@d46j48fx: again, if you are sitting for the third or fourth time, you need to reconsider. Because there definitely is something wrong then. Can be anything: perhaps you really don't know how to study, or you aren't dedicated, or your knowledge of the language if insufficient, or you don't have, as you point out, the proper mindset. Perhaps the stuff is way over your head. Perhaps it is simply too much (it is a mile wide, after all), or you feel it's boring. Perhaps personal circumstances aren't good. Whatever. But there is something wrong and all the cheering and backpatting of the world will not help, unless you find the root cause first.
Please note that whatever is wrong probably makes you less fit to forfill your role as a infosec professional too! For example, the gentleman you mentioned, that had a negative mindset - didn't that have impact on his work? I think it did. Likewise, if you can't properly judge if you are ready for the exam, not even after having tried it three times, are you fit to help judge risk at work then? Etcetera.
I therefore maintain that reconsidering and doing the analysis why you fail is very important. And also, if you do this analysis, you may want to seek some assistance of a teacher, tutor and/or infosec professional. And be honest. Be prepared to have to face it that this indeed may not be for you. What's the use of sitting a fourth, fifth or umpteenth exam if you did not find the root cause of your consecutive failures, or if you did, can't change it? In such cases, yes, indeed: give up. You were brave, you tried, tried again, tried again, reconsidered - and found out you aren't fit for it (yet?). Nothing wrong, continue your life, perhaps do other certifications, or study on another level. And perhaps, one day, you're fit to be a CISSP, or perhaps you discovered you don't need it anymore, as you are now something "far better" 
Mind you, being positive is a great thing, and I believe we should try to be positive and encouraging as much as we can. But you can not obliterate incapacities or incompetence by cheering and encouraging. And by being afraid of calling a cow a cow we do not achieve much either.
Well, I am a bit worried now, as the tone of your reply is almost hostile, which is somewhat disturbing. Seems I hit a nerve there, I'm sorry for that.
Then, lets indeed agree to disagree. I say, our lives are way to precious to waste time on an endeavour that is, perhaps in hindsight, rather over ones head. If you have to sit a silly exam three or even more times, you are IMHO wasting your precious time, unless you know what is the root cause of your failure and have ensured to eliminate that first. But that is something that should already have been done before you even try a second time.
Universities mostly do not even allow you to sit an exam more then twice. And if you have to sit for the second time, you can never achieve more than a simple "pass", no honours, no matter how well you do the second time. Failed again? You're out, period. 
.. that's what keeps at title or accreditation valuable, methinks.
Perhaps we should introduce something similar for the (ISC)² certifications, it would really boost the certificate, I think.
Again, sorry to have offended you, I apologize.
@fortean wrote:Universities mostly do not even allow you to sit an exam more then twice. And if you have to sit for the second time, you can never achieve more than a simple "pass", no honours, no matter how well you do the second time. Failed again? You're out, period.
Perhaps we should introduce something similar for the (ISC)² certifications, it would really boost the certificate, I think.
In fact, that's already pretty much what ISC2 does. The CISSP, at least, is of a type that certifies you as a simple pass/fail. Neither you, nor anyone else, knows what you got on the exam if you passed.
