Two Parts of "The Secret" No One Talks About - and Why The Secret Won't Work Without Them (Part One)

By Bill Harris

Unless you've been living in a cave, you've heard of the hit DVD movie, The Secret, which I was fortunate enough to have participated in. The Secret has developed into quite a phenomenon. Many of the teachers who appeared in it have appeared on Oprah! and Larry King Live, and several other national television programs. Hundreds of thousands of people have watched the DVD, and those who have are hungry for information on how to implement what many people call the Law of Attraction. I want to share my take on The Secret and the Law of Attraction, and talk about what you can do to put these principles into action in your own life.

As powerful as The Secret is, there are a few things—a few very important things—it either leaves out, or de-emphasizes. I want to discuss these things, because once you understand them you'll have the maximum ability to use these important principles to take change of your life. Without them, The Secret won't benefit you at all. My belief is that there is a way, no matter who you are, and regardless of your past or present circumstances, to master your life, to master your mind, and to create anything you want in life. The Secret describes a part of how to do that. It's a very important part, but it's still just a part.

I want to tell you about the other parts, and share some of the practical details, the "how-to," of what I and the other teachers talked about in The Secret, because there's more to The Secret and the Law of Attraction than just putting something out to the universe and hoping to get something back. As the people who made The Secret have said, it's true that for thousands of years a certain small segment of the population has known about and used this secret, and that those who've known it and have used it have prospered in extraordinary ways, and have influenced the world in ways that have seemed almost magical to those who don't understand this secret. But you need to know more than generalizations about this secret in order to fully implement it,
and I want to share some of that with you.

Before I get into some of the nuts and bolts, I want to tell you about two aspects of this secret that were not emphasized in The Secret DVD and book. I'm sharing this with you because these two additional aspects of The Secret are crucial, and if you leave them out, The Secret doesn't work. What you focus on creates your life—but it ain't magic!

Let's start out, then, by acknowledging that it's true that you create in reality, in one way or another, whatever you focus your attention on. Your life is going to be an outcome of where you predominantly place your attention. There are, of course, as I said, some things you need to know about the how-to of this in order to get all the benefits, and I'll talk about that in a moment. What is unfortunate, in my opinion, is that all too often people think that all you have to do is focus your attention on what you want, and then, in some magic way, you'll get it. I will say that the way this law works does seem like magic, especially when you first use it and see your results suddenly change from dismal to successful, but there is no magic involved, and without the second two principles I'm going to share, you'll end up being nothing but a wishful thinker, wondering how long this "Secret" stuff is going to take. I know, because I get many letters from people asking me how long it's going to take, and I have to truthfully tell them that if all they do is focus their attention on what they want, it's going to take forever. So let's look at these other two principles I mentioned, and then we'll get into some of the nuts and bolts of how to focus your mind in a way that really works.

The first principle you heard a lot about in The Secret DVD, the fact that what you place your attention on you tend to create or attract into your life. However, if you stop there, not much happens. After you place your attention on what you want to create or manifest, you have to use the second principle, which is to then take action to get it.

Forget about the Wish Fairy

Yes, I hate to break this to you, but if you want money - or anything else, for that matter - you can't just wish for it. Whether you want great relationships, a fulfilling career, good health, or anything else, in addition to focusing your attention on what you want, you also have to take action. And the action you take also has to, in some way, be of value to the world, and to other people. You could act your ass off, but if your action has no value for anyone, you won't get anything back. This is why they call it the Law of Attraction. You get back what you put out.

To get value, you have to give value. That's the way it works. For some of the people who come to me, or the other teachers you saw in The Secret, life isn't working so well. I know what that's like, because I used to be one of them. Such people aren't making much money, usually. They very often aren't in a fulfilling career. Their relationships aren't satisfying. They don't feel happy and peaceful. Their health may not be very good. Many of them feel very lost in the world. They sometimes feel like, well, like losers in the game of life. Often such people don't have the skills that allow them to offer a lot of value. That doesn't mean that they couldn't develop those skills, or in some other way figure out how to create value in the world, but at the present time they either don't have the skills or don't know how to use them to create benefit for others.

You see, the problem is that such people - and remember, I used to be one of them, so I understand the thought process - such people would LOVE to find out that there's a magic way to become prosperous, popular, respected, happy, and loved. Then, when someone comes along and tells them to just "put it out to the universe" it almost becomes a cruel joke, because to create the kind of life I just described, you have to do more than just think about it or wish for it. I want everyone who feels lost and discouraged about creating the life they want to know that while you can't JUST focus your attention on what you want, it isn't that difficult to add these other two principles, and, having added them, you can learn how to have everything you want in life. It isn't magic, and it isn't difficult, but there is a price to pay. My career, once I found it, albeit late in life, is about showing people what that price is, and then showing them the easy way to pay it. Here's how it works...

So let's look at the first principle, what most people think of now as The Secret - the idea that what you place your attention on is manifested in reality. This is a solid, real, principle, but it isn't magic. Here's why this principle works - if, of course, you use the other two principles with it. When you focus your attention on something you want to create or attract, several things happen. Your mind is a very powerful goal seeking mechanism. You just have to give it a goal, and it gets busy figuring out how to get it. When you focus on something, your mind takes it as an instruction to figure out how to create or attract whatever you've focused on. In fact, right now, you're already using that power. The problem isn't a lack of ability to manifest what you focus on, but rather a lack of conscious and intentional control over what you focus on. In other words, most people focus their mind unconsciously and unintentionally. Their focus runs on autopilot. Your mind was pre-set to focus in a certain way during childhood, and now it just runs on automatic. Depending on what happened while you were growing up, your mind focuses a certain amount of the time on what you want, and a certain amount of the time on what you want to avoid. Either way, though, it attracts or creates it.

Here's how it works. Now remember that this first principle works in conjunction with the other two - taking action, and making sure the action is of value to someone. So when you focus on something you want to create or attract, a number of things happen. First, you get ideas about what actions you could take. If you want to attract a glass of lemonade, you think about having it, and your mind immediately suggests that you to go to the kitchen, if you have some lemonade there, or take a trip to the supermarket to buy some, if you don't. Instantly, you get ideas about what action to take in order to make your idea a reality.

[More in the next few blogposts!]

Get 7 Free Lessons from the Teachers of The Secret

The Secret Experiment: Co-Create Your Reality!

Found this on YouTube and was charmed by the enthusiasm of these feisty femmes. The one with the irresistible French accent is Lilou Mace who produces her own Chicago TV show called My Juicy Life - and, yabbayabbadooooo, is she a juicy one!!!

20-Minute Sneak Preview of 'The Secret'

For all those who haven't yet seen or heard about The Secret, here's a sneak preview of the first 20 minutes courtesy of YouTube! What happens next? CLICK HERE AND FIND OUT!

Ten Ways We Hinder The Law of Attraction ~ by Wendy Betterini

“Why isn’t the Law of Attraction working for me?”

This cry of frustration is uttered often by people who are learning to consciously create better lives using the Law of Attraction. After spending weeks trying to raise their vibration, focus their minds and bring forth a better reality, they can’t understand why they’re not seeing results.

Does this describe you? Have you raised your eyes to the heavens and demanded to know why the Law of Attraction isn’t working for you? Or perhaps you’ve resigned yourself to one of these deadly beliefs:

“It seems to work for other people, but I just can’t get it right.”

“I must be doomed to failure.”

“I knew it wouldn’t work, but at least I tried.”

“I’m such an idiot; why do I keep getting sucked into these ridiculous schemes?”

“God must really hate me.”

Well, wipe those destructive thoughts right out of your mind! Seriously, they won’t serve you a bit, though I can understand why you’re tempted to believe them - I’ve been there too! Here’s the good news: the Law of Attraction IS working for you. It works all the time, every time, without exception. If you’re not seeing the results you want, the time has come to ask yourself what you’re putting out there that is attracting similar energy back into your life. Before you get angry at me for telling you you’re “doing it wrong,” please understand that you’re probably NOT doing it wrong - but there may be one or two things you’re doing that are creating resistance, which slows down your results.

Skim down this list of the most common ways we hinder the Law of Attraction from delivering what we want, and compare them carefully with your own habitual thoughts and feelings:

1. Indecision
Do you have a clear vision of exactly what you want? Perhaps you aren’t picky, you just want things to be “better” than they are now, whatever that ends up looking like. However, the Universe doesn’t want you to settle for “something good,” but instead attract EXACTLY what you desire! What do you desire? Take some time to think about the facets of your life. Think about your job, financial status, relationships, health, body size, vehicle, residence, and more. Are all of these things an accurate reflection of what you would create if you could start over? Make a detailed list of EXACTLY what you want to create for yourself. Write down every tiny aspect you can think of. Then read this list frequently to keep your vision sharp and clear in your mind.

2. Unworthiness
Do you REALLY believe you deserve the things on your list? What makes you so special that you deserve abundant health, wealth and happiness? That’s not a rhetorical question. I’m really asking, what makes you so special? Don’t have an answer? How about this: you exist. Someone breathed you into existence and infused you with all these desires, and for what? Why would your desires exist if you weren’t meant to experience them? Until you can understand just how special and unique you truly are, you might resist the abundance and joy the Universe is offering you. Embrace your true worth as a human being and let it be a shining example for all to see. Empower others (and yourself) with the knowledge that they too can create better lives.

3. Distrust
Some of us have a skewed view of the Universe (or God, if that term resonates with you). From an early age, we’re taught that we have to comply with certain guidelines and behavioral rules - or else. We see the Universe as some angry force that will deliver a wrath of misery upon us if we do something wrong. It’s no surprise that most of us end up feeling like we’re walking on eggshells. We actually EXPECT bad things to happen because we’ve developed such a negative view of the powers that be. We’re afraid to ask for what we really want because we might be viewed as greedy, ungrateful or selfish. We’re afraid to hope for something better because we might get a lightning bolt up the wazoo. How about turning this belief around? We can just as easily believe in a loving Universe, one that wants us to do well, be happy, and feel abundant. Rather than approaching the Universe with the mind-set of a scolded child, why not step forward confidently and joyfully and claim ownership of what is already yours? Believe me, the Universe will applaud you for doing so, and reward you beyond your wildest dreams.

4. Doubt
Even if you WANT to believe that the Law of Attraction really works, you might be holding back somewhat to protect yourself from disappointment. If you don’t give it your “all,” you think it won’t hurt so badly when it doesn’t work out. However, doubt is like a big old rubber doorstop that prevents the gateway of prosperity from opening. You affirm, you visualize, you get clear, and the gate begins to swing inward, creating a crack through which shimmering golden light shines forth. You begin to step forward into your glorious new reality, when “bump!” — oops, never mind, there’s a doorstop there and the gap isn’t big enough to let you through. Oh well, better luck next time. Think of FAITH as the oil that keeps the hinges on the gates of prosperity operating smoothly. If you keep the hinges lubricated and the gates free of any obstructions (doubts) - they will swing right open and you’ll be dazzled by what you see on the other side.

5. Disbelief
No matter how badly you want something, if you don’t believe it’s possible, you will resist it. Perhaps you’ve set some lofty goals for yourself, things that almost seem too good to be true. Perhaps you want to be a millionaire, but you’re currently earning $15,000 per year. Or you want to meet your soul mate, but you long ago convinced yourself that he or she doesn’t exist. Turning these negative beliefs around is CRUCIAL to attracting your desires! For every limiting belief you hold, I want you to take a blank sheet of paper and come up with ten reasons why your desires are POSSIBLE. It’s important to make the reasons believable and logical. For example, “It’s possible for me to become a millionaire because other people have done it, and some of them started with less than what I have now!” Or, “It’s possible that my soul mate exists because I simply haven’t met every person on the planet yet. He or she might be searching for me even as I search for him/her!” Keep repeating these reasons to yourself, until you are absolutely CONVINCED that your desires are indeed possible.

6. Duality
Do your day-to-day thoughts, feelings, and actions paint a very different picture than the affirmations and visualizations you project? Are you affirming your financial prosperity while at the same time worrying about your bills? Both realities CANNOT co-exist in your life. Either you’re prosperous, or you’re not. Either you’re successful, or you’re not. Either you’re healthy, or you’re besieged by aches and pains.
At every possible moment, you need to let go of your old reality - even if it means pretending that the symptoms of lack, struggle, and illness do not exist. At the very beginning, it will be a challenge to do this fully, but if you keep at it day after day, repeatedly turning your attention to thoughts of wellness, abundance, and joy, and focusing less on lack, struggle, and illness, you begin to shift your reality to what you focus on the most.

7. Fear
Perhaps you’re claiming to want something better, but you also fear it on a deeper level. If you want to be a best-selling author but you fear publicity and fame, guess what happens? You resist the formation of such a reality in your life because it makes you uncomfortable. If you want to be financially abundant but you worry about what others would think of you, resistance is woven throughout your desire for more money. In effect, you’re asking for something but also pushing it away at the same time. One good way to overcome these fears is by facing them on paper. Ask yourself how you would handle people who thought poorly of you for being wealthy. “I’d tell them to mind their own business,” might be one response, or “Their opinions of me don’t affect my life one way or the other” would work nicely also. If you get clear about your fears, you’ll realize that most of them are irrational or irrelevant. Even the ones that hold merit, however, can be worked through and your resistance will dissolve in the light of clarity and purpose.

8. Force
You watched the movie, The Secret, or read a great book about the Law of Attraction, and now you’re all fired up! You’re SO DETERMINED to change your life that you proceed full steam ahead. You begin religiously reciting affirmations and performing meditations and visualizations and feeling good at every possible opportunity. After a week or two nothing has happened, so you increase the intensity of your efforts. You start meditating not just for 15 minutes a day, but for two hours a day. Your affirmations become a litany of desperation to make something happen. Still no results, so you work harder, and harder, and HARDER at it - until finally you scream in frustration, utterly exhausted from trying so hard. Lighten up! I know, that’s easier said than done when you’re not happy with your current reality. But seriously, the harder you “try,” the worse it’s going to get. Back off, relax, and just let it happen when it’s going to happen. The more relaxed and joyful you can be about the process, the more quickly your desires will come forth.

9. Frustration
Speaking of frustration - it’s yet another way we hinder the Law of Attraction. When we feel frustrated, we emit an unmistakable signal to the Universe that acts as a beacon to attract more situations to be frustrated about! Remember the importance of FEELING GOOD! Why is it so important? Because of the signal it puts out to the Universe. The more you feel good, the more you attract situations and experiences that will help you to feel good. I know it’s challenging to feel good when things aren’t going the way you want, but it’s so important to do so anyway! FIND things that make you feel good, and do them as often as possible. It is so, so, SO important! If you have a few moments of frustration here and there, don’t sweat it too much, just do what you can to have MORE moments of feeling good than you do of feeling frustration. It will make an incredible difference. And finally, the Number One way we hinder the Law of Attraction:

10. Impatience
Most of the people I hear uttering the weary cry above (Why isn’t the Law of Attraction working for me?) haven’t been working at it for long. Perhaps a few weeks, maybe even a few months. Believe me, I know the feeling of desperation to get things moving in a more positive direction, but it takes time! Remember that we’re constantly experiencing a RESIDUAL effect of our PAST thoughts, feelings and beliefs. It’s unrealistic (though understandable) to want to change it all overnight. But it’s not going to happen that quickly most of the time. Simply do what you can to stay positive and keep up with the activities that will attract something better in the future. Be gentle with yourself, and know that this too shall pass. And in the very near future, when you really begin to see this force shifting the circumstances of your reality before your eyes, WOW - you’ll be so glad you stuck with it through the tough spots!

[From thesecretnotes.com]

The Secret: Can You Visualize It?

BEHIND THE SECRET

The Secret is the culmination of many centuries of great thinkers, scientists, artists and philosophers. All of the people involved behind the scenes with The Secret are honored to stand on the shoulders of these great people cherishing the ideas that have come before us.

One spring day towards the end of 2004, Rhonda Byrne discovered a secret - the secret laws and principles of the universe. Almost immediately her life was transformed, as she began to put into practice what she had learned. It seemed to Rhonda that almost no-one knew the things that she had discovered, even though the concepts could be found in almost every religion and field of human endeavor throughout history. And in that moment her greatest wish, and mission, was to share this knowledge with the world.

Rhonda began to see that her entire life - everything she had ever done - had been quietly and steadily moving her towards the most perfect place for her to be able to fulfil her wish. And to fulfil it on the grandest possible scale! She had gone from working as a producer at the Nine Network in Melbourne, Australia, to starting her own television production company, Prime Time Productions, in 1994. And after ten years of creating internationally successful shows such as The World's Greatest Commercials, Great Escapes, Marry Me, and Sensing Murder, Rhonda was ready for something new. She wanted to take Prime Time Productions in a different direction; in a direction that fulfilled people rather than just entertained them.

And on that spring day in 2004, when a small, old book called The Science of Getting Rich was put into her hands, and Rhonda's whole life suddenly pulled into spectacular focus, she knew exactly what her mission was to become. She was going to take this knowledge to the world. She was going to make a movie to carry joy to every corner of the Earth. And so the great journey that was The Secret began.

In early 2005, when The Secret was simply a name and a (momentous) vision, Prime Time Productions was made up of Rhonda, Producer Paul Harrington, and Director Drew Heriot. Paul, who had worked with Rhonda at Prime Time Productions virtually since its beginning, and Drew, who had directed several projects for the company as well, became, with Rhonda, the foundation for The Secret team.

For eight weeks Rhonda intensively taught everything she had learned to Paul and Drew. In two short months she had studied the great leaders from the past, read hundreds of books, and amassed countless hours of research. Previous to what Rhonda had thought, she discovered there were people out there alive who were aware of this information. Actually, there were lots of them, and they were some of the world's greatest living scientists, philosophers, and authors. In every part of the world, different fragments of The Secret were being offered, to anyone that would listen. All that was needed was to pull all of the pieces together...

One of Rhonda's initial intentions for the creation of the show was that Prime Time Productions would use The Secret to make The Secret... that it would be an effortless, joyful journey as they attracted everything and everyone that was needed to fulfil the vision. And right when the company was ready to begin production, as if by magic, the perfect people to make The Secret began to appear.

Suddenly the office was filled with people, all working to complete the most ambitious project any of them had ever worked on. And without fail, every person required on the team, materialized exactly when they were needed: Glenda Bell, Production Manager extraordinaire, Marc Goldenfein, a talented young Producer and Director, genius editors Damien Corboy and Daniel Kerr, extraordinary graphic artists James Armstrong, Shamus Hoare, Andy Lewis, and Nic George, post production co-ordinator Emma Franz, the youthful and eager production assistants Skye Byrne and Leni Mex, and literally hundreds of others. And without exception, every single person was taught The Secret, and together worked in total joy as they worked for the joy of billions.

The day Prime Time Productions arrived in the United States to film the living masters of The Secret, they only had one interview lined up. But they brought with them an entire crew, and the firm intention that they would film every person they needed for the show. And in a matter of a few weeks, the team filmed fifty-two 'teachers' of The Secret. Wherever the team went, more and more amazing teachers would emerge - great writers, leaders, philosophers, doctors, and scientists. These teachers created the foundation for The Secret.

[Text courtesy of thesecret.tv - official website of The Secret]

Rev. Michael Beckwith on the Spiritual Aspects of Getting Rich

Dr. Michael Beckwith’s life is a living testament to building spiritual community. In the 1970’s he began an inward journey into the teachings of East and West, and today teaches universal truth principles found in the New Thought-Ancient Wisdom tradition of spirituality. Gifted with a vision of a trans-denominational spiritual community, in 1986 he founded the Agape International Spiritual Center upon his faith in that original vision.

In a personal letter to him Coretta Scott King wrote, "I greatly admire what you are doing to bring about the Beloved Community, which is certainly what my dear husband [Dr Martin Luther King] worked for and ultimately gave his life for."

Recently described in What Is Enlightenment? magazine as a "non-aligned trans-religious progressive," Dr. Beckwith shares his powerful conviction of creating the Beloved Community through his participation on international panels with other peacemakers and spiritual leaders including His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, Dr. T. Ariyarante of Sri Lanka, and Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi. He is co-founder of the Association for Global Thought, an organization dedicated to planetary healing and transformation.

Jack Canfield on the Value of Self-Esteem

As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre - and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success.

Behind the empire Time Magazine called the "publishing phenomenon of the decade" is America's leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees and educators. He is a compelling, empowering and compassionate coach who for the past 30 years has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals achieve their dreams.

Affectionately known as "America's Success Coach," Jack has studied and reported on what makes successful people different. He knows what motivates them, what drives them, and what inspires them. He brings this critical insight to countless audiences internationally - sharing his success strategies in the media, with companies, universities and professional associations in over 20 countries around the world.

Jack is a Harvard graduate with a Master's Degree in psychological education and one of the earliest champions of peak-performance, developing the specific methodology and results-oriented activities to help people take on greater challenges and produce breakthrough results.

He's personally taught millions of individuals his unique and modernized formulas for success and has packaged them in his latest book The Success Principles™: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. This new self-improvement standard contains 64 powerful principles of success utilized by top achievers from all walks of life and all areas of commerce. The Success Principles - and the entire empire of "Principles" books, products, coaching programs and branded retail merchandise - is Mr. Canfield's next offering to the more than 100 million readers he currently reaches worldwide.

Mr. Canfield's other best-selling books - The Power of Focus, The Aladdin Factor, and Dare to Win, - have generated millions of bookstore and Internet sales, and have launched complementary products such as audio programs, video programs, corporate training programs and syndicated columns to enthusiastic corporate buyers. His audio program, Maximum Confidence, has sold more than 350,000 copies through Nightingale-Conant alone.

He is Founder and Chairman of the Canfield Training Group in Santa Barbara, California, which trains entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and motivated individuals how to accelerate the achievement of their personal and professional goals.

Jack is also the founder of The Foundation for Self-Esteem in Culver City, California, which provides self-esteem resources and trainings to social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals.

Jack is the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul® Enterprises, a billion dollar empire that encompasses licensing, merchandising and publishing activities around the globe. Jack's nationally syndicated newspaper column is read in 150 papers worldwide, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul® radio shows are syndicated throughout North America. Jack is also syndicated columnist through King Features Syndicate and is a popular news subject featured not only in major trade publications, but in every major metro newspaper across America and in hundreds more around the globe.

[Text courtesy of JackCanfield.com]