Dear Dave, What is the main difference between people who follow your plan, stick with it, and succeed, and those who fall off along the way? Damon Dear Damon, I’ve walked with thousands of families through financial problems. Some of them were speed bumps that just needed to be smoothed out, while others seemed like mountains. The biggest factor I’ve noticed separating those who stick with it and gain control of their finances from those who give up and go back to their old ways can be boiled down to one simple word—hope. Hope is stolen when we misunderstand failure and believe lies. One of the biggest lies that robs people of hope is the one that says failure is permanent. The moment we start seeing failures of the past as predictors of our futures, it extinguishes that ember of hope. Failure happens to all of us at times. It’s natural, and …