At the age of 19 I developed pains in my spine and instead of opting for surgery, I became hooked on pain medication. I spent the next 11 years struggling through the addiction of opiates and only feeling self-pity and constant negativity. I read The Secret and also watched the film but hadn’t yet been ready to apply it to my life due to the nightmare I was putting myself through.

My addiction became worse and I ended up addicted to heroin for over 3 years and at the age of 32 ran into serious trouble with the law for the first time in my life. As I tossed and turned in that jail cell the first night, struggling with the self-inflicted pain of severe drug withdrawal, I prayed to a higher power. But as I was praying I stopped and thought about The Secret. I made a promise to myself. I said I will give back to life and fight for myself to be a better person. I will remain positive no matter the outcome. I spoke to myself about the laws of attraction. After believing in myself to get better and to only think positive no matter how bad things were in that present moment, I knew everything would be okay.

Well, I was bailed out and a family friend who was a lawyer defended me free of charge and struck a deal to get me a two and a half year suspended sentence and probation. I am proud to say my case was closed at the end of 2015 because of the progress I had made. I owe all of this to The Secret. Without believing in the simple fact that if I will it to happen and remain positive I wouldn’t be where I am today.

I have my family back. I have an incredibly beautiful and caring girlfriend and her two children who I love as if they are my own. My sister has stage 4 breast cancer and has been fighting strong for over two years now. I tell her every day that she must be positive no matter what. I tell people that as crazy as it seems, everything The Secret taught me, I personally applied from that very night. I promised myself to be more grateful and appreciative of my life and the people and things in it. And since that very night, my life has gotten better as each day passes.

I give back by speaking to people at rehabs and detoxes about how they can give themselves a chance if they just believe they are worth it and no matter how hard things are, to remain positive. We get what we put out. I tell my story to those who will listen. The reward was that someone who heard me at a detox almost a year ago who is clean and sober and lives life with an incredibly positive attitude thanked me for sharing my story that night. He told me because of my story his life is so much better today. The Secret could change the world if everyone knew the right way to use it.