Success Law 2: The Law of Cause and Effect

Seven Laws that Guarantee Your Career and Business Success

In our first post in this series of seven laws, we discussed universal laws - mental laws that impact our lives each and every day. Aren’t you glad you did that? Now that you’re up to date and raring to go let’s begin the next law.

The Law of Causality as Socrates referred to it is also known to us as the Law of Cause and Effect. Some have called it ‘the Iron Law’ of the universe and it states that everything happens for a reason. Everything! There are no accidents because we live in a world governed by laws and this is one of the most important ones. Everything happens for a reason, not by chance but by law, even if we don’t recognize or understand it. There are specific causes for career and business success just as there are specific causes for career and business failure. Nothing happens by chance or luck. Period.

If there is an effect (an outcome) in your life that you want more of you simply trace it back to its causes and repeat the causes. As an example, if you have recently been singled out by your boss for a raise, a job promotion with recognition and awards you can look closely at what you’ve done over the past months or years to see what were the causes that led to these positive outcomes (effects). There will always be a reason or reasons (causes) that brought about these effects. Always!

A wonderful Scottish proverb says, “it is better to light one wee candle than to curse the darkness”. Just as the law works on the positive side it also works on the negative. If you are seeing effects or outcomes that are not what you want the same steps will work to help unveil and shed light on the problem (the causes). This will give you a recognition and clarity of what you need to change. This is not an easy examination, but the end results of changing the wrong causes can lead to a happy ending with new and better effects (outcomes). That’s what you want, isn’t it?

You are ‘the cause’ and your life is ‘the effect’. But let’s dig a little deeper into the cause. All causation is mental. Your thoughts are the causes for all of the conditions in your life. Some will argue vehemently against that truth but arguing doesn’t negate any law. It is what it is. If you have parts of your life (perhaps the whole thing) that really stink, well, look in the mirror or dig deep into your mind. There is a phrase, “stinking thinking”, that might just apply here.

Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects. Everything you are or ever will be is the result of your thoughts. Where your thoughts go and stay (the throne or the throne room), there too go you, be it good or bad. What you are reaping today is a result (an outcome or effect) of what you’ve sown in the past. When you change the quality or direction of your thinking, you’ll change the quality or direction of your life. This law of sowing and reaping is another subset of the greater law of cause and effect.

Thoughts are the seeds of your words and your deeds. When you think it, harbor it, incubate it and give it time, you’ll reap that result; you’ll see that fruit, right or wrong, positive or negative. Biblical wisdom says, “…for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Typically, what you sow (just like a seed), brings back more - much more of the same. When you put a kernel of corn in the ground you don’t expect to get just one kernel back. It comes back multiplied if it’s a healthy kernel and in good growing conditions. Sow a thought, reap an attitude. Sow an attitude, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a lifestyle. Thoughts are things, powerful things. What thoughts are you sowing today?

Thoughts are things, powerful things. What thoughts are you sowing to cause the effects you really want and not the effects you want to avoid?

We’ll discover more of these seven laws that build on these first two in our future posts. Remember to sow the seeds of a good cause (your career and business success) to reap the reward of a good effect (happiness, peace of mind, a lasting legacy). Happy sowing and reaping until our next post.