I had been on deployment for about seven months and I was having a really terrible time at that point. I felt like everything was going wrong and my life was falling apart. To make matters worse, I still had about three months left before deployment was over.

In the midst of my sadness and frustration I received a surprise package from my mother. Among the candy in my package was a copy of The Secret, with a note from my mother saying this might help me feel better. I had heard about The Secret when it first came out and I had even watched the movie so I was aware of what it was about. I decided to read the book because I always trust my mother’s advice, even if I don’t always listen the first time. Within 20 pages I was already feeling tremendously better.

As I continued to read I continued to feel amazing about everything. Even though I hadn’t finished the book I decided to put it to the test. I made up in my mind that I was going home early. They had already sent a group of people home early and they weren’t going to send anymore people home for another month.

I told my friend that we were going home early and she told me that it wasn’t possible and I told her maybe not for her, but I was definitely going home early. I started a countdown for the day that I was going home and every night before I went to bed I would say how many days I had until I got home and I would imagine being at home. I started calling and making appointments to get my apartment set up and get my utilities turned on in time for my arrival. I started giving away the extra things that I didn’t need to take back with me and I slowly packed my bags. Whenever someone at work would do something crazy I would say to myself ” It’s okay, I’ll be home in a few days”. No matter what happened I never doubted that I was going to be home by the time I marked on my calendar.

A week before I marked that I was supposed to be home, my Master Chief came and told me that he was trying to get me and another sailor sent home early and that he would let me know within 24 hours if everything had been confirmed. Although my Master Chief didn’t know, I was already sure that everything would be approved. I began packing my bags and getting all my things ready to leave.

By the next day my Master Chief confirmed what I already knew and everything was prepared for us to go home!

Not only did I get home a month and a half before I was supposed to, I also came home five days before the day I had marked on my calendar. I may not have fully believed the power of The Secret before but after that experience there was no doubt in my mind that The Secret was real.