We do have it narrowed down - work from home business success is a combination of several factors, not the least of which sometimes includes being in the right place at the right time. But no matter what combination of attributes you favor, one thing is nearly always a part of the work from home business success recipe: persistence.

Stories abound about famous books that were rejected countless times before finding success (think Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter). About actors and artists who labor in anonymity for decades before being "discovered." About businesses that barely survived the hard times until the market discovered them.

While talent and quality and even a little luck may enter the equation, pretty much each and every work from home business success story falls back on persistence as the catalyst that made it happen.

In his classic "Think and Grow Rich," Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapter to the subject. Says Hill, "There may be no heroic connotation to the word persistence, but the quality is to your character what carbon is to steel."

Hill researched the most successful entrepreneurs in modern history, men such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, and while many were brilliant, many others were unremarkable. Hill found that the common ground among those who have achieved great things in business is the attribute of persistence.

The power of persistence is available to everyone. It's easy to complain about our bad breaks, our lack of capital, being late to market, tough competition, etc., but the choice of whether to be persistent or not is immune to becoming an excuse for failure.

The truth is clear: if we are to be successful, we must be persistent. And if we fail, it is probably because we were otherwise.

Some believe that persistence is the product of willpower. But this is not true. More often a lack of persistence connects to a weak goal rather than a weak will.

Goals are easily abandoned when price exceeds vision. Most work from home entrepreneurs start strong with great will power, but when the going gets tough they are discouraged because their passion for the goal wasn't strong enough to fuel their persistence.

It is the wise business person who understands the difference between will power and the power of persistence, and is able to apply both qualities when and where required. Put this saying on your wall: "Find something worth dying for, and then live for it." Persistence is the very essence of this approach.

An example of putting this all together was the first two men to climb Mt. Everest in 1953. Until then it had been an elusive goal, despite the passion of those who had tried and failed. But Sir Edmund Hillary and his guide, Tenzing Norguary, achieved where others had failed - included two failed attempts themselves - because of the combination of persistence and passion.

Others failed not because they faced greater obstacles or had lesser skills, but because their level of persistence did not match their level of passion. Only until Hillary and Norguary brought extraordinary levels of both to the task was the mountain conquered.

Persistence is a key element of your business plan. These four simple steps will help you make it a life skill:

1. Visualize your goal: Bring passion to the pursuit of your dream, and then match that passion with an intellectually-sound commitment that results in the level of persistence required to get there.

2. Make a plan: Persistence and action are synonymous, so get clear on the steps you must take to move forward.

3. Commit: Make an irrevocable contract with yourself to reach your goal.

4. Form a mastermind group: Like-minded support is part of an enlightened plan. Obstacles will come, and the power of others who share your vision will give your level of persistence a shot in the arm.

Make the choice to be persistent today. Commit to making your own luck and surviving the toughest of obstacles. In the end, the one standing will be the one with the highest level of persistence. Be one of those people that work from home business success story. Be persistent.