The study of insects is not really one of my many favorite hobbies, but there is one little critter that has a way of attracting everyone’s attention. The little creature in question is of course that busy little ant. The ant is known for being industrious and achieving what it sets out to do.
There are at least five success principles we can learn by taking a little time to observe some ants at work:
1. Active
I have never seen an ant stay still for too long. In fact they seem only pause to consult with their friends or think something through (well that’s what it looks like when I have observed them 
The key is they are active. They don’t just sit down and dream. A dreamer is always saying “I wish that this would happen, or that would not happen. I wish, I wish”. They spend their whole lives wishing.
A successful person is always turning a dream into a plan, then turning the plan into a strategy and then following his strategy with ACTION.
2. Creative
One of the most creative little thinkers I have seen in the insect world is the ant. Yes it does seem that the ant has a brain.
Interesting Fact: It has been estimated that an ant’s brain may have the same processing power as a Macintosh II computer. Illustrated facts about the ant (for kids)
When my sister and I were young our parents took us camping many times. It was always fun, especially the trips around the North Island of New Zealand. We would cross the straight on the boat, car and all and then drive up one side and come back the other.
Our tent was a reasonable size and could accommodate a small folding table. We would leave some things on the table when we went off site seeing. Only problem was we came back to find an army of ants found the goodies on the table.
Well we had a plan. We filled up four containers with water and placed each table leg in the container. Ant’s will not cross water. Next day we came back from our site seeing to find that the ants also had a plan! They had climbed up the walls of the tent, crossed the roof and dropped from the roof onto the table!
How creative is that!
Use your creativity in your planning and you will always find a way to conquer obstacles and succeed with your goals.
3. Persistent
Have you ever tried to stop an ant in its track? I am sure you have. I would often put a rock in an ants path in an attempt to stop it from reaching it’s goal. But no, it would climb over the top or go around the rock.
There is no way of stopping a little ant from achieving its purpose!
Are you unstoppable?
4. Team Player
That little ant is a great team player. I am sure that if you have watched some ants at work for any length of time you would have seen a group of them almost stuck together.
What are they doing? According to scientists, they are communicating. They do this by touching each other with their antennae. Ants also use chemicals called pheromones to leave scent trails for other ants to follow.
It is also known that if worker ant has found a good source for food, it leaves a trail of scent so that the other ants in the colony can find the food.
Are you a team player? One of the great keys to success is to help others to succeed. When you do that, you can’t help but succeed yourself.
5. Clean
The other day a twitter follower ProsperbyDesign (Melissa Gait) made an interesting comment. She stated:
Clutter is the physical manifestation of indecision. MAKE A DECISION, now!
How true this is. When there is clutter around our office and home you can be sure that area is not clean.
My grandmother also often used to say: “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. I think there is a lot to be said for that also.
Ants are clean and tidy insects. Some worker ants are given the job of taking the rubbish from the nest and putting it outside in a special rubbish dump!
If your surroundings are clean and organized you certainly do have a head start on being able to clarify and organize your mind.
Yes the ant can teach us a lot about how to be successful. There is a reason we find the wisest man in the world telling us to Go to the ant, … ; consider her ways, and be wise: (Proverbs 6:6)
Follow the example of the ant and:
