Get out of bed you slacker!

Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; 
 stay awake and you will have food to spare.
Proverbs 20:13

It can be so hard to get out of bed some days.  It's amazing the excuses you can formulate at that time of the morning to avoid throwing back the doona and extracting yourself from the warmth of your bed.

Something I have come to realise is that the people who are consistently successful, are the ones who get up early and get a head start on everyone else.  So this is something that I have been trialling of late.  It is definitely a great feeling once you have made it out the door, but I think my increasing dependence on coffee to maintain this intensity may not be so good.  One step at a time.

This proverb really does ring true.  Get up early and you get so much more done. 


Give it a try.

Are you smarter than an ant?

Go to the ant, you sluggard; 
 consider its ways and be wise!

It has no commander, 

 no overseer or ruler,

yet it stores its provisions in summer
 and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8

Can a tiny little insect really be wiser than a lazy man?

Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. 

Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems.  These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. 

[Ant - Wikipedia]

There are numerous lessons that can be learned from the humble ant.  For me this proverb highlights the ability of the ant to remain focused and adhere to some simple principals.  

The ant knows how to save and not eat into the profits when the going is good.  What's the first thing that most people think of when they get a pay rise or bonus at work? We needed a new TV. Time to take that weekend away. Just in time for the sale down at wherever.  Imagine using the extra money that you have survived without this far, to improve your long term position and create a buffer for when the winter times come.  Following the ant's little theory may well have avoided the sovereign debt crisis.

The ant knows how to work hard at the right time and convert labour into profits.  Work hard but work smart.  You have to be able to see opportunities and take them when the harvest is ripe, in business and in life.  Inaction is the biggest killer of success, don't be a sluggard.  If you start moving and only get something 80% right, at least you are better off than having done nothing at all.  Steering a stationary ship achieves nothing, but once the ship has momentum adjustments to its course are easily made.

Get up, get going and stay focused.  Simply acquiring knowledge is useless, it is in the application that wisdom is found.

Not having any success? Here's a quick tip

The plans of the diligent lead to profit 
 as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Proverbs 21:5

For every success story there are numerous stories of failure.  Is there a simple key that can make the difference?  Is success something you actually desire?

I think that achieving success is important, but it's what you define as being successful that is more important.  This proverb tells us that it is those who diligently stick to their plans who succeed.  So you need a plan.  But to plan for something you need a goal to aim for.  First step is to determine what it is you actually want to achieve. I found this definition of success brought it together for me.

              "Success is the progressive realisation of predetermined, worthwhile goals, stabilised with balance and purified with belief"
- Success, The Glenn Bland Method

Now that you have something to aim for take the time to plan your path before you jump into it.  Because 'if you fail to plan, you plan to fail'.  


A worthwhile goal, coupled with intentional planning and executed with diligence will see you achieving the things in life which are important to you.