by Florence Cardinal

Created on: February 23, 2010   Last Updated: February 25, 2010

What is The Secret?

People have been interested in the Law of Attraction for many years. The Secret calls the Law of Attraction the most powerful law in the universe. The author of The Secret claims that this law runs through the lives of many great men and women, but they had failed to share it with the general population, people like you and me.

Numerous books have been written on the topic, beginning with Wallace Wattle’s 1910 book, The Science of Getting Rich. Two other noteworthy books on the topic are Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking , published in 2002, and Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill, published in 1937.

How Does The Secret work?

The Secret is Based on the Law of Attraction that says like attracts like. The mind is unable to distinguish between reality and the pictures we hold in our thoughts. If you continually picture good health, the health will improve. If your thoughts are continually of riches, those thoughts, The Secret claims, will draw riches to you.

Three steps make up The Secret and start the Law of Attraction working for you:

1. Ask. Let the Law of Attraction know what it is you desire. Be sure the desire is clear, and your desire is as plain as you can make it.

2. Believe. This is perhaps the most difficult step. You must believe that you already have what you desire. Live like you have it and continue to see it in your mind's eye.

3. Receive. The easiest step of all. Sit back and welcome this new entity into your life. Now think of something else you desire, and work the system again.

Possible Drawbacks to The Secret


Be prepared to be bombarded with get-rich-quick schemes and various speakers who are proponents of The Secret and the Law of Attraction.

Also, be careful what you wish for. Make sure you make your desire exactly what you want. Leave no room for mistakes.

One woman had suffered for years with intestinal and bowel problems that left her drained and miserable, to the point where I she dreaded leaving the house. She was also overweight, and although she belonged to a weight-loss group and exercised faithfully, she couldn't seem to drop the pounds.

She tried The Secret method for the two health problems - to improve intestinal health and to lose weight. She failed to add any safeguards, and therein the danger lies.

A couple of weeks after she implemented The Secret plan, the intestinal discomfort seemed to be in remission.. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. A sudden violent flare-up and she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Surgery removed a portion of her intestine and left her with a colostomy and numerous complications, including short bowel syndrome. Since then she's had two more surgeries to remove more of her intestine.

And her weight? There The Secret followed her wishes too. She dropped from a pre-surgery weight of 140 pounds to her current weight of 110, a bit more weight than she wanted to lose.

Yes, there's a good possibility The Secret does work. But, as we have heard so many times, be careful what you wish for. It seems this method is going to work, but it doesn't always work at the petitioner desires.

Rhonda Byrnes, a television and film producer based in Australia, wrote The Secret and produced the full-length film based on the book.

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