The documentary *The Secret* was released in March 2006 and later the same year as a book. It is based on the belief in the law of attraction, and the article notes that the book and film had grossed $300 million in sales by 2009, with an appearance on *The Oprah Winfrey Show* helping its reach.

“The Secret is a 2006 book and feature film by Australian Rhonda Byrne, who was a television executive when she conceived the idea… The book has sold over 35 million copies and has been translated into more than 50 languages.” The article notes that its core assertion is that “a universal law of attraction governs our lives” and describes how the book and film helped spread this concept beyond earlier metaphysical and positive-thinking movements, with support from figures like Oprah Winfrey who “enthusiastically supported The Secret by dedicating episodes of her talk show to it in 2006.”

The book *The Secret* by Rhonda Byrne is described as a self-help book that “took the world by storm” when it was first published in 2006. The page says the book is based on the law of attraction and that the phenomenal success of *The Secret* led to a 2006 film adaptation of the same name.

“Manifesting saw a major resurgence in the early 2000s, largely driven by Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 bestseller *The Secret*, which sold over 30 million copies. Celebrity endorsements—from figures like Oprah Winfrey, who credits the practice with shaping her success—helped solidify its mainstream appeal.” This article frames the 2000s resurgence of manifesting/Law of Attraction ideas as being largely driven by Byrne’s *The Secret* and its mass-market success.

In the introduction to the film, Rhonda Byrne is described as “the creator behind The Secret, a documentary film that swept the world in 2006, changing millions of lives and igniting a global movement around the power of manifestation. Later that year Rhonda’s book of The Secret was released, which was translated into 50 languages and remains one of the longest-running bestsellers of this century.” She explicitly states: “The Secret is the law of attraction. Everything that’s coming into your life, you are attracting into your life.”

The book *The Secret* is presented as “the documentary that swept the world and inspired millions” and the site identifies “The Secret's principles for manifestation” as visualization and gratitude tied to the law of attraction. This supports that the 2006 title was marketed as a major popularizer of the idea.

In 2006, the concept of the law of attraction gained renewed exposure with the release of the film "The Secret" (2006) which was then developed into a book of the same title in the same year. The movie and book gained widespread media coverage. ... The law of attraction has been popularized in the early 21st century by books and films such as "The Secret". The 2006 film and the subsequent book use interviews with New Thought authors and speakers to explain the principles of the proposed metaphysical law that one can attract anything that one thinks about consistently.

The article states that *The Secret* was “the new New Thought” and criticizes its claims, but also acknowledges its wide circulation through mass-market success and Oprah-related exposure. The piece treats the book as a prominent cultural phenomenon in the 2000s.

“While the phrase exploded into mainstream new age culture in the 2000s, its lineage runs through 19th-century New Thought and early 20th-century success literature, then resurged with contemporary self-help media… In the early 2000s, *Esther and Jerry Hicks* advanced LoA through the ‘Abraham’ teachings… Shortly after, *Rhonda Byrne*’s documentary and book *The Secret* (2006) propelled LoA into global mainstream culture, drawing on New Thought texts… The popularization drew both devoted audiences and critiques…” This blog synthesizes historical sources to state that the phrase ‘Law of Attraction’ exploded into mainstream culture in the 2000s and that Byrne’s *The Secret* “propelled LoA into global mainstream culture.”

The documentary states that “the law of attraction is a concept that has been around for centuries, although it gained popularity in recent years thanks to books like ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne.” Later it adds that “this concept popularized in modern times by the book and film ‘The Secret’ posits that like attracts like,” and concludes: “In conclusion, ‘The Secret’ film and book have played a significant role in popularizing the concept of the law of attraction and empowering individuals to take control of their thoughts and beliefs… their influence on popular culture and personal development cannot be denied.”

Vision boards, positive energy, positive affirmations, The Secret, New Age and The Law of Attraction are all concepts loosely based on Eastern philosophies and, in some cases, Physics. They were especially popular in the early 2000s. ... In 2006, Rhonda Byrne wrote and published The Secret, based on her studies of the ideas in Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich. When most people think about the power of attraction, it’s Byrne’s book that introduced them to the term. Her book, and the subsequent film based on it, introduced ideas into the mainstream like creating a vision board. ... The ideas from Byrne’s book have infiltrated popular culture. Besides her own books numerous authors, life coaches and contemporary spiritual philosophers have written books based on one or more ideas from The Secret.

“The concept now widely known as the Law of Attraction… boasts a rich and complex history… The new millennium saw the Law of Attraction reach unprecedented global awareness. Rhonda Byrne… The release of the film and accompanying book, *The Secret* (2006), catapulted the Law of Attraction to phenomenal international attention… Since *The Secret*, there has been a significant and sustained surge in interest in ‘manifestation’ and the Law of Attraction. Countless books, online courses, coaching services, and social media content are dedicated to the topic.” This essay emphasizes that the Law of Attraction’s ‘mainstream explosion’ and ‘phenomenal international attention’ occurred in the 2000s and explicitly attributes a large part of that surge to *The Secret*.

A commenter summarizing the 2006 production writes: “The Secret (2006 film) is a 2006 film consisting of a series of interviews designed to demonstrate the New Thought claim that everything one wants or needs can be satisfied by believing in an outcome… The censored version of the film and the subsequent publication of the book of the same name attracted interest from media figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Larry King.” This description links the film and book to the Law of Attraction and notes their attraction of major media attention.

“There is a good chance you have already heard of the concept ‘The Law of Attraction’—it’s been featured in bestselling books, popular television shows, countless talks, classes, and more… [The] concept gained considerable attention in the early 2000s, a century after Atkinson’s book, with authors such as Rhonda Byrne (*The Secret*) and Wayne Dyer (*You See It When You Believe It*).” This modern edition’s introduction notes that the Law of Attraction ‘gained considerable attention in the early 2000s’ and specifically lists Rhonda Byrne’s *The Secret* among the key works driving that attention.

A critical blog post discussing the film notes: “While I do recognise some limitations with The Secret, I think it’s a great starting point for those only now being introduced to the Law of Attraction. It’s got a mainstream, materialist appeal, but that’s a hook that gets people interested.” The author later remarks: “I suspect The Secret and similar material are so popular because both mainstream science and mainstream religion have shut the door on attempting to explain or even acknowledge the existence of strange phenomena.” These comments explicitly connect the film’s popularity in the mid‑2000s to mainstream exposure for the Law of Attraction.

“Vision boards, positive energy, positive affirmations, *The Secret*, New Age and The Law of Attraction are all concepts… They were especially popular in the early 2000s… In 2006, Rhonda Byrne wrote and published *The Secret*, based on her studies of the ideas in Wattles’ *The Science of Getting Rich*. When most people think about the power of attraction, it’s Byrne’s book that introduced them to the term. Her book, and the subsequent film based on it, introduced ideas into the mainstream like creating a vision board… The ideas from Byrne’s book have infiltrated popular culture.” This coaching article links early‑2000s popularity of Law of Attraction practices to *The Secret* and says Byrne’s book introduced many people to the term and infiltrated mainstream popular culture.

A reviewer of the film describes it as “a great introductory piece to the law of attraction,” adding: “I think it does a good job explaining the basics of the law of attraction in a way that really anybody can understand and for that reason I really think it’s a great video for someone who’s new to the law [of attraction].” This indicates that *The Secret* served as an accessible entry point for many people encountering the Law of Attraction in the 2000s.

A blog post critiquing the movie states: “The movie leads everyone to believe that our thoughts when focused are the creative secret. Unfortunately that is only a small part of the Law of Attraction. If… the law of attraction brings to you what you focus on whether good or evil.” The author positions the film as a popular but partial representation of the Law of Attraction, implying its wide reach in shaping public understanding of the concept.

This personal essay says the writer's interest in the Law of Attraction “began with ‘The Secret’ movie and book,” which is anecdotal evidence of the book's influence on individual adoption of the concept, not broad statistical evidence.

The Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences in a person’s life. It’s a belief that’s been around a very long time but was made popular when the book "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne came out in 2006. It has become hugely prevalent, and almost universally accepted, by those in the self-development community, as well as more widely.

“But with Rhonda Byrne’s film, ‘The Secret’ that was promoted extensively by Oprah Winfrey, the Law of Attraction has reached whole new heights of popularity… identified with the law of attraction is no longer a fringe concept, it very much has successfully infiltrated the mainstream…” In this documentary-style video, the narrator explicitly states that Oprah‑promoted *The Secret* took the Law of Attraction to “whole new heights of popularity” and comments that it has “successfully infiltrated the mainstream.”

The IMDb entry shows *The Secret* as a “Video 2006” whose synopsis reads: “Interviews with self‑proclaimed authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in‑depth discussion of visualizing your goals.” This framing aligns with the Law of Attraction themes of visualization and mental focus that became widely associated with the film and book in the mid‑2000s.

New Age ideas are so prevalent that today 62% of Americans, secular and sectarian, hold at least one New Age belief. Vision boards, positive energy, positive affirmations, The Secret, New Age and The Law of Attraction were especially popular in the early 2000s, even if they lack conclusive, peer-reviewed studies supporting them. This discussion situates "The Secret" within a broader wave of early-2000s New Age and self-help enthusiasm that helped popularize the Law of Attraction concept.

This video description calls *The Secret* “the book that started it all” and says it is the foundation of the Law of Attraction content presented in the video. This is low-authority promotional commentary, but it reflects a common popular framing of the book's role.

“In the early 2000s… The first secret behind the law of attraction is that we attract what we are.” Although brief and informal, this post situates teachings about the Law of Attraction in the ‘early 2000s,’ implying a timeframe in which such teachings became popularly discussed, consistent with other sources’ noting its early‑21st‑century mainstreaming.

This social media discussion includes multiple commenters saying that *The Secret* sparked their interest in manifestation or the Law of Attraction. It is anecdotal and not authoritative, but it is direct evidence of perceived influence among readers.