Was the Secret Doing Us A Disservice?

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   mikegwsposted 13 years ago

   I have mixed feelings about the Secret and I'll tell you why.  First I'm eternally grateful for the movie because it opened my mind to the possibility that the Law of Attraction is real.
   
   But I'm not so sure it accurately explains how the Law works.  It simplifies it down to "just day dream and things happen!".
   
   If you research what the Secret is based on you inevitably come across the writings of Napoleon Hill.  Hill is responsible for explaining the Law of Attraction to so many people and he's the Guru that the Gurus go to.
   
   Here are some quotes about hard work and effort from Hill.  This sort of stuff should have been covered in the Secret:
   
   "Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."
   
   "Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action."
   
   "Riches do not respond to wishes. They respond only to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant persistence."
   
   "Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the 'time to be right' to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."
   
   "A goal is a dream with a deadline."
   
   What do you think?

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   1. 88

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, and that's why The Secret is doing people a disservice.   Nothing about the concept is original, it's all copied from somewhere else - but they made one big change which, in one hit, made it hugely successful and at the same time, basically useless.
      
      Their mantra is "Ask-Believe-Receive".
      
      In the original, it was "Ask-Believe-Achieve-Receive"
      
      So the original said, believe in what you want, work hard to achieve your goal, and it will come true.
      
      By leaving out "Achieve", the Secret appealed to the lazybones in all of us, and that's why it was so successful.  Forget about working hard, just lie back and dream about it.  Of course, it gave them the perfect get-out, too - if you didn't receive, it was because you didn't believe enough!

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         wavegirl22posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         +1

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   2. 60

      A Troubled Manposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Movies have actors and scripts. They are not real. Neither is the Law of Attraction.

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   Owl Ka Mystposted 13 years ago

   Maybe not a total disservice. After all it opens minds and eyes to a new way of thinking. However, you are correct in saying that The Secret is lacking in important information about the Law of Attraction.
   If you can get your hands on a (very long) 'lecture' called 'Your Wish is Your Command', it will fill the holes left by The Secret.
   Not fully understanding the Law of Attraction is what causes so many who attempt it to fail and thus say it is bogus.
   Another source you may want to look at is Abraham-Hicks.

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3. 60

   Jeni Pariposted 13 years ago

   I am in love with The Secret.  Not really The Secret itself, but the concept of the mind having infinite potential to create the life I want.  Here and now I look back and I see exactly how I got here, I can look to future and see that I can get to exactly where I want to go.  There are many different ways of coming to and learning these basic universal laws...for me The Celestine Prophecy was one of my first eye openers that got me on this journey in the first place.  I am extremely grateful for all the little nuggets of truth along the way.  The true answer is for us to take it all in and then find our own way...

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