How the Secret Changed My Life

by Rhonda Byrne

  – K., London, England

  Create Your Dream Salary

  In our next story, Yana had a particular job in mind, as well as a particular salary, and she used the power of affirmation to attract exactly what she desired.

  THE JOB

  After losing a very well-paying job, I moved from one temp job to another, to total unemployment, and finally, to a permanent part-time position paying $10 an hour. Then, just two days after I started, I was told that my hours were being cut in half, from twenty hours a week to ten. There was no way I could live on $100 a week.

  I walked home from work that day feeling sad and discouraged. When I got into my apartment, I felt an overwhelming urge to watch The Secret, even though I didn’t have much more energy than it would take to sit and worry about what I was going to do without a regular job and more money. After I watched the movie, I got out my journal and wrote this affirmation:

  “Within the coming days, I am manifesting a great administrative position within walking distance of my home. “At this job I make at least $30,000 per year. The people I work with are joyful, kind-hearted, and cooperative. The work I perform I find interesting, and I am greatly appreciated by my coworkers and supervisors. I am paid weekly, arrive on time or early every Monday through Friday, and I thoroughly enjoy every day that I go to this job. I am thankful for the inclusive and clear process that has manifested my perfect new job right now.”

  I said the affirmation throughout the next day, and I could feel joy when I said it. A feeling of excitement washed over me every time I thought about this new job. I was so excited!

  While I was at work that day, my cell phone kept ringing. I missed three back-to-back calls, all from the same number, and all within minutes of one another. During a break, I checked my messages, and the call turned out to be from a temp agency I had registered with a couple of years before.

  When I returned the call, the receptionist said that they had been trying to reach me because they had a job for me and it would be starting the next day. The job was paying exactly what I was asking for in my affirmation, and when I asked her where it was, she said it was at a design firm that was a five-minute walk from my house. And to cap it all off, it was a permanent position.

  I started my job two days after writing my affirmation, and it is just as wonderful today as it was the first day I arrived.

  – Yana F., Baltimore, Maryland, USA

  Yana’s affirmation included being grateful for her new job and her new salary as if she had received them. Gratitude is a bridge that will take you from poverty to riches. The more grateful you can be for the money you have, even if you don’t have very much, the more riches you will receive. And the more you complain about money, the poorer you will become.

  DOUBLE OR NOTHING!

  When I started my journalism career, my family offered me tons of support, which gave me the necessary drive to pursue my goal. I got a job at a local magazine company that paid little but showed a lot of promise. I made just enough to cover my rent, and my parents gave me just enough to make it through the month.

  As the months went by, however, my dad started getting tired of paying most of my bills and went out of his way to show it. I understood that he wanted me to be more independent, but I started to become desperate. I wanted to make my folks happy, and I wanted to make enough money to be my own man. My desperation turned into depression as the end of the year approached, and I gave up hoping for the raise I’d been promised. I started to expect only bad things, and guess what? That’s exactly what I got.

  My depression got to a point where I started feeling sick and tired all the time. Things were looking bad, and I just started hoping for a way out of all this. Then, out of the blue, a friend of mine who was aware of my situation asked me if I knew about The Secret. She gave me a copy of the DVD and asked me to just give it a chance. I’m not much into self-help advice, but I watched it that very night. What everyone on the DVD said was about me; I was causing bad things to happen to me through my thoughts. I cried that night, not sad tears but tears of joy. I knew I was going to be all right.

  I began to use The Secret that very night. I began to think good thoughts, thoughts of wealth and happiness. I began to thank the Universe for the things I never thought about in my life, like my good health, the love of friends, even my job.

  At the end of December, the company manager called me into his office and told me I would be getting a raise. The raise was small, and it wouldn’t cover all my expenses, but I thanked him and the Universe because I knew that I had asked, believed, and the receiving had begun.

  At the beginning of January, I asked the Universe for something I now know is very possible. I asked for my monthly salary to double. I had no idea how it would happen, but I just believed it would. The Universe got to work immediately. I couldn’t see it happening, but I knew in my heart that it was.

  Four months later, in April, I was asked to move to a different magazine within the same company. And guess what? The pay was twice my salary at the time. I knew it was because I believed. Then I thought, Hey, if it worked once, it could work again. I asked the Universe again for double my new salary. You won’t believe it, but four months later, the manager of the digital department asked me to join his team. And the pay? You guessed it: double my current salary.

  The Secret has turned my life totally around. It’s hard to believe that one year was just as bad as I wanted it to be, and the next year was as good as I visualized and believed it to be. Every day is a gift these days. I know now that I am special and unique. The Universe is my friend and responds to my thoughts; my story is proof that The Secret truly works.

  So, you’re probably wondering if I asked the Universe to double my salary yet again. Nope. I asked for happiness and abundance, and that’s what I’m receiving every day.

  – Alan, Nairobi, Kenya

  Alan thanked the Universe for what he already had as well as what he wanted to receive, and then he let the law of attraction do its work without worrying about how it would happen or trying to help it along.

  THE WINNING COMBINATION

  Several years ago, the employees at the small chiropractic office where I worked saw that the business numbers were decreasing. No one had received a raise in more than three years. Something had to change. We loved our jobs, but the cost of living was going up, and we were all starting to look for new jobs or second jobs.

  The staff met on a day without the doctors being present and talked about wanting a raise. We knew that in order for that to happen, we had to set goals for our office and fill the schedules for all the doctors. We started with weekly and monthly goals. Once these goals were in place, we figured that a 25 percent raise would make up for the lack of raises over the last few years. But most of all, we needed to determine how soon we wanted our raise. We decided on October 15, an unusual time of the year for giving raises.

  We set our plan in motion. We created a saying: “Life is good at 25 percent!” and posted it on each of our desks. Every day we would focus on the schedule being full for all the doctors. If it was not full enough, we would say, “We need ten more established patients and two new patients,” and sure enough, the phone would start ringing! Soon the doctors were so busy that they complained about how tired they were at the end of the day.

  At the beginning of October, the staff met once more to review our goals and our gratitude lists. We thought that the next office meeting would be a great time to do a presentation of our goals and how they came about. On the day of the meeting, we were ready, but the doctors had a lot on the agenda and we didn’t get to do our presentation. We were disappointed, and October 15 was just two days away, but we kept on focusing and saying, “Life is good at 25 percent!”

  Well, the fifteenth came and went. Our next pay period was coming up, and the doctors had met with our accountant. A few days later, our boss asked me to meet with her. I had no idea why, but her opening line was that we had been doing
a great job and we were all getting a raise, which would be retroactive to October 15. All but one of us got 25 percent, and she got 20 percent. My eyes filled up with tears as I told the doctor that we had used The Secret to reach the goals we had set for the office and our 25 percent raise.

  We saved our jobs, made some money, and boosted the morale in the office. The staff is now meeting and improving our personal lives using The Secret, and we encourage our patients to borrow the DVD from our office anytime they want.

  – Loretta, Washington, USA

  There is no doubt that when two or more people focus on attracting the same desire, they create a very powerful force. Each person adds their energy and belief, which makes for a winning combination.

  Let Loretta’s story inspire you. If you work with a team of people, together you can focus on a mutual desire that will benefit everyone. Just imagine what you can achieve together!

  Ultimately, you have the power to create whatever you want by yourself, but when we join forces with others, it can help us to increase our belief factor so much that manifestation happens really quickly.

  Do What You Love

  For the people whose stories I’m about to share, being able to do what they loved was their greatest wish. For some the money was also important, but others simply believed that if they followed their dream, the Universe would deliver the money they needed. A perfect example of this is the story of Dallas, below.

  TWO WEEKS TO A NEW LIFE

  I almost gave up on the law of attraction when, after living the life of my dreams, I found myself living on the street for two years. I felt abandoned by everyone. It was the middle of winter and I had nowhere to go, so I traveled the country looking for employment, but with no luck.

  I’d heard it was possible to change your life in thirty days using the law of attraction, so I put it to the ultimate test. The knowledge from The Secret became part of my daily reading/listening, and I put into place everything I heard. Little did I know how fast things would come to me.

  I needed a job, any job, but I wanted a job that provided me freedom, put me in the center of a lot of action, allowed me to contribute to and expand the company while being appreciated for my work. I was so happy knowing that it was on the way. As long as I felt that way, it had to.

  Within two weeks, as the result of a chance meeting, I landed a job as a radio DJ. After seven months, I’d increased advertising revenue by 2,000 percent and created a new division specifically to help artists raise money (without relying on CD sales or getting gigs). I manage up-and-coming artists, have formed an artist collaborative to assist new talent in making it in the industry, and am currently working on a clothing line with a business partner. My boss loves my work, and I’ve been called our station’s best DJ, which was exactly my intention.

  I now have my dream job, and I’m so happy and grateful for the position I’m in. Great things just keep coming my way, and I’m always reaching for bigger and better dreams.

  If anyone doubts The Secret, take it from me . . . it works.

  – Dallas C., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

  Even though Dallas knew he needed money, his primary desire was to do something he loved. The result? He got both!

  Even when you’re sensing that the Universe is ready to deliver what you want most, you may have moments when doubts creep in. This may be especially true if you are thinking about the possible consequences of leaving a secure job in order to follow your dream.

  If you ever find yourself in doubt, you can ask the Universe for evidence that you’re making the right decision. Remember, you can ask for anything!

  In the next story, Helen suffered serious doubts just before she was about to leave her job. And then the Universe stepped in and moved a few technical things to help her along with her decision.

  EMAILS FROM THE UNIVERSE

  I was first introduced to The Secret by a colleague several years ago, but, unfortunately, I was in such a negative place back then that, after reading a couple of pages, I was actually fearful of what reading the book would do to my life. How ridiculous that sounds now! Thankfully, it was recommended to me again by a friend, and this time I was more than ready to learn.

  I cannot tell you how happy and excited I felt as I read each chapter. I was almost giddy, and after just the first day of reading it, I made a huge, life-changing decision.

  I’d been considering leaving my part-time job as a designer to become a full-time freelance illustrator. I’d wanted to do that for as long as I can remember, but I had financial commitments and was reluctant to lose the regular, steady income. I kept telling myself I would just have to wait until I had enough money saved up. I was just too scared, despite my instincts screaming that it was the right thing to do.

  Previously, I had been really unlucky in my career, with awful employers, stressful working environments, and multiple redundancies. Deep down I felt that I was being pushed to go it alone, but I was too afraid of letting myself and my family down.

  After reading The Secret, I knew I had to do it, and strangely, I didn’t have a shred of doubt; I knew I would be a success!

  But when I was about to hand in my notice at work, the old doubting me returned. On the train traveling to work, I had butterflies in my stomach and kept asking myself if I was doing the right thing. Maybe I was being rash, selfish, what about money, etc. That was when the Universe stepped in to give me a huge nudge – just as I was about to chicken out!

  While all these fearful thoughts were racing around my head, I glanced down at my iPhone, and it said I had thirty-seven new emails. I thought that was very odd, as it was really early in the morning and there had been none when I had checked it a few minutes before. But when I looked at all the “new” emails, they were actually all emails from . . . me! Ones I had sent to various people over the past five years, all in my inbox at the same time, and all of them had the same theme. Every single one of those emails was related to wanting to leave my job and work for myself! The first one I read was one I had sent to a recruitment agency when I had been made redundant for the third time. And the first sentence that jumped out at me was “I think somebody up there is trying to tell me something”! As soon as I read that, I got a shiver down my spine (I’ve got one now writing this). I was speechless. There were a few more to recruitment agencies (reminding me of how many times I’d been made redundant); there were ones I’d sent complaining about how much I disliked working for various bosses; there were ones relating to previous freelance children’s book projects I had worked on and loved; but the oldest email was one I had sent several years before to my current agent saying how much I wanted to work as a freelance illustrator and asking if they would consider representing me. I didn’t have that email saved anywhere on my computer, let alone my phone. I didn’t even remember sending it, but there it was as a “new” email, along with all the others appearing in my inbox at the same time.

  I knew then that somebody was trying to tell me I was doing the right thing and everything was going to be okay. I couldn’t stop smiling all day and handed in my notice without a second thought.

  Two months later, I couldn’t believe how busy I was! To think I had doubted having enough money to pay the bills! When I wrote my desired first-year earnings on the blank check from The Secret website, it seemed ridiculously out of reach, but when I added up what I’d earned since the beginning of the year, I was actually on track to earn exactly that amount! I was already booked up with work for months in advance and had no doubts whatsoever that my success would continue.

  Four years later, I’m still self-employed, and I’ve also had my dream come true this year: the first children’s picture book I both wrote and illustrated is published and available worldwide.

  I felt so privileged that day to receive such a huge message from the Universe, and am now thankful for all that is good in my life and enjoy visualizing my fabulous future!

  – Helen, Liverpool, England

  I
f you’re finding that doubts are really undermining your belief, increase your belief through visualization and affirmations. Alternatively, you can do something that makes you feel happy, because when you feel happy, doubts will disappear! Doubt is a negative state, and it cannot exist in the presence of the positive state of happiness.

  HOW I GOT THE JOB OF MY DREAMS

  When I was first introduced to The Secret, I didn’t believe that it would really work, so I started reading the book just to prove it wrong.

  At that time, I had been trying to get my dream job for almost four years. While I was reading the book, I decided to play a game. So I made a pay slip that included the salary I wanted, the country I wanted to work in, and the position I wanted to be in, and I posted it on my mirror. Every morning I would look at it and visualize myself at my desk in my new job. Then, as the day went on, I would list the things I was thankful for and I would say, “Thank you for everything I do and everything that happens to me.”

  Within five days, I received the job offer I’d been dreaming of in my email.

  Thank you for sharing The Secret.

  – Mireille D., Lebanon

  Once you’re familiar with The Secret, you come to understand that there are many practices through which you can reinforce your belief and, therefore, speed up the law of attraction. Acting as if you’ve already received what you want is one of the most powerful practices.

  PLAYING THE PART

  Some time ago I dropped everything. I quit my job as a pastry cook. I dropped out of culinary school. I broke up with my boyfriend of two years. I gave up all hope of a good life and believed myself to be worthless. After a month of suffering from a serious case of depression, I woke up one day and thought about The Secret. I’m not sure why it came to me, but I decided to look it up online and find out what it was all about. I watched the movie on the website and was so moved by it that I went to iTunes and bought the audiobook.