The Secret

"The Secret" is a book and film phenomenon that launched in 2006. There was a lot of publicity and TV interviews about the ideas in the book. I took time to read it and it was definitely a worthwhile and inspiring read. The secret has a few main ideas: "Ask", "Believe", and "Receive". It says that you need to be clear about what you want in life, behave as if what you want is already with you, and be open to receiving it. The book was also marketed pretty well, which explains why so many people raved about it.

If you think about it, many of the world's major religions have ideas based on the secret. Apparently, people have known this for centuries. I agree with the basis of the book, because positive thinking does create better results for people in the long run. You are more motivated to work hard and are more likely to attract the right people into your life. Visualization of goals helps people behave as if their dreams have already come true and it somehow makes them work towards that goal more. The only time I get a little nervous about liking the idea wholeheartedly is knowing that luck does play a role in shaping people's lives. Children born into poverty are not as lucky as children born into affluence. Hungry babies in famished countries are not as lucky as healthy babies in wealthy countries. Abused women are not as lucky as others. So, do these people attract these negative events into their lives? I dont think so.

Anyways, I have tried to see how "the secret" works in my life and the lives of people I know. To a large degree, it works. The Secret and similar books teach people a lesson: you attract what you think. I have noticed that positive people are much more successful in the long run. Negative people like to complain about their lives and point out everything that is wrong with them and that in turn attracts more negative events.

I recently read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. The story is about a shepherd trying to find his personal legend. Here is a quote from the book

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."