170 of 173 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very inspirational writing, but it is just the beginning, January 27, 2009
Like The Secret and other modern books, Mr. Collier wrote The Secret of the Ages in order to make money. About this there can be no question. One only has to read his famous book (in advertising circles) called The Robert Collier Letter Book to learn this from his own mouth.
The truth is that Mr. Collier (and modern success teachers) loved this concept because people will keep coming back for more of it decade after decade even though their lives do not always improve. It is a clear historical fact that Robert Collier developed multiple series based around this same concept of attraction (The Secret of the Ages, The Life Magnet and The Book of Life early on and the Law of Higher Potential later) and sold the same information again and again with different stories. Since the "Law of Attraction" or "you get what you think" is really just the first step toward success, authors and speakers are sure to keep the flocks coming back as long as they indicate that it is THE key to success rather than the FIRST STEP to success.
In The Robert Collier Letter Book he lays out all of the details of how he tested different letters until he found the one that would get people to buy. In fact, he admits that he had not even written the books when he sent out the letters. The order came in so fast that he "worked day and night getting the books written." He also said that "a lot of books came back. They would, when oversold as much as this letter and circular did oversell them. The idea had been excellent, BUT NO BOOK EVER WRITTEN COULD QUITE COME UP TO SUCH A PROMISE." {Capitalized for emphasis.}
Those words screamed out at me when I read them in the only advanced success book Robert Collier ever wrote - his sales letter book. Of course it is about creating marketing, testing the marketing, using what works and providing the product. Hold on! Do you mean to tell me that Robert Collier - the key source of the modern Secret movement - didn't actually believe that success came through your thoughts but rather through systematic effort? It turns out, in his own words, that it's true.
Please, don't take my word for it. Read a copy of The Robert Collier Letter Book yourself. You can find it here:
The Robert Collier Letter Book. It will be one of the most important reads of your life - if you really want success and fulfillment. You'll find that thoughts are WILDLY important, but they never work alone. You don't get back what you THINK, you get back what you DO. That's exactly what Robert Collier really believed himself. The Secret books that he wrote were really just the juvenille steps toward success and he knew it.
Sadly, today, people act like The Secret and the Law of Attraction are at the post-graduate level of success. My friends, I care for you and all humankind deeply, so I must tell you that the Law of Attraction doesn't work unless you are attracted to work. The Secret of the Ages, when simplified without the glorious language (and there is no question that Robert Collier wrote about the obvious first step toward success far better than any of the modern authors) reads like this:
Before you can do anything that will bring you success, you must think upon doing it and how you will do it. If you think about all the things that could go wrong, you'll be discouraged and won't take action.
There you have it. It is an important key to success, but it's only the beginning. I've written five books and am writing my sixth now for the computer industry. But here's the key - I wrote them. I didn't think about writing them... I wrote them. The first step is to stop believing you can't and start believing you can, but once you become a can believer, you have to do it. All success comes by doing in the end.
I know some won't like this review, but it is a review of the author and the truth behind what's in the book. I've read not only this book, but every book written by Robert Collier, Orison Swett Marden, David Bush, Elmer Wheeler, Elmer Leterman, Frank Channing Haddock, and William Matthews among others. I've spent two decades reading, studying and seeking for the secrets to success and all I've learned can be summed up in the following formula:
Think + Act + Think + React = Success
The first think indicates that one must be positive and believe that she or he may achieve the desired end. The second think, however, is quite different. Here, you must technically analyze your results and then react by changing your actions so as to succeed. It's not all about positive thoughts and attracting of results.
I'll understand if some don't like this review, but all I've said is true regarding Robert Collier and his writing of this book among others and can be verified by anyone who is a true seeker of truth. I, too, was shocked and yet the revelation was the most important step in my success journey and searching so far!
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228 of 236 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can you hold a positive mental image?, April 10, 2007
The Secret of the Ages is the Law of Attraction. Many of the other writers in this category actually quote this author, and refer to this book, which is partly how I discovered it.
Coincidentally, my yoga teacher was quoting the Law of Attraction in class, and I really appreciated what she was saying. When I picked up the book after class, I noticed that it was a 30 year old well used hardcover copy of this book. The pages she held with paperclips were the ones she would regularly quote in class while instucting us to hold a positive mental image.
As I leafed through the book, I was impressed by it, and immediately ordered it off Amazon.
If you are like me, as you read this book you will gain many profound insights, and many great visual and inspiring examples of how others apply the LOA in their lives. If you are like me, then the further you get into this book, the more you will appreciate that this may be one of the best books you will ever read.
Desire is an important motive factor in manifesting what you want in your life. In fact, without desire nothing much happens. If you can feel more desire for something, you can be do and have what you want more quickly. The stronger your desire and motivation, the more likely it is that you will get what you want. So, the more you desire and can imagine the value that this book will bring, the more likely you are to buy it. Hope this was useful.
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