Getting absolutely everything you want?

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The book The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want was given to me by an Indian shortly before he left Hong Kong a few months ago. For a long time it lay forgotten on the bookshelf, until when I looked for another book to take for the Hokkaido trip besides Malcolm Gladwell's What the Dog Saw. I decided that the thin book was the right length.

I didn't expect much of the book with a rather tacky title. But after finishing it in the four-hour flight, I found that it was not bad at all.

The theme of the book is of course as the title suggests, "the ultimate secret to getting absolutely everything you want". The "ultimate secret", according to the writer, lies in this principle:

In order to accomplish something, you must be willing to do whatever it takes.

And here is how the principle works:

You may not need to actually do what it takes. When it comes to getting results, intention is more important than action. You must not judge or refuse. Just be willing.

You are the cause, the source of everything that happens in your life. Once you see that everything that exists for you now is your creation and no one else's, you will see that everything that can and will exist in the future is your creation also. As soon as this happens, you accept sole responsibility for creating the situation. You are then ready to assume responsibility for changing it. And when you assume responsiblity for changing it, you take control of your life.

To achieve a goal, you need two things: (1) a sharp, clear and specific idea of what you want (an objective); and (2) commitment, not in the sense of a self-imposed obligation but a feeling of confidence and a firm, unwavering belief that you will continue to pursue what you want, no matter what happens.

When you have a clear objective and a commitment to reaching it, you will naturally be drawn to doing the things that move you toward that objective. You don't need to excessively rely on plans and processes.

The mechanism behind the principle brings four elements into play: (1) a concept; (2) a law; (3) a phenomenon; and (4) a power.

The concept is that thoughts are things and have an objective reality.

The law is the law of attraction. If thoughts are physical things, they would fall within the operation of the same physical laws that govern everything in the universe. One extremely important universal law is the law of attraction, which is about how things attract other things. When applied to thoughts, the law means that whenever you think something, the thought immediately attracts its physical equivalent.

The phenomenon is that when things begin moving toward each other, they move at an ever-increasing rate. This is the phenomenon of accelerating acceleration. Not only are the things themselves moving faster, but their rate of movement is getting faster with each passing movement. The law of attraction is so powerful that once things pick up momentum, they fly toward each other with increasing speed. The things you want fly toward you more quickly and easily as time goes by.

The power is the power of an open mind. An open mind is a window to the limitless possibilities in the universe. It is the catalyst for chemical reactions in unbounded number and variety. An open mind allows the law of attraction to work without interference. It allows the phenomenon of accerlerating acceleration to run free.

If reaching your goal involves a number of items, you must be willing to do all of them. If it involves something that you are unwilling to do, forget that goal and start looking at others. It could be a sort of Murphy's Law: If something can go wrong, it will. If something can stop the principle, it will. It is your willingness that gets the principle going. The mechanism then starts bringing your goal to you with ease, shortcuts and accelerating acceleration. Without that willingness on your part, the mechanism stops. Willingness is the key.

Goals have a certain "tyranny" in them. The attainment of goals is almost never as good as you imagined it would be. It is also a momentary thing. In no time at all, you will begin looking for another goal to shoot for. You become the victim of the tyranny of your own accomplished goal.

Once you have learned to use the Secret, you will soon find that your greatest reward is not in the actual attainment of your goals but in the journey you undertake in going after them. While goals disappear the moment you achieve them, the journey go on forever, as does the joy that you experience along the way. If you approach life with that attitude, it becomes not a string of achievements and not a rule of tyranny but a continuous, joyous adventure.

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe