necessarily the truth, either. Instead, it is a perspective that empow-
ers us. True winners in life live on the cause side of the equation.
They take full responsibility for everything that happens to them.
Even if someone cuts them off on the expressway, they take respon-
sibility for that. Winners say they could have been more aware of
what was going on around them. They may say that the other driver
must be in a hurry because their spouse or child is in the hospital.
They believe that they have attracted the situation to them through
their thoughts. They do not make excuses and blame the other per-
son for cutting them off. This is true personal power. Which side of
the equation do you live on now? Have you ever blamed your envi-
ronment or circumstances for where you are today? Which side of
the equation do you believe is more empowering?
The key to self-empowerment is to move from the effect side of
the equation to the cause side to become empowered and produce
the results desired. It doesn’t matter where you are now. It only mat-
ters where you are going. What new actions are you going to take to
succeed? Make the commitment now to move yourself over to the
cause side of the equation. Living there is much more fulfilling and
rewarding. Don’t be surprised, though, if your friends and family
don’t follow you there. Living on the cause side of the equation
puts you in the top 10 percent of achievers.
Throughout this book we will show you how to move yourself to
the cause side of the equation. Will you take the action necessary to
move there? Only you can answer this question. Continue reading,
and learn to run your mind in such a way that operating from the
cause side of the equation becomes a daily experience, not just an
intellectual concept. Take responsibility for everything that hap-
pens in your life today. Notice what a difference doing so makes in-
side you.How to Reliably Produce Results You Do NotWant
Knowing how to create results you do not want is much more useful
than it appears at first, because conscious awareness of the process
that produces such results enables you to avoid the behaviors that
create them. If you have results that you don’t like, if you are broke,
depressed, and upset, knowing what you do to create this result
could be an important step in changing things. Obviously, the strat-
egy described next is nota resourceful way to run your mind. It il-34 The Emotional Dynamics of Change