Tag: the book The Secret

When ABC News interviewed me for their upcoming show on the pros and cons of positive thinking and the Law of Attraction, one of their questions was, “Why are there so many self-help books?”

Apparently a published skeptic felt that if self-help books really worked, we wouldn’t need so many of them.

Does that make sense to you?

Consider —

With all the cookbooks in the world, there will always be more published, guaranteed. With all the books on psychology, or sales, or aviation, or pottery, or martial arts, or law, or religion, or marketing, or sports, or politics, or parenting, or skepticism, or – well, name any category – there will always be more books.

That doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the books already published. It doesn’t mean there’s a problem with the fields themselves, either. It means people are still growing and learning, discovering and sharing.

But somehow with self-help, it’s not accepted.

I find that odd.

I’ve spent most of the day reading Richard Wiseman’s book, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot. It’s mis-titled, as you can’t read much of it in 59 seconds. Still, it’s an excellent book. It’s research-based self-help. It’s packed with study after study proving or disproving concepts taught in the self-help movement. You should read it.

Side note: It’s interesting that scientific studies in the filed of psychology don’t usually come to any definitive conclusions. In other words, the studies indicate results may “suggest” a particular pattern or insight, but they don’t guarantee it. Even the so-called Law of Reciprocity can’t be guaranteed to work all the time.  When you give something to someone, it’s no guarantee they’ll give you anything in return. Still, authors call it a “law” when they don’t allow any leeway for the Law of Attraction. In short, read the psychological studies as entertainment but test their conclusions in your own life. After all, a different study done with a different audience may indicate a different result. Or so it appears to suggest.

But isn’t 59 Seconds yet another self-help book?

Since it has the blessing of science behind it, it tends to be “allowed” as a self-help book, even by the skeptics.

Do you see the illogical nature of this?

I love self-help and success literature. If it weren’t for those books, and my taking action on what I read, I’d still be unknown, unpublished and unhappy.

One night I watched a documentary on happiness. An author being interviewed (I don’t recall his name) said over 70% of the people who change on their own, without therapy or a coach, do so because of a self-help book.

When celebrity fitness model Jennifer Nicole Lee visited me for the Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind (which ABC News filmed) she asked me, “How did you get into self-help?”

I replied, “Because I needed help.”

I told ABC News that neither I nor any self-help author I know set out to write more than one book on self-help. It’s the readers who ask for them. It’s the market that demands more. We simply supply what they request.

When I wrote The Attractor Factor, I never considered I’d write The Key or Zero Limits after it. Neither was in my mind.

And lord knows I never intended to write my recent book, Attract Money Now. That came as a result of my seeing so many people struggling. I even decided to give the digital version of the book away, for free, to help them.

I’m proud to be a self-help author. I don’t plan to write any more books, but I never thought I’d be the author of fifty books, either. (Yes, fifty.)

The point: When you need help, consider books. Yes, there are plenty to choose from. But that’s why restaurants have more than one special. Each person is different. Each desires and feels best with a particular approach.

Books that have helped me include —

The Book of est

The Magic of Believing

Think and Grow Rich

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Why Is This Happening to Me…Again?

The Dark Side of the Light Chasers

What self-help books have made a difference in your life?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Studies suggest that if you read my new book, Attract Money Now, you’ll learn how to use the Law of Attraction to attract something you might need in your life: money.

Last Thursday ABC News sent journalist Dan Harris to my home to interview me about everything from the movie The Secret to the Law of Attraction to James Ray to the entire self-help movement. Along the way we took a ride in my Rolls-Royce Phantom and talked about masterminding, attracting money now, and more. It was quite “the day.”

This was ABC News’ second visit. They were here in January to film the entire Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind with fitness celebrity Jennifer Nicole Lee.

Being filmed in a Rolls-Royce with a gorgeous fitness model at your side is a lot different than being interviewed by a sharp mainstream TV news reporter. TV journalists can be pushy and confrontational, and you never know what they’ll ask, all while a video camera is recording your every word and expression. These interviews are often called “firing lines” for a good reason.

Dan Harris is an exception. Oh, he asked the tough questions and he kept firing questions at me, but I could see he’s a caring man with a sincere curiosity about life and people. And I had of course Googled him before he arrived and knew he is passionate about indy music as well as journalism. I saw that he is an exceptional man with an amazing ability to ask questions under pressure. I liked him. Still do.

Still, most of his questions came from a basic belief that money is bad. “You actually charge $5,000 for your Rolls-Royce Mastermind?” Yes, and I’ll be raising the price in March. “You sleep at night selling self-help books?” Of course. I’m helping people and offering solutions to their woes. “You help people to attract millions of dollars?” Actually, I help them to attract money now. “You’re OK marketing all the time?” I’m not marketing, I’m offering.

And so it went. It occurred to me later that I should have asked if ABC News charged their advertisers, and if they slept well knowing they were selling questionable drugs (with side effects such as possible death), etc. I also wondered if the interviewer got paid for sitting around and asking me questions. And doesn’t ABC News promote/market their upcoming TV shows all day long?

It’s so easy to be a critic.

The interview was from a Stage One perspective, as explained in The Awakening Course. It was all about “Who’s the victim?” and “Who’s to blame?” The other three stages of awakening, and certainly Zero Limits, could never be understood on this first level, where the interview took place.

The ABC News TV show will air in May, if not sooner. It’ll be an hour long special on positive thinking. They’ll have people against it (believe it or not) and they’ll have people for it (like me). They’re also interviewing Rev. Michael Beckwidth and Bob Proctor. On the nay side, they’ll talk with Bright-Sided author Barbara Ehremreich and Sham! author Steve Salerno.

You and I will have to wait to see how ABC edits the show. Meanwhile, I wanted to mention a brief moment Dan Harris and I had after the interview in my office.

Since Dan is deep into music (he’s also a drummer), I told him about my Alien Guitar. He asked to see some of the videos Nerissa and I created where I reveal the alien guitar to the person on camera but not to the camera/viewer. He laughed as he watched one of the clips. I offered to show the alien guitar to him while we filmed the moment but he said it might look like he was promoting it.

I then told him that my master strategy was to get a buzz going and then go on David Letterman to show and play the Alien Guitar. I told him I wanted to wait and get people really talking first.

“I wouldn’t wait,” Dan said. “I’d contact Letterman right now.”

“You would?”

“Sure. His show needs so much content that they’ll latch onto this right away.”

I paused as I considered his advice. Then something dawned on me.

I looked at Dan and said, “You know what you just did with me?”

Dan looked at me and asked, “Encourage you?”

“Yep. That’s what we do in the self-help movement.”

Dan nodded, letting it seep in.

“We listen for the latent desire already in a person and then encourage them to take action to make it real,” I explained. “Just like you did with me.”

I wish that moment had been filmed. It demonstrated what self-help and coaching is really all about.

Again, we won’t know what the entire ABC News show will be like until they edit it and air it in May. (Nerissa filmed the entire interview on her flip cam, so we can match their editing with what was actually recorded.) I think the show will be great. After all, I’m thinking positive.

As for now, I’m grateful to have met Dan Harris and attracted ABC News here. It could mean an appearance on David Letterman, with my alien guitar, will happen soon.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — Learn all about self-help, Law of Attraction, The Secret and much more in my Miracles Coaching program. Just click right here.

According to the results of a survey I just sent to my database, the number one thing people want to know is how to attract more money using the Law of Attraction. With that in mind, here are a few choice quotes to stimulate your thinking/attracting:

“The sole purpose of money is to express appreciation.” – Arnold Patent, Money

Think about it. When you write a check to pay a bill, do you grumble and complain, or do you feel grateful for whatever service you received? I admit for the longest time I would feel lousy when I paid my bills. Now I don’t. Per Patent’s insight, when you feel appreciation, you begin to attract more to appreciate. To attract money, appreciate money and what it brings you.

“Middle-class people talk about things that came from a millionaire’s idea.” – Keith Cameron Smith, The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class

I love that quote, too. It makes me stop and think. Whenever I find myself talking about some product or service I greatly admire  — such as a Bugatti Veyron super car worth over a million dollars — I stop and remind myself that it was just an idea. Someone created it. I’m now desiring it. But if you step back and look at the creative process, it was somebody with a dream, who took action, that got me and everyone else talking. To attract money, be the doer of what others talk about.

‘You have no idea what’s going on, but you’re in charge.” – Guy Monroe, Austin Vocal Lab

That quote might seem out of place in the world of attracting money, but consider: most of your life is directed by your unconscious. Ultimately, you have no idea what’s happening, or why. Yet in the midst of the seeming chaos is a captain who can steer the ship through the storm. That captain is you. When you declare where you want to go, you direct the ship, the crew, and the sail to go in that direction. This applies to money, too. Who’s in charge of your money, anyway?

“Prosperity allows us to turn our attention to more transcendent matters – to yearn for lives not just of material comfort but of meaning, balance, and joy.” – Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

I love Gretchen’s book, The Happiness Project, and encourage you to read it. For now, her insight about money being a tool to elevate your thinking and desires is right on the money (no pun intended). When you think of money as bad or materialistic, you limit how much you can attract; but when you realize money is a symbol and a ticket to a higher state of being, you open the doors to attract all you’ll allow.

Just food for thought…

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — You can still learn how to attract money via the law of attraction with my latest book, Attract Money Now, which you can still read for free by clicking on the below banner:

Fitness model Jennifer Nicole Lee was one of the most recent people to attend my private Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind.

Why would an already successful woman who’s been featured on Oprah, has a top infomercial selling her Ab-Circle Pro fitness product, is on the cover of hundreds of magazines, is seen on Home Shopping Network on TV, and has a brand new bestselling book out, want to spend time having dinner and conversation with me?

As Jennifer told me as we met for the first time and got inside my Rolls-Royce Phantom, “I could talk over coffee with friends at Denny’s, but what’s that? I want to go to the next level in my life and business. I want to brainstorm with Dr. Joe!”

We had an exhilarating time talking, brainstorming, eating (she ate almost all of her 20 oz Vitale Steak), drinking, laughing and riding around in the lap of luxury.

I loved being with Jennifer. Of course, what’s not to love? She’s fun, smart, sexy, high energy, upbeat, and dedicated to self-improvement.

She came with luggage. Not the emotional kind but the travel kind. What was in her bags? All my books and audios, which she wanted me to sign.

Clearly, this woman knows what it takes to succeed. She already transformed her life by losing 70 pounds and winning bikini contests and getting everyone to notice her, including Oprah.

But she’s not stopping there. She’s reading, growing, doing and more. She came to me for help in reaching the next level in her career, and help is what she got.

What did Jennifer say at the end of our evening together?

“My Rolls Royce Master Mind Experience with Dr. Joe Vitale positively cannot be expressed in words! It was beyond this world! Just in the first 15 minutes I got so many amazing prosperity ideas and concepts that will definitely help me increase my abundance and joy in life. Dr. Joe Vitale is someone who you must master mind with to take your entire life to the next level.”

One of the reasons Jennifer is already so successful is she takes action.

She told me repeatedly that when she reads my books or listens to my audios, and she gets an idea, she jumps. She moves. She makes it so.

It was no different with her attending the Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind.

She heard about it, checked it out, and then booked it to make it happen.

I generally only offer one Rolls-Royce Mastermind a month. But these days I’m doing almost one a week.

When you’re ready to jump to the next level, contact my office for dates and more information. Just email my assistant Suzanne at suzanne @ mrfire.com. You may also call my office at 512-278-1610. Or see https://www.mrfire.com/phantom

Are you ready?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — ABC News filmed the entire evening with Jennifer and I for a news show that will air on national TV later. That was unusual, as all the other masterminds are private, but it shows that SOMETHING BIG is happening during these Rolls-Royce Phantom Masterminds.

Note: Jennifer Nicole Lee’s website is at www.jennifernicolelee.com Her new book, which I wrote the foreword to, is in book stores now and of course at Amazon. It’s great. Get it.

Forget resolutions.

They’re usually based on magical thinking, wishful thinking, and lack any real commitment or plan.

We’re already weeks into the new year and you’ve probably already forgotten your resolutions.

Well, so has everyone else. Welcome to the club.

That’s why resolutions are for wimps.

A better choice is to attract your new reality with what I call Positive Predictions.

It’s a fun and creative exercise that allows you to visualize the future, contemplate unlimited possibilities, and actually begin to attract the new reality to you.

Of course, all too often individuals fixate on negative future predictions. 1984, Y2K and 2012, are just a few of the dates that come to mind. It seems there’s always an apocalyptic event looming on the horizon. Unfortunately, when these dates come and go without incident, they are quickly replaced by new, even more menacing predictions. Ho hum.

There’s a better way. Instead of imaging a doom and gloom scenario, let’s imagine a happy and prosperous one. Let’s make 2010 the year of Positive Predictions. For example, here’s a sampling of the Positive Predictions I’ve added to my list for 2010:

Buoyed largely by the creative ideas of marketers, inventors and entrepreneurs, the United States explodes out of the current recession by harnessing several new technologies. People experience prosperity again!

Alternative sources of energy and innovative automobile technologies begins to reach a level of critical mass, resulting in dramatically lower demand for fossil fuels. We exit 2010 at an average price of $1.90 per gallon of gas — and falling.

I climbed to the top of my 15 foot climbing rope with my arms only and it becomes an inspiring YouTube video.

My free book Attract Money Now is translated into every major language, is downloaded by tens of millions of people worldwide, and becomes a New York Times bestseller after a publisher pays me a huge seven-figure advance for the rights to it.

Operation Yes makes a major impact in ending homelessness in America.

I launched the first ever Billionaire Bugatti Mastermind.

The Attract Miracles Community reaches critical mass and transforms the planet with a single thought projected around the world – by thought alone.

I went on David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart’s TV shows, showing my incredible Alien Guitar.

My hydrogen-gas super car, The Scorpion was delivered mid-year and got front page news across the world as the first truly sexy environmentally friendly muscle car. I love that car!

As you can see, this exercise is exciting. You might also note the “predictions” are written as if they are after-the-fact reports. It’s based on a process I call “Nevillizing,” named after famed mystic Neville Goddard. I discuss the practice of “Nevillizing” your goals in both The Attractor Factor and more recently in Attract Money Now.

“Nevillizing your goal” is imagining or visualizing what life would be like if your goal were already achieved today. The objective is to make an emotional connection to your future. You pretend it has already happened. This allows your subconscious mind to believe it’s possible, as well as to program the Universe to bring that vision into your reality.

Neville himself said —

“There is only one cause, and that is consciousness. Your consciousness is the center from which your world mirrors and echoes the state you presently occupy.”

Consider the act of making a prediction. Generally, meaningful predictions require that you step out of your comfort zone and take a risk. I’m not talking about unimportant predictions that anyone can make. I’m talking about “worthy” predictions that make your subconscious mind take notice and say “Wow, this guy/gal isn’t fooling around!”

Contrast this to the standard practice of creating New Year’s resolutions. If you are like many individuals, you may write down a list of resolutions for the year. This ritual has become so routine that very little emotion if any permeates to the subconscious. Not to mention there’s virtually no personal accountability tied to the resolution.

Need proof?

You need look no further than your local health-club or gym. I’d be willing to wager that most are bursting at the seams with new members. Check back with these same clubs in July and you’ll notice that their attendance has dropped back to late 2009 levels.

Generally, resolutions are easy to forget or dismiss. However, Nevillized Positive Predictions have much stronger emotional ties and longevity. They will begin the process of attracting a new reality based on the Law of Attraction and the power of intention.

So here’s my personal challenge to you: Create a list of Positive Predictions. Do it today. Right now.

Have fun with it. Like mine, some can focus on world events. Others can be personal challenges that really stretch your boundaries. If you have already created a list of resolutions, you can easily convert them into predictions. Just remember to make them worthy. And be sure to write them as if they already happened. And record your excitement.

A great way to ensure that your Positive Predictions become a reality is through Mastermind Groups and Personal Coaching. Both can provide the necessary accountability, access to creative ideas, and insights to make your wildest predictions come true.

Here’s something most people don’t know:

Years ago I walked into my Mastermind Group at the time and stated that I wanted to be in a movie. Not just any movie, and not as some fly on the wall. I wanted a noteworthy part.

At the time I had no movie experience or connections. But I stated my goal and let my Mastermind Group support my intention with their good thoughts.

That’s it.

I didn’t try to get an acting job.

I didn’t send out resumes or sexy photos of myself.

I just waited, expecting my miracle, and ready to take action when inspiration or opportunity appeared.

Three months later a woman named Rhonda Byrne read my book, The Attractor Factor, and called me, asking if I’d like to be in her movie, called The Secret.

The rest, as they say, is history.

This is the power of Positive Predictions, Mastermind Groups, and Personal Coaching.

There are many excellent coaching programs available. Take for example, my Miracles Coaching program – we’ve helped hundreds of individuals both formulate and achieve their goals and predictions over the last four years.

The Joe Vitale Miracles Coaching will provide you with a personal coach that can help custom tailor a formula to achieve your goals. Also, you will have access to well over 100 courses and supporting curriculum. This is the perfect way to kick-start your 2010.

Or consider my Rolls-Royce Phantom Mastermind. This is an ideal venue if you’re interested in personalized brainstorming and strategizing as you ride in the lap of luxury. Many have found this to be the perfect catalyst for developing inspired ideas. (ABC News is covering the one I’m doing this Monday with Jennifer Nicole Lee.) Furthermore, the Phantom Mastermind may be a prerequisite for those wanting to attend the Billionaire Bugatti Mastermind. 🙂

Whatever you decide, remember to “Dare Something Worthy.”

Your future begins right now.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Heads up: There’s just one seat remaining for my January 21st Phantom Mastermind. I predict that the individual that fills this slot will have an inspired 2010. Call my office for other dates in 2010 or just click right here.