January 23rd, 2008 
Chris Doelle First off, you have to know that I am a sucker for self-improvement books. It started back when I was about 12 and I picked up my first Tony Robbins book and hasn’t slowed since then. Jim Rohn, Dr. Dennis Waitley, Robert Kiyosaki, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Robert Allen, Jack Canfield, Zig Ziglar – you name it… the list goes on and on. I have read and/or listened to them all.
A couple years back, “The Secret” was published following a series of mysterious ads, websites that didn’t give any info etc. and although it didn’t seem to make the splash that some of the great self-improvement books have, it was still intriguing. I say “book” but it is also a documentary film. (Don’t want any haters giving me a hard time.)
I picked up a used copy of the audio version of “The Secret” free from a friend and decided it was time to give a listen.
The first thing that struck me was how annoying it is to hear “the secret” in every other sentence. “When you hear the secret, your life will be great,” “The secret will change your life,” “Anything is possible once you know the secret.”
I’ll save you the mystery – the secret is the Law of Attraction. Many books have been written on the subject and although it is something I strongly believe in, all of this has been written and said in hundreds of books before “The Secret.”
I’ll continue to listen because I get off on this stuff, but I am a bit disappointed in the snake-oil marketing used to promote a well known theory as something secret handed down throughout the ages.
I have one close friend that could actually change his life if he read up on the Law of Attraction – maybe I will share it with him.
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One of the drawbacks of the book is that it gives you no real way to implement its ideas.
One of the programs I am involved in is called the Phenomenon(tm) and it is all about achieving more in your next 12 months than you have in the past 12 years.
But more importantly it lays out the conecpts
and then provides you with the actaul tools to
achieve your dreams.
See on of the most dangerous ideas is that all you have to is think…
You must actaully DO something too !
The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.
Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded
Very good point Brian… none of it means anything if you don’t get off your duff and make it happen.
and John,
I don’t see anything wrong with a coach or mentor reminding people to do the things they need. The best sports stars all have coaches – not because of any lack of effort on their part – but because we all can use someone to remind us to to the things we already know we should. Condemning all self-help is as naive and short-sighted as believing that just reading a book will solve your problems.