I have read The Secret several times and purchased the CDs for my wife. A couple of weeks ago I decided to start listening to the CDs myself on my way to work. I was particularly taken by the story about the young man who pictured a particular feather that he wanted to find, which he eventually did, in order to test the validity of The Secret.

I decided to do the same thing, but my object was a red pencil, a plain red pencil. But this pencil would have to be given to me, not purchased. I wanted to just run across this red pencil somewhere.

Well, the first week nothing happened. The second week I typed on my computer, and printed out a piece of paper with “Red Pencil” and below that “Laviz Rojo” on it, because I am also trying to learn Spanish. I folded the piece of paper, put it in by back pocket, but nothing happened on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Then Thursday morning I woke up and felt fantastic. This was going to be my day. I would discover the Red Pencil.

At about ten to nine in the morning I left my office to go remind a colleague of mine that we had a nine o’clock teleconference. He was in our conference room with another individual. I walked in and each of them was holding a red pencil with red lead – the EXACT pencil I had pictured in my mind. And there was an entire box of red pencils sitting on the table in front of me!

I asked if I may have one of the pencils, which they allowed me. I walked back to my office and just started laughing. “This works,” I said out loud. “This works!” Any doubts I had disappeared, and I am now realizing more joy in my life than ever before, because I know that I am in charge of what happens to me and I need only believe and feel it.

And you know something? The universe doesn’t know the difference between a red pencil and a million dollars.