Have you heard of “The Secret,” the book and DVD that have everybody talking? Within the last two weeks, Oprah has devoted two shows to it, and it’s opening eyes and changing lives to those it touches.

“The Secret” is about the universal Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction, simply, states that “like attracts like” and “what you give is what you get.”

These sayings have been around for a while, so you certainly may have heard them before. But most people haven’t understood how to put the Law of Attraction to work for them – and how to use it to manifest their dreams.

The Law of Attraction is based on the universal truth that “everything is energy” and “energy is neither created nor destroyed.” Everything is energy: people, cars, mailboxes, grass, everything. Even thoughts, feelings, and words carry an energetic vibration. Therefore, what you focus on, and what you think and say (even subconsciously), is what will show up in your life. Ultimately, you are responsible for creating your own reality.

So if you focus on the negative, like how your sister never visits, how you can’t fit into your favorite jeans, or how clients aren’t calling, you’ll get more of the same.

The key to changing your reality is to focus on what you want instead.

Here are the seven keys to living “The Secret”:

1. Understand you can have EVERYTHING you want, and it’s not bad or selfish to want things.

2. Create a new vision for yourself. Dream BIG in all areas of your life: business, health, relationships, money, etc.

3. Write your vision down, as writing re-programs your subconscious. Spend 10-15 minutes each day writing your vision and enhancing different aspects of your vision with specific language and vivid imagery. Really paint a detailed picture in your writing.

3. Write in the “present” tense. (“I have a beautiful home by the water.”)

4. Write in the positive. (“I have a strong and healthy body.” NOT “I lose twenty pounds.”)

5. Forgive and let go of the past. Look at past hurts and mistakes as “learning opportunities.” Look for the lessons and be grateful for the learning. Forgiveness and gratitude create openings for new things to come into your life. There are gifts in everything, even in tragedies and losing ones we love.

6. When you visit your vision, really try it on and FEEL AS IF you already have what you want. Let the joy and excitement of having your dream wash over you and resonate from your soul. That will bring it to you.

7. Don’t weigh your dreams down with expectations or try to force them into existence. The key to manifesting your dreams is to be happy (grateful and content) with what you have now while you are calling forth what you want. Understand that universal timing will prevail over your timing.

I’ve been a student of the Law of Attraction for years, and it’s a core concept in both my business and life teachings. While I haven’t seen “The Secret” yet, I do plan to order it and watch it. If you’d like to do the same, you can find out more here: http://www.thesecret.tv. Let me know what you think! Please feel free to comment on this post.

By the way, from a business perspective, the marketing behind “The Secret” has been pretty amazing. I’ll talk about that in future blog posts. It’s a great case study for anyone who wants to use the power of the Internet to market their business.