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"What are you thinking now is creating your future life."

The Secret: This is completely different from what I was expecting. I had hoped this to be a regular self-help book or a philosophy book, but it never felt like belonging to either of the two. For me, it felt like a concoction of self-help, spirituality, psychology, philosophy and a little bit of business too. It was obvious from the very beginning, that this is not the kind of book that will get a lot of mid-range reviews. Most readers are going to go with either 1-star or 5-star ratings, which means you either love it or hate it, not in-between.

"Whatever you sow, you reap! Your thoughts are seeds, and the harvest you reap will depend on the seeds you plant."

Let's talk the good first. The content of the book is as simple as it could get. The author uses a perfectly simple style of writing, and nothing is complex. But what standout the most, is the enormous amount of quotes from other books and authors. It did take some getting used to, but I have no complaints about that. Everything attempts to shift one's attitude toward establishing a positive mindset, to practice the adaptation of The Secret. Byrne goes above and beyond to let the principles sink in by repeating the contents all over the book, but that is not that unusual in spirituality/ philosophy reads. If you had expected this to be a spiritual or positive thinking kind of book, you're most likely to love it. Importance of having the mind filled of positive, constructive thoughts is explained very elaborately, while delivering a meditative/ relaxing reading experience.

"Time is just an illusion. Einstein told us that."

However, the main concept: The Secret - it's where all the controversy would probably start. If you have read Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, or Power of your subconscious mind by Murphy, or Peale's Power of Positive Thinking, and found them helpful, you'll feel right at home from the start. Byrne proceeds along the same set of principles - or a combination of them - but the emphasis on the 'unforeseeable force' is lot stronger. But if you have not read anything similar, or hated aforementioned books, this book is not for you in my opinion. The inherent limitation to The Secret is that, there's no way to logically explain the mechanism. Books like Think and Grow Rich, or Power of Your Subconscious Mind do attempt to shift the reader's pre-conceived opinions profoundly (which was the case with me) - either with logic or strong examples - but The Secret relies entirely on reader's acceptance of the principles without argument. This is going to be a deal-breaker for a lot of rational readers.

"You cannot harm another with your thoughts, you only harm you."

As for me... I didn't hate it. Hadn't I gone through Hawking's simplified explanations of quantum mechanics, or the books I've mentioned before, I probably wouldn't have found the content believable at all. I mean, the book itself did not feel capable of shifting the reader's already accepted beliefs. But, after Hawking's Grand Design and Briefer History of time, where he explained how 'thoughts' do change past and future according to quantum mechanics in a very interesting way, I find myself unwilling to disregard these concept entirely. Also, Dr. Murphy's Power of Your Subconscious Mind - one of my favorite books - approached some of the principles outlined in The Secret much more scientifically, which had shifted some of my views previously. So, for me, this was a 3.5-star read. But the end of the day - even with all this being said - if and when you pick this book, I still think you're either going to hate it or love it - nothing in-between.

"What quantum physicists and Einstein tell us is that everything is happening simultaneously. If you can understand that there is no time, and accept that concept, then you will see that whatever you want in the future already exists."