Three of my fellow Realtors have approached me about 'The Secret' in the last few weeks. For those of you who are busy during 'Oprah', this movie and book is the new self-help mantra that is part spiritualism, part hucksterism, and just another income stream for Oprah and her groupies who are selling the snake oil, DVDs and the artfully packaged book and associated products to a gullible, and sometimes desperate, public. Yes, the Universe is just waiting to make your personalized wish-list manifest, and if it doesn't, it is your fault. All of the answers are in the book and on the DVD, yes, The Secret itself is there, and if Oprah says it worked for her and it will work for you. Guaranteed. Sure.
I think Carolyn Burnham, the Realtor in the film 'American Beauty', used 'The Secret' to prep herself for her open house near the beginning of the movie. She used all of the techniques in 'The Secret'. Unfortunately, Annette Benning's portrayal was very close to completely accurate for far too many in the business.
The best batch of critical reviews can be found HERE. I really urge you to take a few moments to read it through, especially if you have fallen for this latest twist on the power of positive thinking. Here's a little snippet from Skeptico:
So, what is the big Secret?
The Secret is what they call the Law Of Attraction – the idea that you become or attract what you think about the most. Or as one person expressed it: “Thoughts become things.”
This is presented as a literal truth – a law just like the laws of gravitation. And it is stated that this: “Always works every time” Note: always. And every time. No exceptions. It’s a Law, you see.
Examples are given. A man is shown worrying about being late, and so he gets stuck in a traffic jam. Another man is shown locking up his bicycle, presumably because he is worried about it being stolen; he returns later to find it has been stolen. The absurdity of these examples should be obvious. Are we supposed to believe the traffic jam wouldn’t have happened if it were not for this one guy worrying about being late? And what about the other people in the traffic jam? Were they all thinking negative thoughts about being late? Were there no positive-minded people in the area, thinking about being on time? And if there were, doesn’t that debunk the “always works every time” mantra? And what about the guy getting his bike stolen? Are we to assume that if another guy had left an identical unlocked bike at the same location, the bike thief would still have stolen the locked bike of the person worried about theft? Has anyone done a controlled study on this? (Hey, these were the examples used in the film – don’t blame me if they make no sense.)
As with What The Bleep, it is implied that there is science behind these revelations. For example, there was this from the self-proclaimed "visionary" Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith:"It has been proven scientifically now that an affirmative thought is hundreds of times more powerful than a negative thought."
Really? Proven by which scientists? And written up where? Because I couldn’t find it.
Not a Law
Of course, the basic flaw in all this is that the Law Of Attraction is not a Law like the Law Of Gravitation that they compare it to. Newton’s Law’s can be demonstrated by anyone – drop an object and its acceleration will be exactly as the Law predicts. And this really does “always work every time” – that’s why it’s a Law. The “Law Of Attraction” as they call it just doesn’t work that way. Although having a positive attitude, being confident, believing in your own success etc is a definite advantage, and should be encouraged, having positive thoughts will not send out magic brainwave frequencies that change reality around you. This brainwave “magnetic signature” as one person called it, never goes out, any time. Not in the real world.
Take a look at the whole site. There is commentary on 'The Secret' from The LA Times, Newsweek, The Onion, Salon, and others.
One can dependably predict a tough year or more in real estate when these types of crazes sweep the industry. It happened in the early 90's, and it looks like deja vu all over again. Three of the major real estate companies in our local area have their core believers of the Waiting Genie, and my own company has a small but growing hive of buzz followers. It is kind of embarrassing. Let me give you a small dose of this altered reality...
If your house doesn't sell, it is because the seller and the agent didn't visualize the sale sincerely enough... never mind market forces such as proper pricing, condition, location, supply and demand... it was the negative thoughts themselves that were the cause. This is the corollary to The Secret's Law of Attraction, which is that if you visualize the buyer buying the house, it will happen.
Hocus Pocus. Smoke and Mirrors.
Now I don't want to offend those followers of the one and true path, but if you are one of the newly-minted faithful, aren't you a little old for the Tooth Fairy?
As for the regular people who want to buy a great home for the least amount possible, or for those sellers for whatever reason you have in selling, a piece of advice: If your real estate agent shows any inclination at all in this latest scheme called 'The Secret', it is time to switch agents and call me.
And speaking of switching agents...
I know people who have bought houses in the last couple of years at the very top of the market, who had agents then who slammed them into the homes and who sat idly by while predatory lenders screwed them over, who now are listing their homes that they now cannot afford with THOSE SAME AGENTS!!!
People, are you completely out of your minds???
Reality-based real estate. What a concept. Call me.
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