"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;" Proverbs 30:25.
Something I have learned (or, I should say, I am still learning), is, it is one thing to report to work on time, and do all that is required of you, when you are an employee and have a boss watching your every move, whom you must be accountable to, and another thing altogether, when you are self-employed, and have to have the motivation and diligence to do these things on your own!
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:" It is easy to develop lazy habits when we have no one looking over our shoulder telling us what to do. If we are networking with other people, this helps us to be accountable, but, for the most part, when self-employed, we must develop good habits of faithfully going to work every day, (even if it is at home) and doing all that is necessary to keep the business going and growing, on a regular basis. Having a plan of what needs to be done each day, and then checking it off as you complete each item, is probably the one most beneficial trick I have learned, to make sure everything gets done on a regular basis.
"Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." If we are going to have food to gather in the harvest, we must faithfully put in the time and effort needed, each and every day, even when we don't immediately see any fruit for our labor. The ant is a very good example of not only hard, dedicated work, with no one watching over them, but also an example of working with foresight. The ants know they will be hibernating through the winter, so they work very hard through the summer, so that they will have provisions to last them through the winter.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;" The key to success for the self-employed is not having any special abilities or being smarter than anyone else, it is simply the commitment to making a plan or goal, then sticking to it on a regular basis. "With ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." - Sir Thomas Buxton (1786-1845); British Member Of Parliament.
This subject reminded me of of the old saying: "Make hay while the sun shines", so I found a good explanation of this saying, and I'm adding it to this post because I think it lends itself well to this subject.
Have you ever been told to “make hay while the sun shines”? What does that even mean? You might not even be a farmer! Why would you want to make hay? And what does sunshine have to do with it?
“Make hay while the sun shines” is an old saying that’s considered a proverb. A proverb is an old, usually short saying that communicates good advice or something true.
If you make hay while the sun shines, it means that you take advantage of the chance to do something while conditions are good. In other words, you make good use of your time or make the most of an opportunity while you have the chance.
The saying has been around for hundreds of years. It first appeared in 1546 in John Heywood’s A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue. Experts believe the phrase came from medieval English farmers.
Hundreds of years ago, it would take many days for farmers to cut, dry and gather hay. Today, it’s much easier to make hay because of our modern machinery and weather forecasting.
Since hay can be ruined easily if it gets too wet, medieval farmers had to take advantage of hot, dry, sunny weather to cut and gather hay. Thus, “make hay while the sun shines” was just a matter of common sense to them.
They eventually began to use the phrase generally to mean to take advantage of circumstances before the chance slips away.
This proverb, like so many others, offers good advice. Opportunities may only come along every so often.
It’s good to take stock of a situation and realize when an opportunity presents itself. If you can act on it before it slips away, you’ll have made hay while the sun shone!
A similar idea can be communicated by the Latin phrase carpe diem, which is usually translated as “seize the day.” Those who use this phrase stress that the future is uncertain.
Since one never knows what the future may hold, take advantage of those opportunities that present themselves today. Make every second count!
Here is where the above article can be found.
I am now going to add portion of a previous post I wrote (Working Diligently), because diligence is such an important factor in success for the self-employed.
Here is a dictionary definition of "Working diligently":
"Diligently is defined as something done with great persistence, care or dedication. When you work carefully on a project and persist in doing it even when it becomes difficult, this is an example of a situation where you work diligently on the project."
Proverbs 13:11 says: "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase." I think we can replace the word "Vanity" with lotteries, get-rich-quick schemes, dishonesty, etc. I think it is true, that if we do come into money by any of these ways, it does diminish quickly. When we have done little to earn something, we don't value it near as much as we do when something takes a lot more time and effort to earn.
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Proverbs 13:4,. In other words, a lazy person will constantly be wanting and desiring things, but unless they organize a plan, and commit to working diligently at it, will it be successful, otherwise it will only remain a dream.
"The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want." Proverbs 21:5. Good planning and hard work are the keys to success, but people that want something for nothing will fail.
Have "Patient continuance in well doing" Romans 2:7.
