5 Myths About The Secret<.em> that are Believed by Those Who Don't Understand it

No, the message is that you do have to act, but that visualization inspires and guides action. Thoughts inspire actions, and actions inspire outcome.

2. It glorifies having "things" and being materialistic.

Sure, most people want more money, but many want other things, like better relationships, better health, and inner peace.

3. It preys on the desperate.

People who are desperate are very likely to pick up the book, so that might appear to be true. But The Secret has helped a lot of people. And it may not work for everyone, but not all books work for everyone; does that make them unethical too? Does this mean every self-help book out there that sells a copy that doesn't help someone is "preying on the desperate"? If so, I have a copy of Seven Habits of Highly Successful People that I should feel "preyed upon" about. It's just a book, it came highly recommended, and it didn't do anything for me. I cut my losses and donated the book to a charity book drive. This is not a situation where someone will be financially devastated should it not work for them: The Secret can be checked out from the library, and the video version of it can be found for free online if you know where to look.

4. I visualized winning the lottery and I didn't win, so The Secret is a hoax.

It all seems to come back to the "lottery argument". In The Secret they say to visualize what you want, don't worry about how it will happen; the universe will take care of that. People think the only way they can attract wealth is through winning the lottery. If they really understood and used The Secret, they would focus on attracting wealth, which would attract to them opportunities to obtain wealth. Again, with The Secret it's not up to you to figure out the how (winning the lottery); just the what (wealth).

5. The Secret says you don't have to work for what you want, therefore it's a lie.

The Secret says you can attract wealth. It doesn't say you'll never have to lift a finger to get it. What you attract might be an opportunity dressed up as hard work, which when pursued leads to wealth. Rather than down-playing the need to take responsibility, The Secret teaches that it is essential.

One message from The Secret is that sometimes action alone isn't enough; you also have to believe it can be yours. Believing it can be yours makes knowing what actions to take to get it, and taking the necessary actions, a lot easier. You are inspired to work for what you want, and having a positive attitude yields better results, which creates more opportunities, which inspires you to continue to take action.... It simply creates a cycle that moves upward, rather than the downward spiral that is experienced by many people.

Many people who criticize The Secret seem to have not read it themselves. I would take more seriously the criticism of those who have read it, rather than those who say that it sounds like a bunch of New-Agey garbage. Have you ever been looking for something, only to find it was right in front of you all along? That's kind of how The Secret operates - it teaches you how to see. Yes, there are some serious rose-colored glasses at work here, but the secret to The Secret is that that view is not as distorted as a person might think