Ants: is there something in their success story worthy of our attention apart from how to keep them separate from our lives? Nature always held a certain fascination for me, but, ants, never: pests to be dealt with by whatever means necessary. Ants are ubiquitous, found in most regions of the world, and they have to rank as one of nature’s most successful species. They adapt, they persevere, and they flourish – often to our displeasure.
Jim Rohn, my favorite business philosopher and mentor learned from ants and offered to us his Ant Philosophy. Well, I was intrigued. If Jim Rohn saw a parallel between ants’ unique behavior and how to achieve success in business, he had my attention.
In brief, here is what he observed about ants: Ants never quit, they will keep looking for a way to go where they are headed; they think winter all summer; they think summer all winter; and, an ant will gather all he can during the summer to prepare for the winter.
This, Rohn, called “the all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.
The next time I see ants on my front patio, rather than just instinctively try to exterminate them, it would behove me – and you – to reflect on the DNA of ants and ask if their behavior has some relevance to how we manage goal setting for our businesses and other professional activities. In business and in our professional activities, we establish performance goals as benchmarks for success.
However, in business as in life, it is often the case that things distract us: a turn in local business conditions; employee-related challenges; developments with customers, diminished cash flow – a myriad possibilities. The summer season, for example, can be difficult for home-based businesses and others that are self-employed. Your customer base seems to dwindle, sales are more sporadic, and your income fluctuates.
Situations develop that distract us or may even cause us to question the financial goals we may have set. We second guess ourselves because the alter-ego, the opposite side of that positive self we try to project, thrives on sowing doubt. We’ll call this the human condition.
If I read Rohn correctly, ants react differently to obstacles. Ants will keep looking for a way to go where they’re headed. There is no alter-ego to sow doubt. Watch the ants near your home adapt to your best effort to get rid of them; follow their trails. You may dissuade them momentarily but they always return to the direction they were pursuing.
I thought I was a worthy adversary to the ants on my front patio. Despite my best efforts including a visit from pest control, they never quit. We co-exist now. So, what if we applied this level of consistency to our businesses? Why do we often give up as easily as we do? Ants will go over, under, or around obstacles. I believe if we could stand eye-to-eye with ants, we would sense a willingness to confront us head on.
To them, we are the obstacle. My grandfather used to call this kind of behavior “stick-to-itiveness.” What does that say about us?
During the winter months, ants remain underground knowing winter will end and they can get back to collecting food and preparing for the winter ahead. And, during the summer, they know the season cannot last so they work hard to prepare for the winter. Ants will gather all they can during the summer to ensure the survival of the colony during the winter and to feed their young. This “all-you-possibly-can” ethic makes them the successful species they are.
Our current economy does not inspire confidence but it is what we have to work with. It is mid-summer and unemployment is rising. Disposable income is dwindling to scarce and customers are difficult to keep. For example, in direct sales, building and sustaining a customer base during the summer seems futile to some members and they take a hiatus from their businesses until fall. It is conventional wisdom that summer months are tough for direct sales – that the fall and winter months are better. Difficult is not impossible!
Think like an ant during the summer! Gather as many contacts from all available sources. Be on the telephone, on your computer. Do what you have to do daily to get names on a list that become prospects for the fall and winter months.
Begin to build relationships now; respond to questions; do the collecting and sorting for people that are seeking an opportunity or are open to learning more about your product or service. This is essential to success. And, then, follow up! By September, October, you have a data base upon which to build. Moreover, you have a leg up on your competitors who took off for the summer.
The moral here is, gather all you possibly can during the summer to be prepared for the winter. Bring energy to your purpose. Remain focussed and be consistent. Never quit in pursuit of the dream.
