How to Succeed With The Ants Philosophy


I called myself to order, the first time I became aware of the attitude and behavior of ants. This lesson is still fresh in my mind and has contributed to the immense personal transformation I have gone through.

As I share this philosophy and the three core principles I learned from it, it is my belief that you will get inspired by them.

There is no speculation about whether ants work hard, they really do. In fact in my little village in Africa, people who work extremely hard or carry heavy loads used to be asked if they are ants. Over time, I have discovered that to be really successful, we need to apply the three lessons I learned from the ant.

Lesson 1: Ants Are Self-Motivated

Self-motivation is the fuel of life that gets you up from bed and keeps you moving even in the face of despair. Motivation comes according to each individual’s preference and desire. Different factors motivate different people and there some that keep us awake at night.

Some people are motivated by fear, fear of the future. I should believe that this is the factor that motivates ants most. Ants are afraid of the winter (or rainy season as is the case in most African countries that don’t experience winter). They work extremely hard to gather enough food they will eat at winter during summer or dry seasons. Ants are wise; they understand the times of the season and knew also that life could get worse if they don’t work hard at winter to secure their future with enough food before winter falls.

What is the factor that creates the fear that motivates you? What is that area of your personal life that gets you thinking of improvement because you don’t like the way things are around it today? What area of your life are you particularly not happy with and you want to make a change in 1 year or three years time? Assuming your career is going great, how long do you want to remain in someone else’s payroll? Let me ask you; what will happen to you if things remain the way they are in three years?

I presume these are some of the questions that Mother-Ant asks her children that put them all out on the road of hard work during winter. And here’s the thing… They take a long break of enjoyment at winter. This is lesson number 1; if you want to take a long break or vacation when others are worrying about life, get yourself motivated in one area of your life you want to transform.

Lesson 2: Ants Don’t Quit

If you have never observed the ruggedness of ants before, make it a point of duty to look out for them in mid-summer say, July or August. You will be amazed by the heavy loads they carry. They are never intimidated by size or weight; they have very rugged determination to accomplish anything they set themselves up to achieve. If the weight is too heavy that they couldn’t lift, they’ll roll it on the ground until they get home with it.

Ants are notable for finding alternative ways of achieving their goals successfully. If ants are on a journey in one direction and something tries to stop them, they look for another way of getting through immediately. They may climb over or under something until they find another way out.

What is your approach to life when you meet an obstacle on the way of your breakthrough? Do you complain, blame and quit instead of looking for alternative ways of accomplishing your goals? The ants hold themselves accountable for their success and they never throw in the towel. Lesson number 2. Don’t Quite! The moment you start working on your goal, keep going until you accomplish it. When you run into obstacles, don’t just quit. Look for a way to overcome them.

Lesson 3: Ants Work In Team

One of the greatest supports you need to accelerate your breakthrough in any area of life is to surround yourself with phenomenal people.

It’s hard to see an ant working in isolation of other ants except perhaps when the goal is such an easy one to accomplish. Ants believe in the power of unity because they know that they could achieve more, faster when they work together.

What goals are you working on at the moment? Who are you sharing your ideas, your passions and motivations with? Do you have a Coach or mentor that is holding you accountable for your actions and results; or are you keeping everything secret to yourself?

I read the story of a young man who discovered a market for baby toys in China. This particular baby toy can be bought for $2 in China and sold for $9.95 at supermarkets in his country. The young man was excited and kept the information secret. He borrowed money from his friends and gathered his lifetime savings and bought hundreds of thousands of this product. Then he went to the managers of the supermarkets to negotiate a sale, and the managers told him that they bought the same products from the same people he bought at the rate of $1.50 a piece. Of course he made a huge loss.

Who is your coach or mentor? Who are you learning from and who is holding you accountable for your actions and results? Every successful individual has a coach that helps them to clarify their objectives and make them more compelling, and more achievable. Lesson number 3; don’t keep your ideas secret, get a Coach and accelerate your progress faster than you could.