Are you at 'Cause' or 'Effect'?

[Andyhenry]

Hi Warriors,

I'm always asking myself this question and I thought it might be useful to share it for others who might get the same benefits I do.

Here's what it means:

1 - Being at 'Effect' means from your perspective, you are experiencing the effect of things happening in the world and you need to be ready at all times to deal with whatever life throws at you. Usually when you're at effect, you have thoughts such as:

"it's tough right now because of the economy"

"other people are making things difficult for me"

"If it wasn't for X, Y or Z...... I'd be more successful"

"If only I had more X, Y or Z..... things would be better"

"I can't see how things are going to turn out well for me"

"Success isn't coming my way"

"My boss is making my life hell"

"My partner is making me unhappy"

These are the things that can go through your mind when you're 'at the mercy' of the world and its challenges.


2 - Being at 'Cause' means you think that you are the cause of the things that happen to you and around you.

In this case your questions are:

"How did I make this happen?"

"What am I doing that's attracting this?

"Why am I choosing to react this way?"

"What is the reason I am choosing to feel this way?"

"Why am I choosing to feel bad about my boss?"

"Why and I deciding to feel bad about my partner?"

"I think the economy will make things harder for my business, so what must I do differently?"

"Why am thinking about negative things instead of positive when I know that's a bad choice?"

"What can I do to put the odds in my favour?"

"What can I do to attract success?"

"How many ways are there that I can get the results I want?"

"Do I have a strategy for getting motivated when I slip into a poor mental state?"



I'm sure you can see the difference - It's HUGE and makes ALL the difference in the world.

If you're struggling with your online business and feeling like 'everything is against you' or 'success isn't coming your way', take a few moments to ask yourself - "What am I doing to attract success to me?" or "How can I change the way I do things so that they're easier and more likely to succeed?"

When you realise that YOU are in control and you create your results (rather than 'they happen to you') you'll stop thinking about why some people seem to have all the luck, and why other people have success - you can be sure they're not getting it by letting it happen to them, they're rolling out the red carpet and turning on the success magnets and attracting it like there's no tomorrow.

The big difference between the two positions if you didn't already spot it a mile away is that from one position you have no power - things happen to you. In the other position you have all the power in the world and there is no situation that leaves you unable to expect a better future.

When I've traveled I've seen people thriving and succeeding in the most diverse situations, that many of us would naturally think would make you give up hope. It can mean the difference between happiness and depression.

In relationships it means you're always in control of your emotional happiness and while you can let people in and be loved, you're under no illusions that you can only be happy if they behave in the right way or do the right things - your happiness is your choice. Happiness is a process where you're constantly deciding whether you want to feel happy - when someone doesn't put out the trash - you only feel bad if you've given yourself a set of rules that says in this situation you should feel bad. The same applies to love - YOU decide to allow yourself to feel loved based on the filters you have.

When you put yourself at 'cause' - you have control of your life and your results.

So, whenever I start to feel bad or worried about something - I just ask myself if I'm at cause or effect. I've been doing it long enough now that as soon as I ask myself I already feel better because I know from past experience that I always end up realising feeling bad isn't the right choice and doesn't make sense.

If you want better results for your business - put yourself at 'cause' and get real about what you're doing and what you expect to be the results of that, and whether you need to rethink or adapt your current strategy.

At the very least - you never need to feel about about it.

Andy

[TheWinner]

Hey Andy,

This is a great post. I've seen a lot of your posts recently and I advise others listen to what you say also.

With regards to Cause and Effect, I can relate. I don't know if you know about "The Master Key System" by Charles Haanel, but I am going through that course, and he goes on about the exact thing you have stated with regards to cause and effect. I won't repeat it, since you have mentioned it

Looking at not just your business, but life in general, whatever thoughts and attitudes you hold, from experience, will be reflected in the experiences you have. This gives you the confidence knowing, that your success, is within YOUR control, and thats powerful.

Thanks again for sharing this mate

Have a great day

[KarlWarren]

"Why am I choosing to react this way?"

This is something that needs to be drummed into the head of everybody who thinks that everything "goes wrong" for them. I'm lucky (and unlucky enough) to have gone through a lot in my short life - which caused a paradigm shift in my thinking and the way I choose to react to things around me from a very young age.

People think that their emotions are completely out of their control. I am testament to the fact that they are not.

[Venturetothetop]

If I may I slightly disagree....

You business can be affected by the economy and that has nothing to do with your mindset.. it's not your fault...

Maybe the cause and effect here, deals with how you react to a negative situation...

Look at the car industry, the economic climate made it very tough...

But in these times they thought outside the box, and starting in Germany (yep they did it before USA) they helped the economy recover with a cash for clunkers scheme....

They had a massive cause on their business, but they used an effect attitude to think outside the box and get us all out...

(ok, im not actually sure if the car industry get us out the crisis, but it was definately with the help of car schemes... whoever thought of it! crisis = new opportunities)

[workfromhomejobs]

Follower often in effect mode while leader often in cause mode.

Good leader teach follower to understand the effect and then be the cause while bad leader teach follower to always be in the 'effect' mode forever so they, the leader can live happily ever after.

Great leader walk with abundance mindset while just good leader run in scarcity mindset.

[TheWinner]

Originally Posted by Venturetothetop

If I may I slightly disagree....

You business can be affected by the economy and that has nothing to do with your mindset.. it's not your fault...

Maybe the cause and effect here, deals with how you react to a negative situation...

Look at the car industry, the economic climate made it very tough...

But in these times they thought outside the box, and starting in Germany (yep they did it before USA) they helped the economy recover with a cash for clunkers scheme....

They had a massive cause on their business, but they used an effect attitude to think outside the box and get us all out...

(ok, im not actually sure if the car industry get us out the crisis, but it was definately with the help of car schemes... whoever thought of it! crisis = new opportunities)

I disagree with you mate.

Sure, outside conditions like the economy affect those who allow it to affect them.

I don't want to come across as bragging, but I have done better than ever in my Property Investments in this "so called recession". Better in fact when the markets where on the up. It's because I chose to have an attitude that, if conditions are bad, there are equally conditions that are good, it's up to you to go find them.

[Venturetothetop]

ok, maybe we are arguing about the same point but expressing it in different ways..

I totally agree it's the way that you react to a situation that causes positive or negative reactions...

All I was trying to say, is that the economy does 100% effect your business and you cannot influence that...
what you can do is change the way you sell, and other factors around it, that can turn the downward economy into an advantage for your company

Or maybe im just thinking about this too much.

Oh, and as for Properties, Munich where I currently live, has had a property rise this last year..
not all house prices are created the same it seems.. (and yeah I know a number of property investors from the states, that now have properties here also. They like you still made money in a downturn)

[KarlWarren]

I just decided to watch this old gem again... because of this thread:

YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.

If anyone needs a reminder that CIRCUMSTANCES aren't what controls your life, listen to a master at work.

@1:02 - "That is what it is, we can't change it - and we just have to decide how we're going to respond to that"

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by KarlWarren

I just decided to watch this old gem again... because of this thread:

YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.

If anyone needs a reminder that CIRCUMSTANCES aren't what controls your life, listen to a master at work.

@1:02 - "That is what it is, we can't change it - and we just have to decide how we're going to respond to that"

Thanks for sharing that vid.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by Venturetothetop

I totally agree it's the way that you react to a situation that causes positive or negative reactions...

All I was trying to say, is that the economy does 100% effect your business and you cannot influence that...
what you can do is change the way you sell, and other factors around it, that can turn the downward economy into an advantage for your company

Hi,

So - Obviously I'm not saying that Macro economic factors have no effect on your business - that would be crazy.

The point is - whether we're talking about business or just life in general - the things that go on around you are usually the effect of what you're doing rather than the cause, and whatever happens YOU get to choose the meaning it has and make your choices and decisions from that frame of reference.

When it rains - it's not good or bad - unless YOU decide it is, and that meaning will be different for different people (a farmer compared to someone out for a walk for example).

But the point is - your mindset about how you approach things will massively impact your results.

You want failure? dream about it and expect it at every turn and sooner or later you'll find it.

You want success - dream about it and expect it at every turn and you'll eventually find it.

The reason I mention it here - is that many IMers are so busy focused on what they don't have, what they haven't done, why things are hard, complicated, costly, time-consuming etc. etc. that they're doing themselves more hard than they realise.

You've heard the saying "I didn't realise it was impossible, so I just went ahead and did it" and "he's too stupid to fail - he doesn't see all the problems" etc.

In sales you usually make the sale way before you meet the customer. If you approach your business expecting poor results or doubting anything you do will work - that will be your experience.

Time and time again in this forum you see people talking about simple things as though they're obstacles because they just don't realise how simple those things are. The "it's alright for you" syndrome.

That thinking doesn't work offline and doesn't work even faster online.

If you think everything is difficult or complicated and it's ok for everyone else, but YOU are in some way so special that all these obstacles you see are special for you - you're probably massively mistaken and could easily be getting much better results much quicker and easier than you give yourself credit for.

We're all living in a poor economy. Whether you charge $1 or $100 for your writing services is largely down to your mindset. If you can deliver decent work - most of the difference in what you get paid is down to what you think you're worth, rather than what people will pay.

If you think installing wordpress is hard - you just haven't found the way to make it easy.

You think getting graphics is hard? you just haven't found the way to make it easy.

These things we agonize over or decide are the reason we're not 'done' with our website yet are just excuses, and more often than not are not actually required in order to make money - but we choose to use them as excuses so that we don't have to hold ourselves accountable.

If you took a job as an 'internet business development' consultant - do you really think it would be acceptable not to be able to put up a blog, make a few posts and get some links - in one day? But make it an optional, hobby-come interest and suddenly people become really unproductive and justify it reasons that no business owner would ever accept.

If you're not making money with your online business - it's not because of the economy, the technology, the costs, or anything else. Other people are quite happily making money with the same situation, so those can't be the whole reason.

Most people do not like to hold themselves accountable and be responsible for their results - because they don't want to blame themselves if they don't get good results. But until you realise you cause your results and need to take ownership of them - you don't give yourself the power to improve them.

ANdy

[globalpro]

This, becomes a good point to look at...

When it rains - it's not good or bad - unless YOU decide it is, and that meaning will be different for different people (a farmer compared to someone out for a walk for example).

If you understand that it's not if, but when it will rain, then it becomes a fact that it will rain sometime or another. The difference is what will you do when it rains and are you prepared in the event it does.

In other words, it's going to rain sometime, so are you ready in case it floods? Will you accept and appreciate that with rain comes the benefit of watering nature, replenishing the aquifer for drinking water, etc.

With business, or even life, you have to accept that there will be good times and bad, but how you handle it is what will make the difference. Maybe to say it's feast or famine is a better way to put it.

When you are feasting in the good times, do you consider that the famine will come? Again, not if, but when. It pays to be prepared.

You know, the sad part is where the economy is concerned, many people don't understand that the cycle is one of feast and famine. I feel for the too many people who lived for today and forgot tomorrow will come. People who rode the crest of prosperity, only to crash as the wave dumped.

I hate to think of how many people I warned to 'get out of debt', diversify your income', 'be prepared for the downtime', etc. to no avail. Well, the time came and they weren't ready.

While there is a lot in life you can't control, there are too many things that people are the 'cause' of because they don't pay attention and end up dealing with the 'effect' when it comes...

and yet, it's still sad.

Thanks,

John

[Marx Vergel Melencio]

In business, I always choose to be "cause" while considering the needs of "effects" for more than 6 years now.

In life, I always choose to be "cause" and show others to become "cause".

Hope you don't mind me sharing this:

Back when we formed a group to advocate employment opportunities for disabled people here in Manila, I was working with "effect" friends, good friends, all possibly motivated by something I wrote which could potentially change living standards of disabled people here.

A day after our first brainstorming session where I just listened to what they thought of what I wrote (a 60-page 5-year plan), I changed the 5-year plan to a 3-month results oriented one. They took in what I initially wrote with their "effect" ears and not their "cause" ones.

Sadly, they took in what I wrote next with their "doubtful comfort zone effect" ears.

So I "showed" them how it must be done, and most of them are constantly implementing their plans as "causes" and not as "effects" anymore.

[MissTerraK]

Thanks Andy!

That was an excellent post!

I have been saying for years that for every action we make in the natural realm, their is a corresponding reaction that occurs in the supernatural realm, if you will.

Corresponding being the key here. If your actions are negative, you will have negative reactions and if your actions are positive then you will have positive reactions.

It may not be instantaneous, but it is out there!

So you choose!

MissTerraK

[Steven Wagenheim]

When it comes to my business, I just do.

People talk about recessions and competition and saturation and whatever
else you can think of to explain why they're not making as much money as
they could.

I just get up every morning and do what I need to do. I don't think. I just do.

I guess you can say I very mechanically and methodically go about my work.
The emotional ups and downs I used to have years ago have stopped. I've
come to realize that no matter how bad a month looks, when the final day
comes, and I look at my bottom line, it's within the parameters that I have
set for myself. Some months better than others, but never so bad that I
truly have to worry.

And after 7 plus years of doing this day after day, I have developed the
mindset that it will continue as long as I keep working.

If I can go through a whole year like I just did in 2009, working just a few
hours a week, and still have the kind of year I did, then I know that I
have nothing to worry about.

It's a strange world I live in, inside my head, especially remembering how
I used to fret over every little thing. Most days, I don't even bother
checking my traffic stats because I know that they're going to be roughly
around the same (always have been up to now)

I'm also intelligent enough to know that this kind of casual attitude can
also be dangerous because, let's face it, stuff happens. So I still keep one
eye open, just in case things start to slip more than they should, like
what happened in January. Going into the last week of the month, sales
were down a lot. So, I cranked out an extra product that week and ended
up with my 2nd best month out of the last 7.

Knowing that I can salvage things at a moments notice because of all the
work I've put in prior (7 years is a long time) I don't worry about things like
I used to.

After January, I decided to release 4 products each month this year which
should be more than enough to keep me at my required income level.

I guess what I am trying to say, in a rather round about way, is that if
you know what it is that you have to do, you don't need to worry about
what might be.

In other words, you are in control of your destiny and destiny is not in
control of you.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by MissTerraK

Corresponding being the key here. If your actions are negative, you will have negative reactions and if your actions are positive then you will have positive reactions.

It may not be instantaneous, but it is out there!

So you choose!

MissTerraK

Hi - That's something worth looking at a little closer - because WHEN is something a lot of people also focus on.

They want immediate results. Most people would accept that you can't force a flower to grow immediately into a full plant from a seed, but that you can do things which will nuture that goal.

In business and especially online business, there are some activities people expect immediate results from which are just not realistic. They have false expectations about the results and then get down about it when it appears that nothing happened. The classic example is with websites and traffic.

I consider huge traffic levels to be 'a matter of time'. I know what needs to be done but I don't know how/when the search engines will react to some/most of those things, so I do what I can and keep doing it - knowing that the process is correct and so the result will come.

If you doubt the result will come - it's easy to stop taking action because you think your actions aren't working.

Also - our reactions to things which seem 'bad' are often done out of ignorance of the bigger picture.

Because we can't see into the future - we tend to base decisions and assign meaning to things based on what they mean now, or have meant in the past.

But the truth is - we don't know that there isn't a benefit still to come.

For example - the car doesn't start in the morning - we could decide that's bad and think about all of the ways that this negatively impacts our world and our plans.

But in reality - it's perfectly possible that we could've been in a fatal car accident that day if we were on the road.

Our tendency to soak up the negative impact is often just completely unhelpful and unnecessary. If we knew about the big picture - we'd feel differently.

But because we don't have the big picture it makes it easy for us to wallow in the apparent negativity around us.

When you realise you don't actually know whether something it 'ultimately' good or bad - you may as well just enjoy the opportunity to feel good and not get sucked in to negativity that may be misplaced.

I mean, who really wants to feel bad when they don't have to?

Feeling bad is a process you have to continue for the feeling to continue - even when you think you have no choice - just doing something different can take your mind away from the problem so that you forget to feel bad.

I've been able to do this in some pretty traumatic times in my own life so I know it works.

Andy

[Kay King]

I try to be the cause - because my life is up to me.

Sometimes, though, I'm an "oops" - but aren't we all?

[Liam Hamer]

For many years, in my personal life I was an 'effect' person, and it brought about some problems with depression and such in my early to mid twenties. Since I moved to being a 'cause' person, I've been MUCH happier

In terms of IM, I always try to be a 'cause' person, but still often find myself thinking things like 'That offer isn't converting, what is wrong with people' and 'I'll burn out if I do too much work' etc. It's something I'm always working on, because I know(as many have correctly said in this thread), success depends on the mindset. This thread is some great food for thought for everyone

[william miller]

I must say that without a cause there would probably no effect In regards to this Im for cause.

[MissTerraK]

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

Hi - That's something worth looking at a little closer - because WHEN is something a lot of people also focus on.

They want immediate results. Most people would accept that you can't force a flower to grow immediately into a full plant from a seed, but that you can do things which will nuture that goal.

In business and especially online business, there are some activities people expect immediate results from which are just not realistic. They have false expectations about the results and then get down about it when it appears that nothing happened. The classic example is with websites and traffic.

I consider huge traffic levels to be 'a matter of time'. I know what needs to be done but I don't know how/when the search engines will react to some/most of those things, so I do what I can and keep doing it - knowing that the process is correct and so the result will come.

If you doubt the result will come - it's easy to stop taking action because you think your actions aren't working.

Also - our reactions to things which seem 'bad' are often done out of ignorance of the bigger picture.

Because we can't see into the future - we tend to base decisions and assign meaning to things based on what they mean now, or have meant in the past.

But the truth is - we don't know that there isn't a benefit still to come.

For example - the car doesn't start in the morning - we could decide that's bad and think about all of the ways that this negatively impacts our world and our plans.

But in reality - it's perfectly possible that we could've been in a fatal car accident that day if we were on the road.

Our tendency to soak up the negative impact is often just completely unhelpful and unnecessary. If we knew about the big picture - we'd feel differently.

But because we don't have the big picture it makes it easy for us to wallow in the apparent negativity around us.

When you realise you don't actually know whether something it 'ultimately' good or bad - you may as well just enjoy the opportunity to feel good and not get sucked in to negativity that may be misplaced.

I mean, who really wants to feel bad when they don't have to?

Feeling bad is a process you have to continue for the feeling to continue - even when you think you have no choice - just doing something different can take your mind away from the problem so that you forget to feel bad.

I've been able to do this in some pretty traumatic times in my own life so I know it works.

Andy

Wonderfully stated Andy!

All arenas of life basically come down to choices we make.

I too, have actually had a life full of traumatic experiences and those that are close to me are always asking how are you so happy all the time.

If I were to write an autobiography it would read more like a soap opera!

I basically tell them that we all have experiences that can make or break us. The reason some go on happy and content and successful is because they chose to allow those experiences to make them better. Those type of people allowed themselves to learn life lessons, and overcome adversity.

Others have chosen to allow those experiences to make them bitter, having a chip on their shoulder and a "woe is me" complex. Thus, setting up a mindset that the world is out to get them and cause themselves to always be a victim of circumstance.

It basically comes down to "life" can cause me to become bitter or better, it is the "I" that makes the difference, "I" get to choose!

MissTerraK

[Matt Maiden]

Excellent Andy,

Many years ago I was at a point in my life where I was feeling totally out of control and the frustrating part was that my external factors really had not changed that much.

At least, not enough to make such a huge difference in the way I felt.

Then a friend suggested that I look at the language I use to talk to myself.
I thought it was a bit airy fairy but after thinking about it I had a major revelation.

Life changing.

I learned that rather than say to myself "I'm going to do this" or "I will do that" I was saying "I need to do this" and "I have to do that".

Seems so insignificant on the surface, yet using the words "need to" "have to" "should" "must"...took the control out of my hands and gave it to some other force.

When I changed my language to "I will", "I'm going to" it meant that I was choosing to do those things rather than being "told" by the external circumstances that I "must".

Our "self language" and the way we communicate with ourselves shows how we view our inner person. Do I respect myself and trust myself to make decisions or do I talk down to myself and can't rely on self?

When the external factors are out of your control, you can still use your internal response to make it better.

You also increase your odds at finding a solution to the problem you are facing when in that "how to make lemonade" frame of mind.

[Bill Farnham]

Another good post, Andy.

It reminded me of a phrase I heard years ago where people were discribed as living 'exception-filled' lives as opposed to 'exceptional' lives.

The ones who are able to live exceptional lives have a bountiful mindset.

The ones who live exception-filled lives could have done this...except...could have done that...except...

KJ

[hushy]

Good Post Andy, I took a course from Bob Proctor and he was talking much of the same thing. It is all mind set. If you are a reactive person or proactive. The difference between being successful or just middle of the road person.

[Tinkerbell]

Andy,

In effect, I am at cause. Always.

As far as specific situations go, this is what I tell my husband...

Situations, in and of themselves are simply that. They are neither good or bad -- until we choose to react to them.

It is how we choose to react to those situations that makes a difference.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by Matt M

Seems so insignificant on the surface, yet using the words "need to" "have to" "should" "must"...took the control out of my hands and gave it to some other force.

When I changed my language to "I will", "I'm going to" it meant that I was choosing to do those things rather than being "told" by the external circumstances that I "must".

Not insignificant at all - consider how different you feel just saying "I expect success" compare to "I hope for success" - it's fundamentally different and even creates different physiology

[WritingMadwoman]

Fantastic, empowering post Andy - if I could thank you twice I would!

It's really easy to slip into that "effect" mindset, some people even take up permanent residence there (I'm a former resident and sometimes still visit).

I love most of all the simplicity of your question, "Am I at cause or effect?" - it says it all and immediately brings you back to a state of empowerment and the knowing that you can choose your actions and reactions in any situation.

Thanks for sharing your insights!

Wendy