Published in the United Kingdom by

PART ONE
A Matter of Vibes
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Introduction
My time at university was a financial struggle. Although I’d been given a
student loan, most of it went on my accommodation. I had very little to live
on. I couldn’t buy any course books because I couldn’t afford them. I
wouldn’t ask my mum for money, because I knew she was struggling herself.
I knew that if I did ask her, she’d somehow find the money for me as she had
done her whole life, even if it meant that she couldn’t eat.
For the most part I budgeted well. I could go out and party with my friends
regularly, I never went hungry, and I didn’t have to keep wearing the same
clothes. I made a little money from online endeavours, like building
customized page layouts on MySpace.
During one summer term I returned home for a break. I had no money left
and everything felt hard. I didn’t want to go back to university because I
didn’t enjoy the work and I had no motivation to complete my summer
assignments. Having spent much of the year studying, I was forced to find a
summer job so I’d be able stay afloat when I got back to university. All of my
friends were planning a much-needed holiday together, and I couldn’t afford
to go. And I was having problems with a girl. The drama I was experiencing
in my romantic and platonic relationships constantly angered me, and I didn’t
feel good about life.
One evening, I came across a book called 
The Secret
.
1
 People were saying it
was changing their lives, and that 
everyone
could benefit from it. It was
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founded on a simple principle: the Law of Attraction.
The premise of the Law of Attraction is that what you think about, you bring
about. In other words, we can attract the things we want in our lives by
committing our thoughts to them. This applies to the things you 
don’t
want,
as well as to the things you 
do
want; quite simply, whatever you focus on will
be returned to you. So, the Law of Attraction stresses the importance of
thinking about what you want, rather than focusing on things you fear or
dread.
The Law of Attraction places great
emphasis on positive thinking.
To me, it sounded too good to be true, so I began to do more research and I
read about people who were claiming that the Law of Attraction was bringing
them astonishing changes. Could I apply this to my life, too?
I knew exactly what I wanted: to go on holiday with my friends. I needed
roughly £500 for this to happen. So I followed the general guidelines and
tried to be as positive as I could.
A week or so later, I received a letter from the tax office saying that I may
have paid too much tax. Was this a sign that the Law of Attraction was
working? I filled out the form to provide them with further details and posted
it back to them as soon as I could. A week went by and I heard nothing. My
friends were getting ready to book their holiday, and I felt miserable that I
wouldn’t be able to join them. The potential of a tax rebate lingered in the
back of my mind.
With growing frustration, I rang the tax office and asked them if they’d
received my letter. They confirmed that they had, and that I’d hear back soon.
At this point, I felt excited – but I was running out of time. The summer term
was ending and my friends would be going away soon.
Another week went by and I still hadn’t received anything. I was starting to
give up on the idea and told my friends to book the holiday without me. I
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decided to focus elsewhere and lift my mood by reading motivational
material. At least this would make me feel a little bit better about life.
A few more days passed, then an envelope from the tax office arrived. I
opened it nervously. Inside was a cheque for £800. I was shocked,
overwhelmed and overjoyed. I got myself to the bank as fast as I could to
deposit the cheque. Cheques usually take up to five days to clear, but this one
was in my account within three days.
The following Monday my friends and I booked a last-minute holiday and
flew out four days later. I had a wonderful time. But, more importantly, I
became a believer in the Law of Attraction.
I decided that I was going to use this to change my entire life.
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