If you know the roots of self improvement, you are aware that the teachings in the vastly popular The Secret DVD are based on prior works that have been out there for decades. Sometimes, you need to “freshen” up the information so that it becomes more appealing to a newer generation, and I think that The Secret has done that masterfully. However, were you aware of the story of the secret that existed way before The Secret? It’s a very interesting one!

Earl Nightingale was running a sales team in Chicago back in 1956. Every week, he would give them pep talks to motivate them and help them perform better. One week, Nightingale was to be away, and his staff of salespeople weren’t too pleased that they wouldn’t get a talk that week, as they became dependent on them. His solution was to create an audio recording to be played while he was away.

Nightingale’s inspiration for that recording apparently happened while he was sleeping. He suddenly woke up, rushed to his desk and typed it up. It’s incredible the ideas that can come out of our sleep. I know I have had many ideas and concepts that came to me while I was sleeping. Imagine if we could remember everything that passes through our head during sleep! As you see, even with the very little percentage that we do in fact remember, magic can be found in it.

When Nightingale played the recording for his staff, they were mesmerized by it. Soon, his office was hounded by tons of people on the outside for copies, as the staff shared their experience with everyone they knew. The simplicity yet power that it contains was something that really touched people back then, and even in our generation today, that same ideology within The Secret has made a tremendous impact in our society.

Before there was “The Law of Attraction”, another equally powerful phrase existed, which came out of that famous recording: “You Become What You Think”. Basically, your thoughts have a strong influence on your actions, which have an immediate effect on your life. As simple as this seems, why is it so complicated for so many people to do it?

Such people with these victim-like, pity “poor me” attitudes never seem to grasp the power of such a statement. How can something so simple solve something so seemingly complex? Truth is, no problem or issue is complex, merely your interpretation of it appears complex to you. Change your perception, change your world (one of my favorite sayings by the way!)

It’s logic pure and simple. If you think that you are unlucky, and that you were dealt bad cards for this lifetime, and that you have a life of constant struggle, this will be your reality, and it will not change. The ones that do make it out of their struggles are the ones that have initiated this change in their thought pattern. They “get it”. They can visualize themselves in a better position, which then puts the wheels in motion for it to actually happen.

Your thoughts are the foundation. Whatever else that is built upon that foundation will be a direct result of it. If the foundation is terrible, how can you expect something solid that will last? It won’t happen, and then you will be back at square one.

We’ve all been there. Negative thoughts has happened in all our heads. We are humans after all. Although, we can learn from our experience and mistakes, and make sure that what we feed our psyche is nothing but the best quality. It’s a choice. Your mind doesn’t care what you feed it, it will take it. It is your responsibility to ensure that what you feed it is the best choice possible. In the video I am about to point you to, a great analogy is made with the human mind and the land.

Earl Nightingale’s famous recording ended up selling over 1 million copies and became the first spoken-word recording to go gold. It was called The Strangest Secret, which I find appropriate because it is strange that something so simple still cannot be fully understood by all of us! In any event, this ideology has influenced pretty much every other teachings on the topic of self improvement that came afterwards, it’s that enlightening. See for yourself in this sample of the recording:
The Strangest Secret

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4 Comments

  1. Frederic: I agree with your sentiment. I can understand John’s repulsion of self-centered, money driven self-help gurus, albeit not where the strength of his convictions comes from. Bad experience? Based on his comment, I doubt John had ever consulted or invested in one of their programs. I never watched The Secret, although I have read reviews. My understanding is, they’ve simply summed up a lot of sources into a handy, dandy guide. What’s the harm in that (if I have it right)? I started i-sorcerer last month, because I found the sources and references helpful in my own life. I’d like to make some passive income off the site, eventually. I’m not ashamed of that, nor do I now or ever think of myself as a guru.

    Next week I’m starting a 5 Part series on Creative Intelligence. It is essentially a “how to” implement the awareness that is discussed in Book 1. Here’s a take from Part 1:
    What would happen if we lost our attachment to who we think we are, and what we think? Wouldn’t we ‘see’ who we really are? Not only that what we previously thought was transient, ever-changing, but that our true essence which is doing the observing is both unchanging and pure intelligence. Who we are, in other words, is creative intelligence. It isn’t constrained by any self-concept. It doesn’t need to struggle to achieve anything at all. It is pure energy, as is everything else.
    I think it somewhat supports John’s contention of using what we already have within us. Instead of common sense, however, I’d call it tapping into source, and the reason to tap into source, is to discover, utilize and enjoy our creative intelligence.

    Cory

    Reply
  2. Hi John,

    I kept your comment unedited because I would like to see how others respond to it.

    I see your point of view. Alot of self improvement is driven by money and not about truly helping people. There are good and bad in every industry.

    However, even if these concepts have been around for ages, such as the Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale as I mentioned in this post, coming out over 50 years ago, have an impact in someone’s life, who’s to say that it is wrong?

    I have been critical of The Secret in the past because I felt that they didn’t push the fact that you have to take action, not just spend your time visualizing. I know tons of people that have been changed by The Secret, so if it helped people, even if it is a concept that is obvious and been around for years, what’s the harm in it?

    Most tv shows are the same rehash of other shows! That doesn’t mean you can’t find it funny or entertaining. Also, I don’t think self help material makes you dependent on them. On the contrary, most of the self improvement I have come across actually pushes you to take action and think for yourself. But hey, that is just my opinion on this.

    Would love to hear what others have to say about this.

    Reply
  3. The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.

    Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts” who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!” All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.

    The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act… this is the definition of a cult.

    The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness” is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.

    Please, let’s all work together to stop the flock of “sheepeople” who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life’s challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!

    Reply
  4. The Secret is the latest and by far the worst example of a HIGHLY profitable trend where self-help gurus with fabricated new age titles and little relevant education, credentials or legitimate expertise brainwash us into believing that they know what is best for us, our marriages and our families.

    Often their only contribution to society is introducing some exotic sounding, new age philosophy. However, they often cleverly form an incestuous group of like-minded “experts” who cross-promote each other by swearing their success is due to following the beliefs of another member of their “cult!” All the while, they ply the airwaves jockeying for an ever-larger audience by appearing in the national media to garner third-party endorsements.

    The Self-Help Movement has become the Self-Destruct Movement by diminishing or destroying our critical thinking skills to choose and evolve on our own. We have given up the freedom to build healthy lives, marriages and families based on our unique history and life experience. Instead many victims, blinded to the value of their own life experiences, are attracted to the latest secret in self-help, in an attempt to find out what they should think, feel and how they should act… this is the definition of a cult.

    The solution is a return to our (common) senses! The best way out of this learned “self-helplessness” is to go cold turkey. Stop following ALL self-help gurus now. Begin, instead, to reclaim your natural, God-given ability to think for yourself. The common sense that was once readily available to all of us is still there free of charge and waiting to be applied to just about any challenge we might face in life… all you have to do is use it.

    Please, let’s all work together to stop the flock of “sheepeople” who blindly move from one UNPROVEN concept to the next, looking for the answers to life’s challenges that you already possess and that is the OBVIOUS!

    Reply

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