The Secret - Interview With John Harricharan (Q5)
John Harricharan is the author of The Secret, and this interview is about his thoughts on how to apply it in everyday life.
If you've ever had something slip from your hand or your child take a spill, you were probably wondering: What if I had been holding onto that? The same question can be applied to any number of things in our lives -- a promotion, our breath-- and The Secret is an idea that will help you change your thinking so these things don't slip away. John Harricharan, author of the book, shares some of his most insightful thoughts on how to take control of your life with Oprah Winfrey's Master Class series.
Oprah: How does the secret work?
John: The secret is the universal principle that thoughts become things. There are certain things in this world that come to us because we thought them into existence and in others, we lost them because we didn't think about it or believe that it would happen. The only thing standing between you and what you desire is your thought process. Today's lesson is going to be how not to block the good things coming in your life. All of us have blocks, regardless of how successful we are. I am a case in point. I had wealth, prestige and success, but I still had blocks that were blocking me from having even more wealth, peace of mind and health.
Oprah: So this is not a get-rich-quick scheme?
John: It's not, but it is a real system that works when you put it into action and it works on any problem you have in life. If you have any relationship problems, if you find yourself in a dead-end job, or if your relationships are going from bad to worse. The secret won't work for these things because there is no law of attraction for these things. Nothing is attracted to those kinds of things. All of these are mindset problems and the secret will work for all of them.
Oprah: What's one thing you suggest people do when they feel their thoughts are the problem?
John: The secret is that whatever you put your focus and attention on in life, that's what you will get more of. So when you're focusing on something that says, "I'm broke," "I'm this," or "I'm not that," and it does not match with what your desires are, then sooner or later it will be attracted to you and it will become a reality. If a person wants to go from rags to riches and they are continuously saying they are poor, thinking they are poor and living like they're poor, then eventually they will attract poverty into their lives.
Oprah: Who is applying the concept of the secret?
John: People of all walks of life. It's not just people who are looking to make a quick buck. For true leaders, it's a way to think small, think big and take everything bigger and better. So if you're thinking small you may be going at something wrong. If you're thinking big, but still having problems with finances, relationships or health issues then that means you need to think even bigger because there is something blocking your thoughts from getting bigger.
Oprah: What's the biggest mistake people make with the secret?
John: There are two parts to the secret, which I call the law of gratitude and the law of attraction. When you focus on what you do have, that's when you get more of what you have. When we focus on what we don't have, that's when it attracts more lack in our lives. So if someone is having money trouble or a job problem and they think about those things all day long, then that's going to attract more problems in their finances and more problems in their jobs.
Oprah: Do you have to be positive all the time?
John: You don't have to be happy, but you should be grateful for what you do have. Think about it this way: Would you rather be rich and miserable or broke and happy? If people could shift their focus from what they don't want to what they do want, then I think everything would be a lot better. I had my own issues with the law of attraction until I got rid of them and one was not having enough money. I used to say, "I'm broke." When I changed my attitude, I started focusing on what I did have in my life instead of on what didn't work for me. The new thought patterns worked and I was no longer broke.
Oprah: What are some other simple things people can do to apply the secret?
John: A lot of people think the secret is hocus pocus, but it's actually very easy to use. When you're going to sleep at night, think about the things you want in life and make those thoughts as big as possible. Even if it's a small thing like wanting an ice cream cone, make it into a big thing so that your brain thinks it is real. Things that seem like a big deal now won't be later on because you will attract more of what you want in life if you believe what you want is possible.
Oprah: What's the one belief that you couldn't get rid of?
John: My self-doubt. I used to think, "What if I can't do this? What if I didn't know what I was doing? Who knows really what the best way is?" When you have that thought pattern going, it's like a virus that just keeps spreading. Some people tell me, "You can keep on believing it and denying it until it turns into a hard fact." That's not true because the law of attraction becomes real when the words are spoken out loud. If we think about things in our head and don't say those things out loud, then we won't attract them into our lives. It's about what we believe and say out loud, not just what we think inside of our heads.
Oprah: What are some other things that the law of attraction attracts?
John: It will attract anything you want in your life because it works whether you're thinking small or big. If you're thinking big and still can't attract what you want, then you still have a negative belief somewhere in your life that is blocking you from attracting everything that is positive in your life. People who think they're negative, but they don't believe it, never attract more negativity into their lives. Negative people do end up attracting more negativity into their lives because they think so strongly about it.
Oprah: How do you know if you're attracting more of something or not?
John: You can always see what the new is. If a difference in income comes into your life, then it's because of the law of attraction. Every time a new plane ticket comes in or a new bank account appears, that's because of the law of attraction. So whether you want it to be or not, it will be there.
Oprah: What's one thing people can do to enhance their relationship with money?
John: Think about where money comes from and how it does in your life. When you think about money, think about love and good health and abundance in your life.
Conclusion
Dr. John Gray believes that the law of attraction is so powerful that it's been around since the beginning of time and we don't even need to think about it because it just happens. He believes we can focus on what we want, but also be conscious that what we want may actually be hiding from us or hidden in our unconscious mind. For example, he mentions a woman who was raised by a strict mother and had perfectionist tendencies that were not healthy for her. She would always worry about how she would pay bills and how she would stay in good shape when she was younger. Her worries were making her sick with anxiety and giving her black hair at the age of 25.