The Secret

and im not much of a writer, especially on a topic i know little about, but have heard enough to form my ideas.

Well, that's a very telling line.

Again, your decisions are based on other peoples opinions and fancy 2 minute editing.
You can edit 2 minutes of the secret or any movie and tell hundreds of different stories.

I can personally attest to that as I have spent hundreds of hours editing. Actually, thinking about it, it's more like almost two thousand hours over a 2 yr period. You can create many different stories with the same footage depending on how you edit it.

And this John Treed guy that you pointed out is an author himself(a self publishing one at that- usually means no real publisher worth it's salt wanted to pick him up), unknown after all these years, and is pitching his own books with a site he created on microsoft frontpage.

He has shot down over half of the real estate gurus based mostly on personal issues and peoples email responses, and not his experience with the various gurus material itself- http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html

Why anyone would you choose to make him their authority is beyond me.

That's like me posting a warning on the front page of TravelPUNK.com for people NOT to got to Australia because, although I haven't been there, some people had a bad experience in Sydney, and it started as a penal colony "comprised mainly of convicts, marines and the wives of the marines."

Forget about how beautiful the country is and the great people there, it was where the British sent their convicts!

I don't need to go myself because I was able to form my own ideas from a few other peoples experiences?!

If you had Kiyosakis books, then you know that he isn't about "how" to invest in real estate, his focus is "why" you should. And it isn't so much about real estate as it is about investing smart to create passive income, which usually starts with real estate

One reason to create passive income for yourself is because many people are not happy with their jobsJob satisfaction declines.

Wouldn't you rather do what you love to do, volunteer more time to help the poor, and or spend more time with your family, rather than have the stress of working hard for 40-60hrs a week for someone else hoping for a raise every year, because you have to pay your bills each month?

I agree that genuine smiles are priceless, whether a little boy in Thailand or the cashier at Starbucks. If it's genuine and it's coming from the heart, it's always priceless.

But we aren't talking about kids. You cannot compare kids with adults who have rent or a mortgage to pay, or has to work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet, or, has a family and has to put food on the table and provide for their families.

Everyone on these boards are either on their own or at some point will be on their own and will have to start taking on major responsibilities that will require long hard hours of work to meet those responsibilities.

Unfortunately, we all need money to survive. It doesn't mean that we all need to get rich. We need to be smarter with the money we make and learn to manage it so that it works for us, SO we can ultimately do what we want to in life and help others.

I am HUGE on education and naturally tend to share anything and everything that I am aware of that has helped me grow for the better in every aspect of my life.

The Secret isn't about money.

It is about the "Law of attraction" which comes down to "everything is energy." If you are constantly putting out negative energy and thoughts, then you attract a lot of negativity in your lives. We all know people like that and there are some on these boards.

I have said it before, I have an aversion to negative energy. I choose not to be around it. That horse won't ride in these parts.

Conversely, it you constantly put out positive energy, your thoughts become feelings and your feelings become actions. You will attract positive people and results into your life.

By and large, this community "attracts" people with positive energy. That was no accident. That was "the Secret" at work, and as long as I own TravelPUNK, it will always be working. (Anyone want to buy it:whistle: ? Just kidding...:ph34r: )

For crying out loud, is there anyone out there beside Lost in Texas and myself who has actually seen this video:blink: ?

I would love to hear from people who ACTUALLY WATCHED this video.

No worries, there are sure to be people who have watched it in the other forums I run...:eek:
 
*Tangent Alert*

One interesting aspect of this that I had never really thought about or realized until recently (when I have read a few different articles on it), is how entrepreneurially driven Americans are versus the rest of the so called western world. I had sort of always assumed greater Europe, Canada, Australia etc had a similar mindset, but really, culturally they do not. I think this cultural phenomenon is also somewhat off-putting to non-Americans and is one small facet of what makes other cultures not like Americans, the perception of the single-minded pursuit of wealth. Back to the point at hand, I also think it is this culture that gives rise to the critical analysis of what makes individuals successful, be it at business or in other things, not necessarily monetarily related. This critical analysis has lead to a strong theory that mindset/outlook is a huge contributor to success and I would have to tend to agree. I also suspect, however, that many people outside the U.S. probably could give two shits about the whole thing because at the end of the day, a lot of people just are not driven to live their lives in such a goal oriented fashion.

BTW, please realize I am not trying to stereotype and say everyone is like this or not like this, but I think America tends to have a stronger cultural sense of being focused on goals to be "successful" than other countries (and society reinforces this as being not only acceptable but desireable). This is also evident in our political/social structure which is much more individual focused and provides far fewer social benefits than say Europe or Canada. I am not saying it's better either, just different, but it is an interesting social divide.

Anyway...I went off on a tangent. Carry on.:cheers:
 
Lfod, your probably right aye!

hadnt thought about it like that, but tbh, i did see that first youtube secret clip and instinctly think "fucking americans, all they care about is money!" lol then i realised the whole thing was written by an AUSSIE!! lol

funny that it is a huge sucess over there tho, cos here, nobody has heard of her, and i havent seen any promotional stuff for her book launch or anything. its like it doesnt exist here. maybe its marketed towards usa?

lol aussies and kiwis are lazy buggers, happy so long as we have good food and good weather :)

i guess europe would be a little simillar- good food, family, friends. money is last on the list
 
This seems to work better for some people than others...so I suspect there might be some missing pieces here. Inconsistent results are usually due to guesswork because the theory is incomplete.

Anyhow, I'd love to make a ton of money so I could retire early and do some other things with my life. I guess I could technically do that now on a wing and a prayer, but it'd feel at much higher risk without a huge nest egg to leech off of.

So right now, I'm looking into trading options and perhaps some foreign stocks. Somehow, I have to unplug from the grid and make some real money without clocking in on a 40/4. The working stiff life sux. I'm sick of it. Although being broke does too...so I don't want to go that route either! :D
 
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Alright, been following this thread for ages. Now that there's a strongish debate, I want to see the damn thing. I saw it for sale at Barnes and Noble, but I'm not exactly sure it's a see-twicer! (For me, anyhow.)

It's ON the Netflix queue. I might even watch it the moment I get back into town. But I promise you, before June comes (when I get back from my quickie 50 countries in five days trip), I WILL have seen this damn Secret and will be able to scramble together something intelligent on it. If I'm not already a millionaire who has forgotten the "little people" by then... :p
 
You can DL the mp3s here.

It might be a factor, although there may be others. I don't know..

But if we really created our reality that simply...then how come Santa doesn't really exist? There are MILLIONS of kids who strongly believe in him, yet he still doesn't really exist. So, how does the "Law of Attraction" explain this?
 
ok my 2 cents,

I have watched the 20min version but not the whole thing,

to be honest i am a skeptic and i really didnt like the kind of mystical way they started this, but i have read a lot of kiyosaki's books and others like that and i have to say i agree with most but not all of their writtings, so i thought i would definately have to watch the whole 20mins....

My thoughts on it were that it definately got better, i am interested to see the whole movie although it is about $50 over here and i have never bought a dvd in my life so don't know if i want to spend that kind of $ on one. But me being tight is a whole different story,

With the whole secret thing i do wonder if people could read to much into it, however wheres the harm in thinking positive and giving yourself positive affirmations that things will happen, maybe they will and maybe they won't but surely thinking positive about things can only put you in a better frame of mind to deal with the daily things that life throws at you?

anyway this doesnt really say much, i really am tired and procrastinating from study, but this is my 2 cents...

it may not be everyones cup of tea, but i am interested to learn more as i dont see the harm in trying!
 
I listened to those mp3s several times this weekend - and man it has really helped me to shift my attitude. I think it's definitely worth trying and I've already had some small results. Can't wait to see some big ones though!
 
then how come Santa doesn't really exist? There are MILLIONS of kids who strongly believe in him, yet he still doesn't really exist. So, how does the "Law of Attraction" explain this?

There is an argument that he does exist, albeit in a spiritual way. He (or his influence) exists enough to have a profound impact in many different ways on millions of kids' early childhood. I am not sure how you can get much more real than that?

Anyway, at the end of the day I still firmly believe people create their own destiny. Set goals for yourself, create a vision of the future and work towards it. If you set no goals and just drift along and then never seem content, well, it's no wonder why. Unless you win the lottery, shit just doesn't fall in your lap (not often anyway). If you are working towards goals, however, more things do seem to fall in your lap because you have better positioned yourself to be under the right tree more often. You make your own luck, essentially. It's worked for me for much of my life and really, that's all that matters to me as far as proof. Call it positive thinking, call it goal setting, call it whatever you want. Ultimately, the important thing is to feel empowered enough to make changes in your life to keep yourself headed in the direction you want to go, and also to be strong willed enough to overcome the inevitable adversity that befalls everyone at various points in their lives. OR, you can wallow in self-pity, wonder why everyone else gets the breaks in life and be miserable forever. Either way, it's a choice - it's ALWAYS a choice.:cheers:
 
There is an argument that he does exist, albeit in a spiritual way. He (or his influence) exists enough to have a profound impact in many different ways on millions of kids' early childhood. I am not sure how you can get much more real than that?
Eh, I don't buy that BS. That's like saying I own a Lamborghini in a "spiritual way." Or how about I pay you for something with 20 "spiritual dollars?"

That said, I'm really getting into this and I feel like there IS a lot to it! I replayed those mp3s over and over for several hours and I'm really excited! :stoked:

I have some theories about how this actually works. What this may technically do is extend your aka to what you want like a cosmic switchboard and boost the qi conduction between you and it. Which is why meditation is a key component to this technique. So, you might "not" be able to manifest imaginary things that don't exist (like Santa Claus), but you can attract things that already do.
 
Glad to hear that you like the mp3's, Voyd! I don't think that's the complete series, though.

I have mp3's of 3 separate CD's that total almost 75 tracks.

Maybe do a search for "Rhonda Byrne" on Limewire or "The Secret" and see what comes up.

I think it's worth buying the DVD. It's about $30 or you can watch it online for $5.

It's priceless learning, in my opinion, and it's helps me tremendously by keeping me positive and grateful for everything and anything in my life.

...and what? Santa Clause doesn't exist:unsure: :huh: ?
 
Glad to hear that you like the mp3's, Voyd! I don't think that's the complete series, though.

I have mp3's of 3 separate CD's that total almost 75 tracks.

Maybe do a search for "Rhonda Byrne" on Limewire or "The Secret" and see what comes up.
Ya, it sounded like a short follow-up release...although it was probably still about an hour's worth and was a nice recap of the basic concepts, I assume.
I'll look for the full CD set (damn that's a LOT of tracks!), though. I recently figured out how to do BT... :p :cheers:
 
Here's an article I wrote about The Secret:


You've probably heard about, or maybe even seen or read The Secret. Perhaps you were profoundly affected by it and it changed your life, or maybe you think it's a load of crap. Whatever you believe about it, I think there are some clarifications that are needed to help people of either opinion have a better understanding of what the Law of Attraction actually is and what it will and won't do.

The Secret tends to phrase things in a way that emphasize what you'll gain without a whole lot of attention on the personal work you'll have to do to achieve any real success with it. It's a long term process that one must learn and practice with, not a quick fix of your problems or a get-rich-quick method. Of course, if they spent a lot more time clarifying this stuff, the books and DVD's wouldn't fly off the shelves quite so quickly.

I don't discourage anyone from buying the book or DVD of The Secret. I am not in competition with them as I'm not selling anything. In fact, I bought the book and the DVD and I find them helpful, but I also have many years of experience in using those concepts already. I just want to make things very clear that might not be understood by those who are new to the concepts that The Secret presents.

I simply feel that the Secret does not do enough to make it very clear that manifestation is a gradual process, and that you won't be doing miracles. They don't omit this information, but I feel they'd be wise to place much more emphasis on that fact than they do simply because of how many people are completely unfamiliar with these concepts before discovering The Secret. So, I'll do what I can to make it as clear as possible. Some of what I say is presented by them, in their own way, but it's "in the mix". Most people unfortunately need big fat signs held right before their faces before they'll hear the hard parts, and some don't see it even then.

My aim is to help those who present the Law of Attraction and those who are just finding out about it to have a better mutual understanding, and actually make the use of the Law of Attraction more effective. For those who don't believe in it, perhaps my words can help them understand what the Law of Attraction actually is, and not how The Secret made it seem. Heck, I already use the Law of Attraction myself, and I find the presentation to be pretty silly, so I totally understand why many people would react negatively to it.

It's made to seem like "Just think about what you want and don't think about what you don't want and then only good will happen and your life will be perfect and you'll be richer than you can imagine!" I know it's not quite that bad, but since it doesn't stress the processing that one must do, it's easy for those who are unfamiliar with manifestation to think of it in this way. It kind of assumes certain understandings that most people simply haven't learned about.

I know what it's like to have this big wake up call and be extremely inspired and want to throw oneself completely into a new way of thinking. I've done it many times over. It is because of this, and the trial and error I've experienced, that I feel the need to clarify some things about the Law of Attraction that I feel could use a lot more attention.

I have used what The Secret calls the "Law of Attraction" many times in my life and I have seen it work. It's the same visualization and manifestation concepts that have been put forth countless times, but in a shiny new package. Nothing new there, and even the author and those involved in the movie admit this.

However, for many people, The Secret is their first exposure to this way of thinking, or perhaps it's the first time they've gained that information in a way which inspires them. I feel that the movie, the book, and the lectures by those involved aren't being very clear about the practicalities of the Law of Attraction. I feel that there is a lot of information that one might assume would be common sense, but only if you're already familiar with this kind of information. Plus there's a very spiritual bent from some of those involved which can turn a lot of people off. I'm certainly no fan of foofy New Age stuff.

While The Secret has turned a lot of people onto manifestation and the Law of Attraction, it has also turned a lot of people off and has unfortunately had the effect of engendering a lot of ridicule about manifestation due to how it has presented its information. It has presented a large array of higher concepts without much supportive framework. For instance, the book claims that people aren't fat because of what they eat, but because of their thoughts about what they eat.

There's not much context given. It's worded in a way which makes it seem like we simply imagine our way to fatness or thinness. Anyone would be correct in refuting those words by stating that fat is what happens when you eat certain foods and don't exercise. The Secret kind of makes manifestation sound like some kind of magic trick where you have major instant effects pop out of nowhere simply due to one's imagination. If that's the case, then a million dollars should have popped onto my desk a second ago. Didn't work for you either? Hmmm....

I see a lot of people rushing blindly into embracing the Law of Attraction in a blind faith sort of way which isn't healthy. I've heard of people spending thousands of dollars on things they'd like thinking that the money will just appear suddenly if they will it. I've also heard of people going off their medication because they think they can suddenly will their ailments away.

Am I dwelling on the negative? No. However, do you know anyone who simply imagines a million dollars and it plops into their lap out of thin air? Do you know anyone who simply imagines away cancer in an instant?

We must not lose our grip on the reality we're still in while we seek to change our own. Remember, it's gradual. You don't just turn into a miracle worker overnight because you saw a movie or read a book. You start small and work up. Even if you've been told exactly what you need to do in order to do something, it still takes practice to get the hang of it.

If someone tells you exactly what notes to play on a guitar, and they tell you where to place your fingers on the frets, and what strings to pluck, and everything you need to know to play a song, you are still going to start out a bit rough. It takes practice to do it smoothly and with as little error as possible. It's the same with the Law of Attraction. It takes practice to manifest effectively and efficiently.

Remember, manifestation isn't instant. Perhaps you could argue that as soon as you make the intention, then whatever it is exists "out there" but until it's in your life for real, the manifestation has not completed. If you intend for ten dollars, you haven't manifested that ten dollars until it's in your hand. It doesn't just appear out of nowhere. It takes time.

Let's use the restaurant metaphor that The Secret uses: placing your order with the universe. Your order still has to be prepared and the reality is that no server is going to bring it to you. It's more like those places where you have to listen for your name to be called and then you have to get up and go get your order. Even more accurately, it's more like a farmer's market. You often have to go get the ingredients and prepare the food yourself, but the universe can make the ingredients more easily available to you. When you get really good, it's more like a buffet where you have many things to choose from, however, you still have to get off your butt and fill your plate.

Manifestation is not creating something out of nothing. The Law of Attraction states that you attract to you what you are and what you think about. This is true to an extent. It doesn't say (nor does it clarify) that our thoughts are an influence, not a controller. We can't truly control anything except what we think, feel, say and do. That's it. Everything else is completely out of our direct control.

However, we can influence. Of course it only makes sense that if you keep your mind focused on one thing and disregard negative thoughts about it, it will be easier to obtain that thing. That's all manifestation is. Getting the thoughts and emotions that would hinder you getting what you want so that you can focus on it and get it more quickly than you otherwise would. That's all. It just removes that which is self-defeating, so that you don't get in your own way. That's the entire Secret in a nutshell.

So yes, our thoughts and emotions do have an effect on our lives and our capability to get what we want. They do tend to attract to us that which we are focused on, and that which we believe, but it won't make riches or bogeymen suddenly pop out of the ethers. The Secret is not clear, however, that not believing in something doesn't mean that that thing will be gone from your life forever. It doesn't matter what you believe about bullets, if you are shot in head, you will most likely die. No matter what you believe about oxygen and water and how you breathe, if you try to breathe water, you will drown. The Law of Attraction will not save you if you step in front of a train. It's not a miracle formula.

It's been proven with several studies that those who visualize themselves doing something well can then have better results as they keep that focus. The Law of Attraction won't make money appear from nothing, but it will help you invent or discover good money-making ideas that you must then act on in order to get that money flowing. It's all about clarity of thought, intent and emotion. There's no mystic force that you need to rely on.

In a nutshell, it is the ability to have single-pointed focus of mind with zero distraction. However, being human, we have hang-ups and all kinds of mental and emotional baggage that we carry around inside us that likes to chatter and distract us and often leads to self-sabotage. We must make progress in eliminating as much of that as possible, and it does take time.

We can live the lives we want and remain completely rational beings. We can eventually quit the day job and have passive income. We can get the things we really want in life. We just need to get out of our own way.
 
Umm, Up2Eleven (Fan of Spinal Tap, btw??) do you have a DVD or else an abbreviated YouTube of your article?? :p

Just kidding...it's just something I need to read when I'm at work bored. It's been a long day! This is so intriguing. I need to find a way to get my mitts on the DVD!
 
One interesting aspect of this that I had never really thought about or realized until recently (when I have read a few different articles on it), is how entrepreneurially driven Americans are versus the rest of the so called western world. I had sort of always assumed greater Europe, Canada, Australia etc had a similar mindset, but really, culturally they do not. I think this cultural phenomenon is also somewhat off-putting to non-Americans and is one small facet of what makes other cultures not like Americans, the perception of the single-minded pursuit of wealth. Back to the point at hand, I also think it is this culture that gives rise to the critical analysis of what makes individuals successful, be it at business or in other things, not necessarily monetarily related. This critical analysis has lead to a strong theory that mindset/outlook is a huge contributor to success and I would have to tend to agree. I also suspect, however, that many people outside the U.S. probably could give two shits about the whole thing because at the end of the day, a lot of people just are not driven to live their lives in such a goal oriented fashion.

Wow, thanks for sharing that.
 
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