So why is The Secret so big when it really isn't anything new?

The Secret launched and took over the world in a short amount of time. Why?

Is it that it is a profound truth that none of us knew? No. It was a conglomeration of quotes, facts and stories that have been around for centuries.

Is it because it we were in a time where we all needed hope? No, actually at the time it came through the economy was positively chugging away and life was good.

Is it that it had a stellar cast that just rocked? The cast was good but let's face it, there have been other programs and projects put together in a similar way with great cast that have NOT gotten so huge.

So what made it take off and what can you learn from it?

What made it took off was its simplicity. It simply focused on the fact that what you send out is what you get back. They took that theme and just showed it over and over and over again. The simplicity is what made people say, "I can do that."

Now ironically it is that simplicity that is exactly it's Achilles heel. People have scoffed at the fact that you just "wish for a necklace" and viola! it appears. Clearly that wasn't the point of the secret but that example is what really caused many people to pull away.

Why? Because it goes against the grain of the fact "you need to put in effort in order to get results." We all know you can't just dream things and they appear. We do know that when we set a goal and then prepare for it, it seems to happen. The "wishing" part was really the "focus" part. We set the focus in one direction and stuck with it.

So two lessons to learn here:
1) Do you have your information, presentation, marketing materials, etc focused on one key issue so that people can easily wrap their arms around it and make a "yes" decision.
2) Do you address the issues that could make people pull away or reject what you say in a realistic manner? The secret missed the emphasis it needed on this step to put it more in to "reality" for more people.

May you go forth and have a great day, filled with positive results!
Anne Warfield, www.impressionmanagement.com