Having great motivation lets us improve and learn rapidly. We must feel like learning the language. It mustn't be seen as a duty. Pleasure lets us learn even difficult points. The fact that you are entering Clay's and Yumi's site shows you like Japanese.
Patience is also a good quality to have.
We must not kid ourselves into thinking we are going to speak the language in a short period of time. Learning a language takes a long time. So we must be patient and then we are sure to improve. Try not to tackle too many lessons at once. This is a way to lose one's time.