Looking at creation and all that it contains, what would be the most significant species on our plant? Which organism would make up the largest percentage of all biomass? Biomass being the mass of all living matter in a given geographic region. If that region means the whole planet, then the mass of all living organisms must be quite substantial.

If I told you that the ant species accounted for a massive 15% of all biomass on our planet would you be shocked? Think of the mass of all the game in Africa, the elephants, the herds of antelope species on the Serengeti. What about the trees in the Amazon or the number of fish in the large shoals at sea. Now consider the amount of ants we have on our planet that make up the 15% mass of the total sum of Biomass. Wow, get out the bug spray.The next question to ask is Why so many? and more importantly How? 

Let’s take for example the Argentine ant (linepithema humile). A stow away on ships of old, this ant species has made its way to six continents with millions of colonies each comprising billions of ants. One such super colony can be found running a length of over 6000 kilometres from Northern Italy to Northern Spain. That’s from Cape Town to Johannesburg and back…. twice! 

This super colony is made up of millions of genetically related and interconnected nests. Lets take some lessons from their habitat and relate them back to our lives: 

·        Ants don’t bother fighting each other.

·        Time saved on not fighting is set aside for food gathering and ant making

·        They have dedicated systems and ants focused on defence against outside intrusions, or real enemies.

·        Ants are aware of seasons.

·        Ants think about winter all summer long

·        Ants think about summer all winter long

·        Ants work during the day

·        Ants rest at night

·        An ant is determined in its job description, they do not complain and if you tried to block its path, it will find a new way around without consulting management. 

What can we learn from the ant? 

·        How much time do we dedicate to fighting people who are not our real enemies, but just ego traps we create in our lives?

·        How much time do we spend on gathering food, or doing what we do best and not waste time on other trivial tasks?

·        Do we consider the seasons of our business?

·        Do we think about the lean times when we are busy?

·        Do we think about the busy times when we are lean?

·        Do we work hard during the day and rest at night?

·        Do we have a job description and focus in our jobs

·        Do we take the initiative when facing problems? 

If the insignific-ant can do it, what is stopping us?