The Secret. What secret?

We were recently swimming at the house of a friend of a friend. The house was fairly nice and we were soon escorted around. I’ve learned that people really love to show off their toys and prized possessions; I don’t mind obliging. My favorite spot to visit is typically the office or study. It gives me some interested insights into the true nature of the inhabitants.

This place was no exception. It didn’t take long at all before I was able to get a solid read. The place was littered with the latest “self-help”, “get rich”, and diet books that currently were flooding the market. The types of books that teach you how to look great, make a ton of money, and influence people…that sort of thing. And much to my unsurprised a copy of “The Secret” (www.thesecret.tv) held a central spot along the sparsely populated bookshelf.

Next to the copy of the book was a bulletin board. The board was covered in several pictures. What were they? There was a big picture of a BMW. There was a picture of a very physically attractive female. There was a large mansion that looked like it would have fit in right off of Sunset Blvd. And then there was a homemade check for $1,000,000 that was made out to the owner of the house.

Once again this didn’t surprise. A year ago the only place that you could find a copy of “The Secret” was in a new age book store. Now it is a best seller and can be found anywhere from a grocery store to a Costco. The premise of the book is so simple that it is baffling. The “Law of Attraction” has been a closely guarded secret throughout the ages and is responsible for the success of the leading figures in history. It has only recently been publicly available.
What is this law and what does it teach? Basically, keep a positive attitude. Think positive and you will attractive good things. The same goes with bad thoughts. The big example used in the book and DVD is something like this. Wake up in the morning and believe that you are a millionaire. These consistent thoughts will attract money to you. Do you understand the mass appeal now?

I can’t help but draw a correlation but this book and the whole Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) culture. Both talk about an easy and attainable path towards finding happiness. I’m certainly not against the desire for improvement. But I do have a hard time with claims of grandeur and then vague descriptions on how to attain it.

I definitely believe in fulfillment and thinking positive. I don’t know anyone who isn’t. But I am against the notion of a quick buck because I don’t think that it’s realistic. I can dream all I want of having the perfect house and body but nothing will happen until I draw up a specific plan and then actually get off my canal to achieve it.

This book is successful because it taps into the essence of our culture. We all want the good life but we want the easiest road to it. Our vision of the good life is incredibly shallow and our idea of how to get it is way too lazy and unrealistic.

Whoa….I just noticed that I was standing on a soapbox. That’s enough preaching for one night. I’ve got to run over to the car dealership and drool over the new BMW 540.