The Secret

The Secret is an interesting book, but it only tells half the story. It is written in a sensational manner utilizing persuasive techniques (read some articles by Cialdini on persuasion). It is inspiring, yes, but it is incomplete.

While visiting my parents in Washington DC I attended church with them. They were on assignment to a relatively poor congregation in the inner city. At the lunch after the services, one lady at the table, who was quite a bit more successful than the others, began telling stories about how everything just worked out for her. She didn't worry, she didn't plan; she merely focused on faith. Her stories were really quite inspiring.

In the car on the way home my mother said "I wish she wouldn't tell those stories around everyone. They get to thinking that everything will just come to them without them doing any work." That comment caused me to pause and think.

The Secret is not a groundbreaking book, nor does it claim to be. It's a repackaging of books such as "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale. There have been hundreds of books written about Positive Mental Attitude (PMA).

Stephen Covey makes important comments regarding PMA in "The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People". Most notably is his analogy of a map. Roughly paraphrased, it says that if you're in the middle of Chicago with a map of Detroit, you're never going to get to your destination no matter how positive your attitude is. Does Covey state that PMA is worthless? Absolutely not - but PMA is only a part of the formula.

In Christianity, PMA is a subset of Faith/Hope. Faith is rarely discussed without its companion, "works". James 2 is perhaps the most beautiful explanation of the relationship between the two. Faith must be manifest by works. Faith without works is dead. Works without faith are empty.

I firmly believe that a positive attitude and outlook on life is vital to happiness. I also believe that visualization, focus, and meditation are important keys to obtaining balance and reaching our goals. Not only do I believe these things, but I've had incredible experiences in my life putting them to work. I don't share these experiences here due to their personal nature, but they are many and they are varied.

All of my personal experiences involved both faith and works. I believed something and had a positive view of the outcome, but then I went out and worked for it. And I got it.

Should you read "The Secret"? It's not a waste of time. But please, please read it with a critical eye. I enjoyed "The Power of Positive Thinking" much more. And perhaps my favorite is "The Right to Riches" by Dean Christensen, although that's a little harder to come by. Also, "Seeing With an Eye of Faith" by Grant Von Harrison is incredible.