On Riverside Drive

Beyond Words Publishing hits big with The Secret.
But when was it ever a secret?

I have a secret. I didn't know it was a secret until someone else published it. Now it's a best selling book and a sold out DVD. I guess I should have told someone a little sooner.

"The secret" is a belief I've had since I was a little girl, and have had so much fun playing with it. It wasn't that I was hoarding the secret, it's just that people weren't all that into hearing it. If I did try to share the excitement, my listener would crinkle up their nose, furrow their brow, and shoot me a comment under their breath that often included the words, 'downright crazy.' Some would even ask, "Has your family scheduled an intervention yet?"

So, I stopped talking about my little beliefs and went about life as usual. I figured that if others didn't want to play, so be it, but I wasn't going to stop having fun just because those around me weren't.

But, now the word is out, and my whole being has been confirmed. I am not alone! There are others in this world whose brains also take frequent trips outside their skull.

Let me explain.

The Secret, the book, touts itself as revealing the Great Secret of the Universe - the secret to everything - unlimited joy, money, health, relationships, love and youth, everything you've ever wanted.

But just what exactly is the secret?

It's pretty basic, so don't go getting a pen.

The secret to everything lies in the power of your thoughts and words. If you say it, ask for it, and really believe it, it will happen. It's that simple. The energy in your thoughts, packs as much power as anything tangible. It's hard to fathom, and like they say in the book, "You don't have to understand electricity to know that it works." You also don't have to understand the metaphysics behind the energy in your thoughts and words. It's real. I've always said it another way, "Just throw it out there into the universe, and watch it happen."

In the book, people from every walk of life share their personal stories of how they've become free of disease, pulled themselves out of poverty, and propelled themselves to success beyond their wildest dreams. They have the secret of turning any dream into reality, simply by changing their mindset.

It's a very fun way to live, to be able to just throw things out there. It goes back to Henry Ford's old saying, "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right."

I don't know how it works, and I've heard many different theories as to what makes it happen. I choose to thank God for all the fun and mystery. I figure that he and his staff have as much joy as anyone pulling things together for us and I have no problem keeping them busy.

So how do I know it's true? If you've been reading this spot over the past two years, you've heard me tell a few stories. Just two months ago I wrote that during a visit to our old home in Buffalo, New York, I said to my husband on the way to the airport, "That was sure nice to see all of our old friends in such a short time. I think the only person we didn't see was Jim Kelly. I would have liked to have seen Jim on this trip."

Not even thirty minutes later, someone tapped me on the shoulder in the terminal, and sure enough, it was Jim Kelly. Coincidence? Nope. It was my people at work.

In another column this past summer, I was struggling for a story idea, so I decided to throw my needs out there and wait to see what happened. Again, not even an hour later, the Powerball circus arrived in my front yard. "The people" can be very funny.

Throughout the years, the power of throwing things out there has brought many twists to my life - I never really know where the next day is going to go. The key is - you have to honestly believe it's going happen, you have to listen carefully to the universe, keep your mind open and be ready when an opportunity pops. That's it in a nutshell, the secret, and the one that got me labeled a crazy woman.

Years ago, I started an investment club with nine other women. The things we learned, and the journey we went on together was so fun and empowering that I thought it really needed to be written. So, I put some energy behind it, in the form of a simple sentence and threw it out there, "I'm going to write a book, a Chicks investment book, and it's going to be published." Then I let the fun begin. I waited, listened and believed.

Two months later, the number one literary agent in the country called me and asked me to write her the book. I had never written anything before besides a Christmas letter. Random House bought the book, published it and eight months later I was on a ten-city book tour. So how did it happen? You tell me. I didn't knock on one door, or send one letter. It came to me.

The more your throw your wishes out there, the quicker the universe is allowed to work. I told everyone I knew that I was going to publish a book. (This is where the crazy lady comments came in.) I didn't know how, mainly because I really didn't know how, but as soon as the energy was out there, my idea started to attract the things that needed to happen to make it all work. And then, my phone rang.

There have been so many other things in my life that have happened like this; "I am going to have my own newspaper column." "I am going to have my own radio show." "I am going to have a successful real estate business." "I am going to build my dream home." "I'm going to have four great kids." I know these things don't happen on their own, but first, I have to declare them, and then watch it all come together. I have a list of things that I carry with me everyday and I keep adding to it, and of course, the fun part, checking things off.

When I was nine years old my family took a trip to Mackinaw Island. We couldn't afford to stay on the island, but while we were there, we visited the most beautiful building I had ever seen, The Grand Hotel. I said to my dad, "When I grow up and get married, I'm going to stay there on my honeymoon."

My dad said to me, "Karin, you'll be awfully lucky if you get to spend your honeymoon at the Grand Hotel."

But the thing was, even then, I knew it wasn't luck, and I never doubted it for a second.

Go get The Secret, and believe.