Hi Ren,
I loved your golf analogy! As an avid golfer myself, I’ve often thought about this too. You can’t play a good round of golf with a bad attitude, but you also can’t shoot a low score without putting in the practice. It is a great example of what is flawed about this kind of psychobabble people are so desperate to buy into. Getting better at golf, or at anything worthwhile, takes time, patience, luck and a lot of hard work. It’s the “hard work” part that everyone wants to get around. But if you enjoy the game, you enjoy the work. And that’s the “real” secret.

If you take the secret literally it won’t work, but here’s how it does work. It is just another version of a basic truth taught by most if not all great spiritual teachers and prophets. Faith moves mountains. If you can dream it you can do it. Salvation comes to those who believe. No matter how you say it, it’s all the same message.

Ahh, golf.
The game for overly optimistic fools like myself!

I think making a list of things that are to be done is a good practice, but I also think that my list will not include things that are not realistic either!

I DID shoot 72 last year… I have tried to validate it to no avail.

As Business Owners, the lessons I learned from the Secret remind me that I have to get others to understand the vision that I can see.

I have to get my clients to see the vision of the IT solutions we are going to be implementing.

I have to get my vendors to work with me as a partner because the understand the long-term mutual benefit.

I have to get my team to see the vision of the growth of the organization long-term.

Once I understood that, it became so much easier to gain the ‘Universe Forces’ (or maybe just these people) to support the initiatives. We didn’t spend time convincing each other. We spend time to achieve the vision.

Maybe that’s just my practical implementation of the Secret… but it worked for me.

I think the secret works. The book doesn’t suggest a ‘quick-fix’. Actually, I believe the theory requires us to be more aware of how we ‘practice’ to reach our goals. The theory challenges us to bring our words, thoughts, actions, and writings in-line with our conscious goals. Writing your goal down, should inspire you to go to the golf range, even on the days when you are tired, cold, and wet. No more excuses. The ’secret’ is that you are in charge of your circumstances; your circumstances do not control you. That’s my opinion.

There IS a secret, but it’s NOT in that famous book…

Thanks for sharing this Ren and I quite agree. To me the power of The Secret is no secret – it’s life. Focus on your goals to make them realities. I prefer the idea of Do- Be- Have. If you want to shoot a 2 round (to follow through on your analogy) you have to Do the things that good golfers do. Take lessons, practice, keep your concentration …. If you DO you will BE a 72 stroke golfer and then you will HAVE reached that goal.

It is the same in business. If your goal is to be a Top 10 franchisee you have to DO what the other top performers do so you can BE an actual performer and HAVE the rewards that offers.

There is no short cut to doing the right work with the right focus.

One thing that “The Secret” fails to put at the forefront is hard work and experience…..just the act of thinking positively without hard ground work and experience is not enough

As an entrepreneur, there is no doubt in my mind that the secret works. If you look back at the older science fiction books, most of those ideas have become reality. Also, who would have thought black holes could be possible when Einstein first proposed it?

First you have to have the vision, then you have believe in it (faith), then you have to implement it. Some people are better visionaries, some are better implementers, which is which it usually takes a talented team to achieve hard results.

I was an entrepreneur before I ever heard of or saw the Secret, but when I did, I knew I had known the secret my whole life… which has led me to success and happiness.

When you become a student of Natural Laws, which include the Law of Attraction, you will find other Laws, for example: The Law of Causation, the Law of Reciprocity and the Law of Gestation as well as others that I won’t list here.

The Law of Attraction does not magically create a baby just because you wrote down that you want to have a baby today. The Law doesn’t work that way. You write down what you want and then you take action to move toward it and it toward you. It’s not magic. It’s Law. There is a Law of Gestation that is present that says once an egg is fertilized a healthy baby is made is approximately 9 months. The same Law applies when you plant a seed. The plant does not become fully grown instantaneously. There is a time factor involved, and yes, you must take action to ensure that plant grows and his healthy by watering and fertilizing it. If you want the baby or the plant enough, you will ensure you take the action you need to get the result you want.

That little boy with the bicycle on the movie version of “The Secret” likely told his parents and everyone else that he really wanted that bike. In the movie, he even cut out a picture of that bike and hung it on his wall. His parents saw it. Is it possible that obvious desire is what gave the grandfather the idea to buy the bike for him? Of course it is. The point is, the bicycle would not have never came into the boy’s reality he not first had the wish (the thought) then taken action by created a vision of it (the picture) and letting others know about it.

The idea is: If you don’t like the results you’re getting in life, change your thoughts!! We’re not victims in this world. We have choice. We can choose what we think and what we believe will be.

Your “thoughts” create a ‘vibration,’ it can be positive or negative. This causes an action which in turn causes a result. It did not create the bicycle. The bicycle existed. And, the boy’s desire for the bicycle was such that he likely told his parents and friends about it. He hung a picture on his wall which when combined enabled the awareness of his desire to bring the bicycle into his reality in the form of a gift from his grandfather.

It is your thought that ultimately cause your actions which cause your results. If you want to change the result, you must change the thought. That’s what “The Secret” is about.

You do not shoot par golf today because you have not moved toward that goal. But if you place the thought, have the desire, and move toward it with belief, persistence, determination and action, in time you will see your goal becoming reality.

If you would like to attend my next free “Think and Grow Rich” study group, I invite you to let me know and I’ll place you on the list for the next 10 week session.

Another part of the Secret, in my opinion, is TRUTH and INTEGRITY, the definitions which follow:

Truth: the true or actual state of a matter; Integrity: honesty

If we seek the truth, we avoid wasting time; if we put ourselves into integrity, we attract the truth.

Case in point: I had a recruiter call me and reconnect after a couple of years out of touch. She was honest with me on the phone and told me she had no jobs that needed filling. I told her my honesty: I typically do not “re-interview” with past agencies if there are no opportunities. It’s a waste of my time, gas, and money. She understood but politely encouraged me to come in. I chose to go in for the “re-interview” because the job market was not “normal” and I have been out of work for over 18 months. She scheduled the interview for yesterday, Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010 at 1pm.

She sent me some documents to complete prior to the appointment. I finished those Monday night, sent her the docs via email, printed them off and signed them. I slept well Monday night.

I arose Tuesday morning and prepared as I always do: business suit, tie, clean-shaven, etc. I left home with plenty of time to drive over there in the Houston traffic. I arrived at 12:55pm, checked in with the receptionist and waited. At approximately 1:20pm, the receptionist informed me the person I spoke with on the phone and exchanged emails with worked at a different office and had set me up to interview with another person at the location where I was. But that person was out of the office all day and I’d have to reschedule.

Wait…they called me. They asked me to come in. They scheduled me.

I walked out and as I did I told the receptionist I would not be back, that this was the very thing I had attempted to avoid…THE WASTING OF MY TIME!!! (being in the truth…).

Was I angry? YES. Did I respond to their screw-up in anger? YES. Do I regret the display of anger? ABSOLUTELY NOT! (supporting my integrity: honesty).

When I was divorcing my wife 11 years ago, we did some couples therapy and individual counseling to help us part as friends (we did). My therapist told me very clearly there is “constructive anger” and “destructive anger” and that the former is healthy and the latter very unhealthy. When I left that agency’s office, I consciously engaged in “constructive anger” which did two things: it let them know I was upset by their mistreatment of me and it reaffirmed that my time is valuable even if I am out of work.

They have not called me back to apologize. I won’t hold my breath waiting on that call and I will not reconnect with them again. Life is too short and my emotional energy is better utilized with agencies and recruiters who can get it right the first time.

Oh…I did write it down (interviewing or re-interviewing with an agency) prior to receiving that phone call. But there is more to it that just writing it down. Peace.

I agree with Mary Ann. The Secret seems to advocate the, “if I believe it, it will happen” philosophy. Unfortunately, it seems to me that it misses one critical aspect of success…hard work!

Could be you are just not good at golf, not The Secret.

Suggest you read, The Game of Life by Florence Shin written in 1925. If MIss Byrne said to write in down in The Secret, Mrs. Shin said you have to speak it out.

Both are just metaphysics…you can take it or leave it really. Dale Carnegie, Rev Norman Vincent Peale, Emmett Fox were all writing in this way long before Miss Byrne.

Positive Mental Attitude!

You are wonderful Tesera! Amazing explanation.
I was just thinking about watching THE SECRET and I saw this comment….

It does work and I have experienced it many times!

Excellent, thanks.

Great Article Ren, and I agree with your conclusion, but I can offer an alternative explanation as to why you had the results you did.

It is possible to shoot a 72 in golf so the goal is rooted in reality, but just to think I’m going to shoot a 72 in golf is not a practical application of “The Secret” (never read the book, I’m using your interpretation). You applied “The Secret” to a general idea that has a lot more going on under the surface. It’s kind of like saying “My company is going to make budget this year”, there is no defined method for how you can achieve this.

Instead what if the goal was applied to every aspect of the game, such as “I will choose the right club”, “I will line up every shot correctly”, “I will make the perfect swing every stroke”, and “I will choose the right line on my putt every hole”. Now you are applying “The Secret” to an aspect that will make a difference in your game. I’d be interested in seeing if the result was any different.

I look forward to hearing more about the book release. We also seem to be of a similar skill level, so let me know if you want to get a round in this summer.

In my experience it is our belief system that effects the zero gravity field. It is the unwavering belief regardless of the circumstances that causes the mountain to move. The difficulty is our beliefs are hidden in the deep unconsciousness of our thoughts. It is the journey into this realm that allows us to challenge and change the events in our lives. By understanding the deep seeded beliefs we hold from socialization, parents, education, religion, and historical memory residing on a cellular level we can then evaluate the results evident in our life.

When we come to realize our limiting beliefs we can make the conscious choice to shift just 3 degrees and make that one decisive moment that then causes providence to move in such unfathomable rhythm to bring people and events in a synchronistic way to support that decision.

The Secret speaks to one universal law, the law of attraction, which is about likes attract; like frequency. Such as, the frequency of thought and feelings. We generate incredible magnetic waves from our thoughts and feelings that send a frequency out into the ether which then sends back an equal match. What you sow is what you reap.

As children we believe what we see, as adults we see what we believe.
The question, what do you believe?

Just my thoughts for the day…

Nothing works if you don’t believe in it!

Your article reminds me of Gladwell’s concept of “deep practice” over time…it’s not a “poof” magical formula, but rather our success comes from intentional practice with goals established along the way! Thanks – good article!

I have a “secret” that invariably works for me. I study, prepare and practice. That’s Plan A. Then I prepare Plans B and C. By then I’m ready to write it down and meet my goal. Only writing it down is a waste of paper.

Hey Ren, good luck with manifesting not working.

Here a little story 20 years ago of my experience with manifesting….Here i am….walking to the 13th tee. 3 under par for the previous 12 holes. Standing on the 13th tee box i became aware of a tiny, very still voice inside saying” you’re not that good”. I’ve had previous encounters with my “little jim” and knew his presence. The approach shot into the narrow 13th green just clipped the bunker and slowly rolled back into the deep sand, on the short side of the green. Two attempts later of just nipping the sand found me left with a 12 foot putt for bogey. Ahh “little jim” manifested his desired outcome once again. There was a smile, someday i’ll be able to let go of “little jim”.

I agree completely with Seth… and on that same note… “Positive Affirmations” don’t work either if that’s your ONLY plan of action.

You can say, “I will get more traffic to my website.” as many times as you want… you can even write it down… but if you don’t actually HAVE a website… there’s a slight problem with your plan.

I think Ren mainly posted this article (complete with shocking title) to simply drive traffic to his site.

Good job… you got at least two of us to click.

Agreed! The most important lesson I learned from The Secret is to focus on the bigger picture. Dont let the daily negativity stand in your way from WORKING toward your goals.

I can relate to the premise that writing it down can make it happen.
I know that not writing it down decreases the likelihood of achieving the target goal. Here an example I lived to experience:

We spent a fortune implementing an ERP/MRP system in our manufacturing plants so that we could report the financials from and integrated system and
the payback for the implementation cost was that faster and more accurate information would notifiy management when and where we had mfg variances.

Of course once we implemented the system, trained the input personnel and
developed the shop floor variance reporting (which also required a time and attendance labor reporting system) it was a year later. We were now looking at the variance reports to determine where our inefficiencies were as compared with our standard cost. Some of our data appeared correct and matched the assumptions we built the standards from, but other data was completely unrealistic and could not have been accurate.

In order to solve this problem we went down to the production floor and examined the mfg process. Sure enough, we confirmed that the data we were getting from the system was incorrect. The labor tracking could not manage
the shift changes and the total quantity produced was either reported twice or not at all.

In the end we decided to place a sign at the end of the production line which
had a number written on it, like “30″. The fact was that on average we were producing 25 units a shift from the production line. Two weeks after posting the sign we were achieving on average 30 units per shift.

We learned that the measured goal was never communicated to the production personnel. If you asked each person on the production line what the goal was, they would either give you a blank stare or a different number.
I think that when a group of people are working on something there should be no secrets, write it down so that everyone knows what the goal is.

So was Napolean Hill and so was Wallace D Wattles in the 1800s.

One has to keep in mind that the universe requires an incubation period in all things. After all, children aren’t born the moment they are conceived and neither are ideas… including ideas of great golf. Rumi said that if you wish a fig, you will have to wait for the tree to first be planted and then for it to grow. You will then have to wait for the tree to bear fruit and for the fruit to ripen. But, as sure as you’ve planted the idea (the seed) and tended to it constantly, you will have your fig. The universe does not play games.

Just because you’ve not been able to go through the Universe’s equivalent of McDonald’s drive-thru window, place your order for multi-millions or golf-pro status and then been able to have it handed to you in a bag as you approach the next window, do not think that the Law of Attraction does not work. They most certainly do… whether you recognize them or not.

With this conversation, I am reminded of The Flat Earth Society. Just because they believe the earth is flat and is at the center of the universe, does not make it so. The laws of the universe still govern earth’s eliptical orbit whether people believe in them or not.

The Secret’ (and I agree there is no secret behind it) mentions the need to work towards your goal. Nothing is just falling from the sky.