The late Jim Rohn, a very successful author, speaker, and publisher, wrote a short article titled The Ant Philosophy. Every leader, in my opinion, should learn and remember “The Ant Philosophy.”
Rohn wrote,
“I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy.
Here is the first part: ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy, so never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants are gathering their winter food in the middle of summer.
The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, ‘this won’t last long – we’ll soon be out of here.’ And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.
And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possible can. What an incredible philosophy, the all-you-possibly-can philosophy.”
Rohn summarizes The Ant Philosophy as follows:
“Wow, what a great philosophy to have – the ant philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.”
Leadership is about vision, preparation and influence. It is winter right now. Are you thinking summer?
Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can!
