Why is the financial advis–ory industry not in a state of panic? Its very existence is threatened by a force that renders redundant the whole concept of planning, saving and prudent investing.

Anyone who wants wealth, health and happiness need only buy The Secret, the bestselling self-help book/DVD by Rhonda Byrne that promises to reveal the universal truth that has “travelled through the centuries to reach you.” It presents the key to all the material wealth you could ever dream of, along with the bodily well being and spiritual bliss that only a palatial mansion and a $450,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren can provide.

And the secret is so simple, I’ll tell it to you now, for free. Here goes: if you want something, just ask for it.

That’s it. The universe wants to give you what you want. But the universe thinks you want whatever it is you’re thinking about. So, if you’re thinking about your $200,000 mortgage, the universe thinks you want debt. If you really want, say, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, think about a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The universe will get the message, and your Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren will arrive. (Are you listening, universe? It’s the 5.5-L AMG V-8, 617 hp; silver grey is fine.)

How do I know this? The Secret was featured on Oprah last fall and, as a result, my wife bought the DVD. As we sat down to watch it, I promised I would keep an open mind, expecting something about setting goals, devising a plan and approaching it with confidence, perseverance and a positive attitude. But then, I’ve tried that already, and my success can be summed up in two words: Honda Civic.

Here’s how The Secret works: A boy sees a picture of a bike he wants. He then clips the picture out of the catalogue and stares at it dreamily. Some time later, a man arrives at the door bearing the bike. Author Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup For The Soul fame recalls wishing he had $100,000. He says he sketched a $100,000 bill and taped it to his bedroom ceiling so it was the first thing he saw every morning. He made $100,000. Then, he wondered if the same technique would work for $1 million. It did.

Another anecdote: a man recalls a time when he kept getting bills in the mail and wished he could get some cheques instead. He thought about cheques. The bills stopped and cheques came. No word on who sent the cheques, or what they were for. But that’s another message of The Secret: don’t worry about the details, the universe will provide.

Although The Secret has been endorsed by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, otherwise a beacon of cynical irony, many skeptics in the media have blasted its blatant appeal to material greed.

In a recent Saturday Night Live sketch, Oprah and Byrne check in via satellite with a starving refugee in Darfur to whom they have sent a copy of the book. Byrne rebukes the refugee for not thinking positively. “Your outlook is hurting you,” she says. When asked if he read The Secret, the refugee replies, no — he ate it.

The Secret’s defenders point out that it does delve beyond cash, cars and mansions into the more honourable ideals of gratitude, physical health and spiritual balance. Still, I would not recommend The Secret for children (don’t do your homework — just tell the universe you want an A+), impressionable young adults or the unemployed (“I’m not actively looking for work, but I am staring at a photograph of somebody who has a job”).

I still haven’t ruled out The Secret. If the universe wants to give me cash, I’ll gladly accept it. I have a printout of a 1934 US$100,000 bill pinned to my cubicle wall. If that works, I’m going to try for $1 million. Where will the money come from? Got that covered. I’m thinking about cheques.

— GRANT MCINTYRE, SENIOR EDITOR