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Currently viewing:: 2007 > August > 30 > That book.

That book.

'The Secret' is irrelevant to professional and effective ethical Network Marketing.

In Issue 1 we featured a sensible piece from Gregg Thompson in which he sidesteps 'that book' and suggests success comes from labor, not the cosmos. Here's a far-less forgiving view.

My view on The Secret? I side with much of the criticism it's had from the mainstream press… driven by emotions rather than logic, much of it is at-best misleading and at-worst potentially dangerous.

Wishful thinking is fine, but in the real world that promise of everything-is-yours-to-have calls for some common sense tempering with '…you may face some pain along the way—nothing comes easy'.

'Pseudo-scientific, psycho-spiritual babble? Pernicious drivel?' No, not entirely. The underlying notions of 'thinking positively serves you better than thinking negatively' have been commonplace for decades and make good sense—considered appropriately. But, and it's a very large 'but', there's an increasing tendency to lock-onto 'believe and receive' as a universal solution and substitute for doing anything real (like 'work') toward the desired outcome.

Sure, you gotta have your head together and a positive mindset is essential—but please don't lose sight of reality and get sucked down the rabbit-hole. There's a point at which self-improvement becomes self-delusion… The Secret crosses that line at speed and keeps on going.

So… Rhonda Byrne 'took the well-worn ideas of some self-help gurus, customized them for the profoundly lazy, and gave them a veneer of mysticism…' from which she's becoming extremely wealthy. I have no problem with that. What does trouble me though is the facile duplicity by which those who know better manipulate those who don't.

A focus of wealth enhancement—fixating on a narrow range of middle-class concerns—houses, cars, vacations, followed by health and relationships, with the rest of humanity a very distant sixth and 'using ancient wisdom to acquire material goods' is one thing.

Quite another is the 'treatment of victims'… whereby 'those subject to catastrophe are the authors of their own misfortunes' and 'not just blame people for their illness, but to shun them, lest you start being affected by their bummer thoughts, too' is simply ethically deplorable. Totally unacceptable to any thinking decent folk, we should be ashamed to even give it headroom.

So then, a 'moronic hymn to greed and selfishness—a creed so transparently ugly and stupid that it seems impossible that anyone could take it seriously'? Or [insert positive life-enhancing term of your choice—hype optional]?

Personally, I'm with Einstein (one of Byrne's favorites, although this quote doesn't make it into The Secret): 'Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.'

And, on a business-oriented note… rather than downloading and printing the 'universe owes me' blank check to pin on your wall which comes with the book, I'm thinking the time, effort (and purchase price of The Secret) can be better utilized in buying and reading some sensible business books.

Filed by g on August 30 2007

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