Has The Secret by Rhonda Byrne been sitting on your reading list? Pick up the key ideas in the book with this quick summary. They say you are what you eat, but according to The Secret, you are what you think. You have the ability to be whatever you dream of being, and the secret will tell you how to get there. Here, you’ll learn that the universe operates based on the law of attraction, and you can use that knowledge to your advantage, while working toward creating your dream life. In this book summary, you’ll also learn why negative thinking won’t get you anywhere, and that creating a positive environment can be achieved in just three simple steps. In this summary of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, you’ll discover

• how the secret is similar to quantum mechanics;
• why repeating “I can afford it” is a good thing; and
• why you shouldn’t fight for what you want.

The Secret Key Idea #1: The secret to life is the law of attraction.

Once upon a time, the author, Rhonda Byrne, was feeling unhappy and overworked. She came to the conclusion that there must simply be a better was to live. And she was right. Upon discovering old books such as The Science of Getting Rich, which was written in 1910, Byrne discovered that there was a secret law that governs the workings of the universe. Continuing her research, Byrne realized that poets like Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Blake, and philosophers like Goethe and Plato, as well as all the major religions, referenced one powerful law: the law of attraction. In fact, what she learned is that this law is the most powerful law in the universe: it informs every aspect of your life. The law of attraction states that what you put out into the universe is what you’ll receive in return. This means that if you’re full of frustration, anger, and negativity in your thoughts and emotions, you will only receive more bad things to be angry and frustrated about. Conversely, if you’re sending love, gratitude, and praise out into the universe, positive things will come your way. What you spend your time thinking about and feeling is what you’ll eventually attract. Furthermore, this secret – the law of attraction – is affecting your life right now, whether you know it or not. You’re actually able to measure the amount of negativity or positivity you’re releasing to the universe by reflecting on your current state. What occupies your mind the most will influence your state of being. If you spend most of your time thinking about things that will make you angry, sad, or disappointed, those negative thoughts will start to define your life. For example, if you spend most of your day worrying about debt, you’re pretty much guaranteed to stay in debt. The good news, however, is that you have the power to change it – and you can start right now!

The Secret Key Idea #2: The law of attraction doesn’t listen to “don’ts” but to the principles of quantum mechanics.

The main reason that people aren’t benefiting from the secret to life is this: they tend to focus too much on what it is they don’t want, rather than what they actually do want from life. But the law of attraction doesn’t comprehend “don’ts.” If you spend most of your day preoccupied with the thought “I don’t want to fail the exam,” you’re actually telling the universe “I want to fail the exam,” since “don’ts” aren’t recognized. Therefore, in order to change the way things are currently going, the message you send out has to be positive. You need to tell the universe what you do want, like: “I want to pass the exam,” or, “I want to live debt-free.”  It’s even better if you can be as exact as possible in what you want – “I want to live debt-free by the end of the year.” This same ideology can easily be applied to the larger phenomena that happen in the world. Instead of anti-war protests, there should be more pro-peace rallies. Rather than anti-drug campaigns, there should be a bigger focus on pro-sobriety. It’s important to focus our energy on what we do want, rather than what we don’t want. So since the law of attraction doesn’t work according to “don’ts,” how does it work? Well, the way it works is that it actually follows laws that are similar to those that quantum physics follows. When we dissect the universe to the point of getting it down to the very smallest and most fundamental level, we’re left with energy. Energy vibrates at certain frequencies, and when things vibrate on the same frequency, they’re actually drawn toward each other through natural attraction. Following this same logic, when you change the things you think about, you’re also changing the vibrations and frequencies of your thoughts, which, in turn can influence the nature of what is drawn to you. So, this means that the things you spend the most time thinking about will be your dominant frequency, and will therefore determine what the universe sends in your direction.

The Secret Key Idea #3: There are three steps to creating the universe you want to live in.

Your thoughts function like a TV transmission tower, broadcasting your every request to the universe. This simply means that if you don’t like what it is you’re receiving, you simply need to change your frequency! Or, another way to look at it is to picture your thoughts as seeds. The more positive thoughts you plant, the more positivity will grow in your life. In both scenarios, the message is the same: you are the creator of your universe, and you’ll be able to create the world and life that you want with three simple steps: The first step is to ask. Make sure that you’re clear about what you want and desire. The most effective method for ensuring that the universe knows what you want is to write down what you want according to a specific structure. Use the present tense and ask with gratitude, as if it’s already yours, like so: “I am grateful to have [insert your desire here].” It can be an experience, such as, “I am grateful to have a healthy mind and body.” Or perhaps, your wish may be a specific product or person – “I am grateful to own a new car,” or, “I am grateful to have a partner who treats me like an equal.” Picture asking the universe for what you desire as if you’re placing an order from the catalog of the universe. The next step is to believe. You have to approach your desire with unwavering faith, radiating confidence from that faith, which will allow the universe to receive the strongest possible signal. The final step is to receive. Receiving also has to do with sending out the right frequency through imagining the emotions you’ll experience once you do finally get what it is you desire. You could use a mantra to help simulate that feeling and repeat, “I am receiving now. I am receiving all the good in my life now. I am receiving [insert your desire here] now.” Through asking, believing, and then receiving, you’ll be able to create a positive environment through which achieving what you truly want will become possible.

The Secret Key Idea #4: A wealthy, healthy, and loving relationship requires visualization and a positive mindset.

Through an effort to ensure that positive thoughts are your most dominant ones, you might discover feelings of anxiety about negative thoughts that might threaten to show their faces. But you needn’t fret. Worrying about negative thoughts will only make them worse. Instead, letting that negativity pass without effort and focusing on the good instead is the most influential thing you can do to conquer these fears. For instance, if your desire is to be wealthy, make that the focus of your thoughts. Grab a pen and write, “I am grateful to earn one hundred thousand dollars a year.” So that you’re able to truly believe this statement and receive this positive thought, it’s important to visualize the end result. Visualization is key to helping you achieve anything, no matter what you ask for. So if you want to get wealthy, you could try printing out your bank statement, covering your current balance with white out and then writing down the amount you really want to have. Using visual aids will assist you in truly believing that you’ll be able to achieve what you want, and through doing this, the universe will make it possible for you to do so. It will redirect your thinking to the right frequency, as will repeating the phrase “I can afford it!” for the next 30 days when coming across things you hope to buy. Simply following this procedure will help with positive thinking in the same way that the belief that you deserve good things will. This is especially true for relationships. Remember to treat yourself and others as you would like to be treated by others. Through learning to love and respect yourself, you’ll soon discover that the universe will send you someone else to love. Unlike some more concrete wishes, love only actually exists in the emotional state, which means you’ll really only be able to conjure up this particular emotion within yourself. However, the more you think loving thoughts and send out positive vibes, the more likely the same good feelings will come back to you.

The Secret Key Idea #5: Thinking positively has the power to lead to weight loss and good health.

Think that our emotions have no impact on our health and weight? Think again. According to the author, in order to lose weight, it’s essential to stop thinking “fat thoughts” and rather, start thinking “thin thoughts.” There’s failure in so many diets because they tend to keep us focused on the negative:  “I don’t want to be fat.” This then leads to you thinking that food controls your body. Instead, it’s important to recognize that you shouldn’t spend your life worrying, and certainly not about each calorie of food you consume. Instead, you should realize that food doesn’t control your body – you do. In order to be one of those people who can eat what they want and not gain weight, it’s essential to stop worrying, and start thinking like those people. To get your ideal body, the first step is to ask for it. Then you need to believe and trust that you’ll reach that ideal body type. After that, you can receive and start feeling good about yourself and enjoying the moment. On top of that, having a healthy body that’s able to care for itself is also the result of your emotions. Many ailments derive from stress, which, in turn is caused by negative thinking, so you’ll actually be able to improve your overall well-being when you change the way you think. The author says that when someone truly believes that their body can cure itself, that simple belief will become reality, demonstrating the scientifically proven placebo effect. Another scientific fact of the human psyche is that the body is constantly cleaning out old cells and replacing them with new ones; this means that every three years, you have a completely new body. Remember this fact and recognize that the only thing keeping an illness around is that you continue to hold it in your thoughts.

The Secret Key Idea #6: You will live in harmony with the universe, so avoid resistance and recognize that you’re in control of your life.

Imagine that there’s a force in the universe which is responsible for creating the world we live in. The truth is, it has always been there and always will be. Oftentimes, we use similar language to discuss God or energy, but choosing a specific name for this force is less important than realizing that it exists in the first place – and then understanding your relationship with it. The secret to life is recognizing that you’re one with the universe, that you’re an energy field acting within a larger energy field, with the goal of being in harmony rather than in competition. A huge problem that people run into is the thought that positivity is a nonrenewable resource. The truth is, though, that there is plenty for everyone. It’s important that you don’t hold back, become fearful, or feel like you need to be in competition with others in order to get what you want. Really, since we’re all part of the same connected universe, competing with others is actually, in the larger scheme of things, competition with yourself. Alongside fear and competition, another reason behind negative thinking is resistance. As the psychoanalyst Carl Jung put it, “What you resist persists.” This means that you don’t need to feel the need to fight for what you want. When working toward your desires starts feeling more like a chore than progress, you’ll know you’re on the wrong track and frequency. If you’re doing the thing you’re meant to be doing, however, the process will come easily and naturally. It won’t feel like work at all because you’ll be following your bliss. This is what the secret is all about. The most important thing to remember is that you have total control over your thoughts, which means you have control over everything that crosses your path in life. No one else can create your universe for you. Sometimes, of course, it may start to feel like your past is controlling your future. This could be through regrets about a choice you once made, or trauma from an event that happened to you. However, if you hold on tight to the secret, focusing truly only on what you want, the past will slowly loosen its grip on your present, and you’ll be able to truly realize that you’re in control of your fate.

In Review: The Secret Book Summary

The key message in this book: The secret to life is found in the universal law of attraction. When you send good thoughts to the universe, the universe will send you good things in return. Positive thoughts attract happiness, and, similarly, negative thoughts attract bad situations, fueling existing worries and negativity. But, it’s not impossible to use this to your advantage. All it takes to live a life full of happiness is concentration and positive thinking. Actionable advice: Keep a gratitude rock in your pocket. A great way to keep your thoughts geared toward the positive and focused on gratitude – one of the most powerful emotions you can have – it’s a good idea to find a small rock you feel drawn to, which you’ll keep in your pocket at all times. Whenever you touch the rock, tell yourself something that you feel grateful for. This is a great way to ensure that your thoughts stay focused on the positive, which means good things are more likely to start coming your way.