The secret to success that works like magic

What do you think the 3Ds is all about?
Read on and make a guess.

The most important thing to remember ... are the three Ds! ... Destination, Determination, Deliberation!

Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination ... Concentrate on your destination now.

Step two: focus your determination to occupy the visualised space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!

Step three: Move, without haste, but with deliberation.


What did you say? This is the secret to success?
You bet!
You can achieve anything with the 3 Ds!

Use your mouse to click and drag on the gray space below to see where I picked it up from. You will be amazed ...

The above extract is from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The actual passage goes something like this ...

'The important things to remember when Apparating are the three Ds!' said Twycross, 'Destination, Determination, Deliberation!'

For non-Harry Potter fans, Apparition is a magical method of transportation. One needs to focus on a desired location in their mind, then disappear from their current location and instantly reappear at the destination.

Damage done by self-help books

Those who follow by blog closely would, by now, have noticed that I am not taken by the secrets offered in The Secret (see here, for example).

Now comes the news that self-help mantras can leave some people actually unhappy. People who are low on self-esteem will end up feeling worse when the repeat self-affirming statements. It works only for people who already have a a high self-esteem. This is based on the study conducted by Joanne Wood, John Lee and Elaine Perunovic.

Question: Why would people with high-self esteem want to repeat self-affirming statements?

The Origins of The Secret

In The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, in the introduction writes:

I'd been given the glimpse of a Great Secret - The Secret to life. The glimpse came in a hundred-year old book, given to me by my daughter Hayley.

Does any one know the name of this "hundred-year old book"?

I find it kind of strange that this book (or for that matter, its author) is not acknowledged.

There are, of course, four possibilities. The section on Biographies at the back of the book, The Secret are 4 dead people (the rest are alive and kicking!). These are:

Genevieve Behrend, who wrote Your Invisible Power and Attaining Your Heart's Desire
Charles Haanel, who wrote The Master Key System (believed to be the secret of Bill Gates's riches - aaah! Now you are interested! Aren't you?)
Prentice Mulford, who wrote Thoughts Are Things and The White Cross Library
Wallace Wattles, who wrote The Science of Getting Rich

So, which one is it?
I think, not explicitly acknowledging the author of the book that is at the root of the phenomenal success of The Secret is ingratitude. Wouldn't you say?

'Fooled By Randomness' - an Antithesis to 'The Secret'.

The two books are as different as chalk and cheese (which is which - you decide). It should not be possible to compare the two. But interestingly they present diametrically opposite thesis.

Given its iconoclastic image, it is not surprising that Fooled By Randomness(FBR), it is not surprising that it beats down everything The Secret stands for.

The Secret is about controlling your destiny by mere thoughts. FBR insists that success is entirely random.

The Secret presents evidences of successful people who have become successful by using, well, the secret. FBR insists that "luck is democratic and hits everyone regardless of original skills" and so there is no secret there.

The Secret quotes the Buddha and confirms "All that we are is the result of what we thought." FBR debunks this: "past event will always look less random that they were ..." and that people just back fit explanations to justify their present.

The central theme of The Secret is that if you follow the secret you will achieve what you desire, rest is incidental. The central theme of FBR is that hard work, discipline, persistence are necessary but not sufficient conditions for success.

The Secret sells you a dream. FBR brings you down to earth. If the Secret works then FBR will attribute it to pure luck.

I think I will make it a hobby to compare books of different genres.

The Secret is a Rip Off

At least that is what comes to mind when you read the The Secret. It is of course possible to come up with same idea presented in different ways. But someone who claims to have done so much research on the secret does not mention the once-upon-a-time bestseller Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill even once.

Don't believe me ... sample the following excerpts from Napolean Hill

"This book contains the secret, which has been put to practical test by thousands of people ..."

"There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it."

"Conduct yourself just as you would if you were already in possession of the material thing which you are demanding."

"Just as electricity will turn the wheels of industry and provide useful service if used constructively, or snuff out life if wrongly used ..."

I could go on and on.

Where does The Secret score and why is it on the best sellers list? It is slickly produced. Paints a broader stroke by including all aspects of life. And leans on quantum theory for support.

Whereas the Think and Grow Rich depends on outdated concepts like ether and focuses solely on making money.

I prefer Napolean Hill. At least it does not claim that success is easy ... The Secret seems to be peddling just that (though to be fair to The Secret they do allude to plan and effort - just hints of these thrown here and there).

Perhaps The Secret acknowledges Napolean Hill and somehow I missed it. Possible.