In the self-help industry, much is made of the concept of persistence and rightfully so. Often, the difference between ultimate success and failure in life comes down to your ability to stick it out. Yet, as important as persistence is to success, it's also important to know when to move on. As W.C. Fields once said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it."

In all seriousness, there may come a point in your dash when it's time to move on from a dead end job, an unproductive investment, a crippling environment or even a troubled relationship. Of course, sometimes this decision will be made for you. For example, business legend Lee Iacocca didn't jump into his position as head of Chrysler; he was pushed by first being fired from Ford. The same was true for Alfred C. Fuller, who only founded the Fuller Brush Company after being fired from his first three jobs.

In other situations, you'll have to make the jump yourself. You'll have to decide when enough is enough. This isn't easy. As a dasher, you're probably naturally inclined to be optimistic. You know that victory may be just around the corner. And this is true; provided you're on the right block. For this reason, sometimes you need to relocate - you need to move on.

However, remember that it isn't enough to simply move on. You must also move up. John Maxwell calls this process "failing forward." And this is really the key to great and lasting success - learning to turn setbacks into setups for future greatness. Therefore, instead of just leaving your current job for another job; leave for a better job. The same thing applies to investments, relationships or anything else. You don't just want to withdraw from the game of life by cashing in your chips and going home. You want to find a new table to play at; preferably a table with higher stakes.

In some ways, this is contrary to human nature. After all, if we fail, our natural inclination is to scale back our expectations and say, "Well, maybe that dream was too big for me." Yet, a more powerful way to view failure is as a sign that the dream was too small for you and that your troubles are the universe's way of keeping you from settling for less than you deserve. For those of you who have witnessed babies learning to walk, ( remember you did it yourself ) you notice that they do not just get up one day and start running. A baby will get up only to fall down. At first, it must be traumatic, everytime trying to get up only to fall and fail. Babies see everyone else doing it, why can't I? But, a miraculous thing happens, babies get up and try again and again despite failing. Time after time they get up and attempt to walk only to fall time and time again until one day they take those steps. Why is it that as we get older, we lose the ability to try over and over again and accepting falling down?

Perhaps, the greatest example of failing and falling down and then moving on up was exhibited by Abraham Lincoln. As you probably know by now, Abraham Lincoln suffered a number of setbacks during his lifetime. He failed in business on several occasions and lost six elections. However, in the end, he achieved lasting success because he kept moving on up. Whenever he lost an election, he didn't just keep trying for that office again and again. Instead, he ran for a higher office.

For example, at age 46, he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost. However, rather than running for the Senate again in the next election, he set his sights on becoming Vice President. Yet once again, he lost. For many people, this would've been a sign to pursue a lower office or get out of politics altogether. Of course, Lincoln did neither. Instead, four years later, he ran for the highest office in the land and this time, he won. As you can see, Lincoln's earlier defeats were actually blessings in disguise.

And so are yours provided that you use them to not just move on but move up as well. Therefore, if you get fired from your job paying $50,000 a year, apply for a new job paying $100,000 a year. If you raise $100,000 to start a business and it goes bankrupt, then raise $1 million the next time around. And so on. Remember, it's important to know when to move on but it's even more important to know how to move up.