The Truths of "The Secret"

I just finished reading an article on the CNN web site about the the phenomenon of The Secret DVD and book series. The complaint by some therapists and other experts was that the book promoted a "blame the victim" mentality and does not look at the roles of free will and action on the part of the individual.

I was at my friend Shari's house a couple of months ago and watched the DVD with a couple of her other girlfriends. I'm not a big self-help kind of person or one who by most standards would be considered mystical or spiritual. But I actually saw a great deal of truth that I do apply to my own life in "The Secret."

As many of you already have read, my nephew Andrew will attend American Idol Camp and the Dance Theatre of Harlem Summer Intensive in July and August. The Idol Camp was a very competitive situation in that only 700 kids out of thousands of applicants have been accepted. In Andrew' case, there was the additional need for a scholarship to cover the $3,000 cost.

An interesting -- and to me, puzzling -- question kept coming up, especially by the producers of The Today Show: Did Andrew and I really believe that he could rise to the top and be accepted to the camp? This, to me, said more about the mindset of the producers than it did about the reality of getting into the camp. I think part of what made Andrew and me successful in this venture was our unwavering belief that there was no reason why he couldn't be the 700th camper -- if not No. 1. The success was two-fold. It rested on Andrew's talent and experience, of which we already had proof, and my abilities as a writing coach who has been extremely successful in obtaining grants, fellowships and awards for myself and others. In other words, our success was, indeed, a combination of belief and action.

When I told my friend Leslie about the camp, she remarked that everything I touch turns to gold. My mother and others have made similar remarks. It's funny, but I know it's not really that way. Though I may have a high success rate, the law of averages dictates that some of my quests will be unsuccessful. And in most instances, I, like most people, don't broadcast my failures. I also don't dwell on them long enough to remember what most of them are. I just move on to the next goal.

The most important part of The Secret is understanding that we all have some extraordinary, marketable abilities. The vision, of which The Secret speaks, is in my opinion should be coupled with perseverance. If people can't envision freedom or wealth or happiness, they hardly will be able to take the steps to achieve these goals.

I didn't really see how The Secret blames the victim, but I do believe that our ability to achieve our desires rests only with ourselves. For many "victims" their worst enemies often are themselves, and shifting to a positive outlook can change not only how they feel but also their rate of personal success.