With more than 20,000 different species, ants are considered to be Earth’s most successful species. They are very social, highly communicative insects who can carry 10 to 50 times their body weight. They are also terribly difficult to get rid of once they invade your space. So what do we have to learn from these pesky little creatures?
Jim Rohn’s amazing four-part philosophy goes something like this:
1. Ants never quit. If they are going somewhere and you stop them they will look for another path. They’ll keep at it until they either find it or die. I’ve had firsthand experience with this when they invaded my kitchen last summer. We blocked one trail and they appeared in five other pathways.
2. Ants think winter all summer. They are stock piling for the winter, not snoozing on the job. They are preparing for the stormy, cold weather where they’ll need those supplies. Guess you could call them being realistic?
3. Ants think summer all winter. They are optimistic little critters, saying to themselves , “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And sure enough, the first warm day they are out and about.
4. What quantity will the ant gather during the summer? As much as he possibly can. The “all-that-you-possibly-can” philosophy.
The message is crystal clear: Never, ever give up; prepare for the lean periods; and reach beyond your abilities each day to be ALL that you possibly can be. “The good life is not an amount; it’s an attitude, an act, an idea, a discovery, a search.“ Jim Rohn
To Living the Good Life,
Dar
June 10th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Jim Rohn was the best. My own personal mentor studied with Jim for years before went out on his own. Jim was a strong believer and more often than not used Scripture to illustrate his messages. This one came from Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:” Great post with a great message from a great man.
Nelson´s last [type] ..“The Prisoner Exchange”
June 10th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Darlene, I love it. Every time I say to myself I will never give – I have it on my vision board I am going to see ants and remember your post here.
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June 11th, 2010 at 6:30 am
This is great Dar! Jim Rohn is of course a classic. But Jim Rohn and ants – priceless! There are things we can learn from nature all around us if we just look for it. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie Stevens´s last [type] ..I Can Only Imagine
June 11th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
I love it Darlene! We have so much to learn from life’s creatures~ It’s fun hearing Jim Rohn, he’s one of my favorites! Yes, it is the lesson in life~ opportunity mixed with difficulty. As we learn and grow we’ll be better prepared to meet our difficulty and take advantage of opportunities!
I’m glad you shared!
Linda G. Cox´s last [type] ..How to Write Captivating Headlines
June 11th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
I am always fascinated by ants and what they can achieve as a community rather than solo. We truly have a lot to learn from them. There is a funny picture i did on my blog a while ago that perfectly represents the never give up attitude: http://findmattjones.com/you-dont-know-how-close-you-are/
Love the ant movies too
Matt Jones´s last [type] ..Just Trust
June 12th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Darlene,
Life lessons come from some of the most surprising places and creatures.
We’ve never really thought of ants as something to learn from before, but they are so diligent, persistent (annoyingly so), hard-working and what seems to us as a community attitude.
Very interesting!
Thanks,
~ Pat and Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
Pat and Lorna Shanks´s last [type] ..Jimmy Kimmel Vs. The Coolest Couple – It Was War… On the Twitter Battleground!
June 12th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Hi Darlene,
great little analogy of the industrious little ants.
We can certainly turn less productive times into great productivity when we look at it from this perspective.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Toni
Last blog post:
http://tonisuggests.com/our-fellow-sea-beings/
June 14th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Very interesting articles, I should say i have seen ants working together several times and it is true, they never give up. They don’t mind dying for that. we humans sometimes are afraid of death so much that we end up not trying things just because of fear of it.
But what is the point being alive and not fully enjoying one’s life. We should learn from the ants: fight till you die
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June 15th, 2010 at 7:47 am
What a great post. I would have never thought to see ants in a good way. Thanks for switching my view around a little today.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Hi Darlene,
Christine
Jim Rohn will always be my favorite philosopher ~ no matter what excuse you can find, he has a truthful answer for you to listen to. I must admit, this was the first time I can remember hearing about the ants ~ thank you for sharing
Christine Casey´s last [type] ..How to Make Social Media Work for You
June 18th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Darlene, this is a great post! Jim Rohn is amazing and timeless, even though he is no longer physically with us his wisdom will lead us on to greatness for the rest of our physical lives. Thanks for sharing this. I just love listening to his voice!
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:13 am
This reminds me of a childhood story with the moral…”I think I can, I think I can..
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July 22nd, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Hi Darlene,
yes, I agree with you we can learn a lot from the ants, and the animal world.
It always fascinated me how they can carry so much. Just as according to our knowledge a Bumble bee is not able to fly, we would do well questioning the limitations we have accepted as humans.
By the way, I managed to get Ants to leave my home by spraying them with a mix of lemon juice and colloidial silver. It doesn’t kill them and you may have to spray a few times but then they are gone.
Love and Light
from
Yorinda
Yorinda´s last [type] ..Joy is the Goal
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Yorinda,
Thanks for the excellent “natural” cure for the ant exit. We’re about to enter the warmest time of the year in Southern California and I’ll use your suggestion as a preventative measure before they attack us.