Extracting the DEEPER, DEEPER SECRETS beneath the so-called "Secret" and "The Law of Attraction"
OK - "The Secret" is currently the #2 book and the #1 DVD selling on amazon.com, and it's spawning a LOT of controversy which is good for sales.
Now it's time to set aside the controversy to look deeper beneath the surface content to the processes and principles that are driving the success of this thang for its savvy producer, Ronda Byrne.
Fan vs. Critic / Believer vs Non-Believer / Useful vs. Garbage: The debate rages on & on & on, and so many miss the deeper point of the amazing wisdom, growth and value to be derived from DEEPLY DETACHED OBSERVATION. Sheesh…! But what next? Now, let's see what we can learn from all this hoopla & hubub - as students of human nature…
As the famous songwriter, Sammy Cahn, once revealed, “Like or dislike doesn't matter. I can't afford the luxury of 'disliking' a hit song. It's my job to dissect it, to know what's working there - understanding why it's so popular.” - Sammy Cahn
So much positive/negative controversy is being stirred up over "The Secret" and "The Law of Attraction" - whether it's really a "secret" or not, and are the producers/actors/teachers just cynical exploiters of human nature… blah blah blah…
All I can say is "Who cares about all that? - For our greater growth and deeper understanding, we had better look more deeply at concepts: psychological, social, business, promo, media, etc - WHAT'S WORKING HERE & WHY."
What if we just stop all the petty public debate right now - Debate is just what the producers want! Duh… In showbiz, ALL publicity is GOOD publicity.
What I want right now is to extend a respectful invitation for smart, incisive, critical thinkers like y'all, Connie, and friends Ben, Kevin, Kenrick, Dan and Blair, to come to Clay Cotton's Immersiversity blog at immersiversity.com and expore WHY "The Secret" IS SO POPULAR:
1. Which irresistible, enduring, evolutionary elements of human nature are making "The Secret" so successful, the all-too-compelling, basic human desires that are appealed to?
2. Which techniques, strategies and tactics of influence are being successfully combined in this operation?
3. What is so enticing and irrestible about the so-called Law of Attraction" that folks buy into it so readily?
Basically, how did this thang happen??
Thinking more deeply now about our deeper thoughts on thinking, how might we turn this into a grander learning experience for the highest good of all concerned…? Comment below, please, and now let's see what we can learn here.
If this MAKES GOOD SENSE TO YOU, please, tell me more…
advertising hypnotics influence marketing Mind mind control persuasion sales thinking
I'm so tired of all the critical whining and rock-throwing over this. It'll be good to see some truly useful observations from the likes of Keven Hogan and Ben Mack. And I'd also like to see Blair Warren, Kenrick Cleveland and Dave Lakhani's views here.
Thank you, Mr. Cotton for turning the tide on the secret.
Earnest
Comment by B. Earnest — @
Alas, you're probably not going to get any deep insights from me, at least not on the first round. Although I used to make my living primarily as a copywriter, I'm no copywriting wizard. But I thank you for the invite.
I'm speaking as one of those who’s been accused by some of being a whiner because I don't like "The Secret" and am pretty cynical about what I like to call the New-Wage community. But I'll concede that the packaging and marketing of "The Secret" are brilliant. I have always said that. Oprah, of course, was a major boost to the franchise, though it was doing well before she made her adoration public.
Put in the very simplest terms — I should probably say the most "simplistic" terms — people like to feel good, and "The Secret" makes many of them feel good. It's as simple, and as complex, as that.
Apart from the central concept of LOA, many have been affected by the combination of "mysterious" visuals (with a DaVinci Code ambiance), airy music, and enthusiastic pep talks from some of today's most marketable New-Wage leaders. The concept of “forbidden knowledge” that those in power have kept from the masses for centuries adds to the appeal.
Those to whom the concepts are fairly new — people who are still in the "oh-wow" stage of spiritual/mystical discovery — will be particularly open to the presentation of LOA and other ideas in "The Secret." Those who are more schooled in the concepts and agree with them — particularly people who have an economic or emotional stake in believing or promoting these concepts — will also be on "The Secret" bandwagon.
Then there are more jaded types like yours truly — years past the "oh wow" stage — who mostly view "The Secret" as repackaged (though again, brilliantly repackaged) tripe. It’s not that we’re not "ready" for the message, as some "Secret"/LOA defenders have claimed. It’s just that we’ve heard it so many times before.
Yet "The Secret" is clearly meeting a need. It meets the needs of people who are hurting and want some answers, as well as those who are bored and want some entertainment (I long ago came to the conclusion that in today's culture, self-help is as much a form of entertainment as anything else).
Most of all, though, "The Secret," like most good commercials and infomercials, appeals to people's narcissism. I jokingly claim, on my blog, to be an insufferable narcissist myself. I'm just not the type of narcissist who is susceptible to the message in "The Secret."
Comment by Cosmic Connie — @
How did this happen?
1. Attention to publicity generation, especially viral web publicity like youtube.com videos - Emphasis on word-of-mouth
2. High video production standards
3. State-of-the-art copy, graphics and video clips
4. Framing ageless human desires as easily fulfilled
5. Branding the methods as a "secret"
6. Promoting a new medium (DVD) by messenging through new media (Web and Web Video Clips)
7. Utilization of Bernaysian propagandic & Cialdinian pychological techniques
8. Use of "celebrity" figureheads, third-party endorsements and
testimonial clips
9. Promised "outcomes" can niether be tested nor disproven
10. Out-of-context reference to quantum science as "scientific proof" that "it" works
11. Reliance on ignorance, fantasy and wishful thinking in the human heart
12… What else? You tell me…
Love,
- Clay Cotton
Comment by ClayCotton — @
Jah, Connie!
I feel it helps us all to dissect such cultural "successes", so we are more aware of our own psych.
I can't stop thinking of brother Seth's words, “Successful marketers allow people to tell themselves a story they want to hear…” - Seth Godin
And Ronda nails it with the help of a mashup of savvy elements:
- Bernaysian propagandics and Cialdinian social psych
- Celeb endorsements and testimonials
- Refering to quantum science as so-called "proof" the "it" works
- Viral, word-of-mouth, web publicity
- Non-provable promised outcomes
- Promoing new medium (DVD) thru new medium (Web) tends to attract receptive, early adopters
- Lotsa youtube.com video clips
- High production standards
- Avenues for believer-cult involvement and social reinforcement online and offline
- Motivated motivational presenters
Ronda is savvy & slick, no doubt about it. She has Vision, Focus and Balls (or Eggs in her case), and I wanna believe she simply overlooked the damage that might be done in some folks' lives by the unqualified application of these concepts (or maybe her greed glands ran amok… but again, let's look at the reasons for this product's dramatic success and popularity, not take potshots at its flaws and vulnerabilities, ok?)
As our friend Blair puts it:
"People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions and help them throw rocks at their enemies." - Blair Warren - http://immersiversity.com/?p=10
Here's a coupla links on perception and just how easily we deceive ourselves:
http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/15/perception.htm
Mind–Blowing-Video-Illustrating-How-Easily-You-Are-Deceived
AND:
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
Love,
/clay cotton
Comment by admin — @
Great food for thought.
Thank you, Clay Cotton !!
Your Friend,
Ben Mack
Comment by ben mack — @