“All the so-called ‘secrets of success’ will not work unless you do.” This is a quote by an unknown author that hit the nail head on. So many people desire success yet they wait for it to slap them in the face. We’ve all heard of the old saying, “Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat!” We aren’t saved by our faith alone, but by our “Works” also. Basically, if you want something done, you’d better get your butt up and do it. The Lord worked for 6 days and then he rested on the seventh. There is much to learn from all this. Basically success, fortunes and dreams aren’t created by themselves. They are created by work.

Hard work always pays off

Now, there are different kinds of work. Hard work is not defined by how much you sweat or how many ditches you can dig. Work is defined by your productivity. “You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” ~Jim Rohn

For me to make $1000 by working 10 hour days for a week straight is work alright, but is it productive work? If I were your employer, I would say yes! If I were the employee, I would say no! You see, there is something that ants understand very well. They understand the power of a small word called “leverage!” Can a single ant feed an entire colony? Do a few ants collect the food while the rest hang out with the queen? No! So, think about who you’d like to be in this scenario. Do you want to be the worker ant or the queen? The worker has only leveraged his own efforts. True success comes when you can figure out how to leverage your time with the efforts of others and at the same time, adding value for everyone involved.

There are only 24 hours in a day. We all get those same 24 hours right? So, whether you get rich or whether you get broke is a measure of what you have done with your 24 hours. Success, the same as failure, doesn’t happen overnight or in one swift decision. It happens by one small act or failure to act, duplicated over and over, for a period of time! Work requires action rather than sweat. Work requires productivity rather than the ability to just stay busy. Work requires will and ambition rather than complaining and remorse. If success didn’t involve work, I think almost everyone would be doing it! Then again, there are those who still would not do it because thinking can be work.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Understand that the first philosophy of the ant is: Hard work always pays off. In the words of an previous mentor of mine, “The field is white, all ready to harvest, so just forget yourself and go to work!”

I attribute my knowledge of this philosophy to the one and only Jim Rohn. I am sure this analogy has been around for some time now. What a visionary he truly is and what an entrepreneur. I guess it makes complete sense that in order to effectively teach people to become entrepreneur minded, you must know what you are teaching about. True knowledge comes from doing and doing creates results. What better way is there to gain a perfect knowledge than experience?

So on behalf of Entrepreneurialism, I bring you the 10 philosophies of the ant. What better way to understand, than by analogy. Some of my most respected mentors and role models have always taught by story. The relation between philosophy and real life stories embed principle and trigger memory to recall those principles because they are tied to those stories. So that sometime down the road of life, one might be going through a similar situation and remember the principle. How valuable is that?

So here are the 10 philosophies of the Ant:

1. Hard work always pays off.

2. Know your objective, or the task at hand and do just that.

3. Never quit. If an obstacle arises, find a way around, over, under or just go through it.

4. Take shelter in a storm and dodge the bullies with magnifying glasses.

5. Selfless service. When you assist others in getting what they want, you will get what you want!

6. Remain loyal and honest. True depth in any business comes from respect and a good name.

7. Prepare for Winter while it is Summer.

8. Think of Summer while it is Winter.

9. Strength comes in numbers.

10. Never say Die!

The list could probably be longer but 10 will suffice for now. I will expound on each of these philosophies in the next 10 articles and will relate each to a principle vital to the success of any entrepreneur. Now that I think of it, luck could be number 11, but I think luck has such a small part in success. Either you want it, or you don’t! That is my philosophy.