The Secret Was Really No Secret

I thought "The Secret" had disappeared into the mists of time, until the next manifestation of its old message - but I was wrong.
From “Bling Ring” to Oprah, “The Secret” lives on: ( from Salon this week):
In this era of class immobility, the self-help book looks less relevant than ever -- but don't count it out yet
By Daniel D'Addario

In 2006, Rhonda Byrne’s self-help book “The Secret” took the world by storm. It was utterly inescapable, selling millions of copies, spawning a movie, and earning the devotion of Oprah Winfrey, all upon the premise that persistent and focused visualization could bring the ardent follower huge rewards.

Time hasn’t been kind to “The Secret,” though; the philosophy has gone from hot new thing to object of fun. The new film “The Bling Ring,” about a group of teen criminals, treats one family’s devotion to “The Secret” as an uproarious joke.

Here's an edited version of a post of mine from 2007 on The Secret:

It's an old message. It's not a "Secret" either - at least not to those of us of a certain age. My husband provided evidence of this - he wandered off into the garage, where he stores his obscenely large collection of LPs, and came back with "The Strangest Secret" an old 10-inch LP narrated by Earl Nightingale (record sleeve, left). I'd never heard of this gentleman, but it appears that in America he was one of the the best-known motivational gurus of the 1950s.

The message contained in "The Strangest Secret" is the same as in countless other books, tapes, records, films, some from even before the 1950s, and many more since. For successive generations the message has been presented differently packaged in a variety of guises : Creative Visualisation, The Power of Positive Thinking, How to Make Friends and Influence People, Cosmic Ordering; for some astrology fans there are New Moon Wish Lists. These are just a few examples - and now there's "The Secret". A whole industry has sprung up, ostensibly advising people on how to enjoy their lives more.

The message, or "secret", from all of the above sources, can be distilled to two words "think positive!" For some of us this is sufficient, and a natural part of our makeup. Others need to be coaxed and given a boost of confidence, helped by anecdotes, examples and illustrations. Still others just need someone to "flick the switch" for them, so that a dormant natural tendency can come to the fore.

One of the most frequent criticisms of "The Secret" is that it concentrates on, and creates a materialistic mindset. There's a downside to everything. Perhaps in today's climate, materialism is the only thing strong enough to attract the attention of the number of people required to make an enterprise ..... profitable.

As I see it there's no secret, no magic, no woo-woo. It's a matter of maintaining single-mindedness, a determination to keep showing-up with your most passionate desire in focus at all times, that's the key to all "Secret"-ish endeavours. If you don't follow through, and keep on....and on...and on following through, nothing will change in the way you had in mind - trust me! It's all in the small print of this, and every other "secret".

What Secret?

Watching Larry King interview someone in connection with"The Secret", the latest phenomenon in the self-help genre, set me thinking about the whole self-help industry. I took an instant dislike to the intviewee, who I thought came over as just another slickeroony out to fleece a gullible public, especially when a fee of over $900 was mentioned for a weekend seminar!

Because I didn't like the messenger does not mean the message isn't of value. It's an old message. It's not a "Secret" either - at least not to those of us of a certain age. When I mentioned to HeWhoKnows that I intended writing on this topic today, he wandered off into the garage, where he stores an obscenely large collection of LPs, and came back with "The Strangest Secret" an old 10-inch LP narrated by one Earl Nightingale (record sleeve above). I'd never heard of this gentleman, but apparently, in America he was one of the the motivational gurus of the 1950s.

The message contained in "The Strangest Secret" is the same as in countless other books, tapes, records, films, some from even before the 1950s, and many more since. For successive generations the message has been presented differently packaged in a variety of guises : Creative Visualisation, The Power of Positive Thinking, How to Make Friends and Influence People, Cosmic Ordering, and even in astrology we have New Moon Wish Lists. These are but a few examples which spring immediately to mind - and now we have "The Secret". A whole industry has sprung up, ostensibly advising people how to enjoy their lives more.

The message, or "secret", in all of the above can be distilled to two words "think positive!" For some of us this is sufficient, and a natural part of our makeup. Others need to be coaxed and given confidence, helped by anecdotes, examples and illustrations. Still others just need someone to "flick the switch" for them, and a dormant natural tendency will come to the fore.

I got to thinking that our natal chart might well incline us to one of the above groups. I feel certain that anyone whose chart is weighted towards cardinality, is unlikely to be at the front of the queue (line, in American) buying self help literature. Likewise for anyone with an abundance of planets or sensitive points in fire signs. Most of us, though, are not so clearly defined. I'm not a great fan of this type of product, as Danny Glover often says in the "Lethal Weapon" films, "I'm too old for this shit!" I've managed to positively think myself this far, I'll probably be able to negotiate the last lap.

One of the most frequent criticisms of "The Secret" is that it concentrates on, and creates a materialistic mindset. There's a downside to everything. Perhaps in today's climate, materialism is the only thing strong enough to attract the attention of a great number of people. I did buy Jonathan Cainer's "Cosmic Ordering" book which, I was pleased to find, proved to be based mainly on non-materialistic goals. It's an enjoyable read and does not cost a lot.

In "The Strangest Secret" the accent was somewhat different. Mr Nightingale's aim was to inspire listeners to form a "worthwhile goal", imprint it in their mind by writing it down and repeating it every morning. They were then advised to work day by day, without fail, towards that goal, and to keep the goal in mind in every small decision, every minor action, every day.

To my mind, "working every day towards that goal" is the key in this endeavour. If you don't follow through with THAT, nothing will happen - trust me ! It's in the small print of this, and every other "Secret".