel the shivers of excitement in your body. There is no secret to this step. Just be clear. After you do this step once, there are no continuing rituals necessary.

STEP TWO: Get in action. Take any steps that move you in the general direction of what you want. Take small steps, or big steps. It doesn't really matter what kind of steps you take, as long as you keep taking steps. Staying in action is the key. This is persistence.

What happens if the action step becomes too difficult? Most people quit. That strategy guarantees failure. Don't quit. Here is my little secret: if the action step is too hard, cut it in half and keep going. If you still don't want to do it, cut the action step in half again until it is so easy that you say, "Piece of cake. I can do that!" You can call it "Wimping Forward" if you want, but you are still in action!

Once I didn't feel like going to the gym any more. Instead of quitting I made a deal with myself to merely drive to the gym, go inside, touch my locker, then go home. Piece of Cake! I did it and I stayed in action! Soon I was happy to actually exercise again.

The power of water dripping on stone lies in the part about "keep in action no matter what". Like postal workers who don't let rain, sleet, and dark of night stop them from delivering the mail, take whatever gets in your path, get over it, and keep going!

STEP THREE: Be patient. You are only in control of the action steps. Getting what you want is your prize for persistent action. And guess what? Patience is simple.

PATIENCE IS JUST MENTAL PERSISTENCE. Apply the same strategies to keeping the sight, taste, or feel of your goal in mind, as you did to keep in action steps.

So take a deep breath. I really want you to get this: Working harder in NOT the solution to your motivation problem. It's not about beating yourself up for lack of motivation. It's all about persistence, physical and mental. Simply follow the steps outlined above, and you will be on your way, taking action steps more easily than you ever have before so you can steadily march toward your success.

Linda Schaumleffel, Olympian and head injury survivor, guides people worldwide with faltering memory or head injuries, by teaching them how to thrive again, strive for peak productivity, and build a hedge against dementia. Get a jump on your own brain health with free special report, "BRAIN FITNESS: The Top 17 Activities That Will Revive Your Brain at Any Age!" at http://www.PowerBrainFitness.com