Louise Hay

1 of 13
Millions of people have now heard of The Secret , a theory which brings phrases like "positive thinking" and "the law of attraction" to everyday conversations. Although the The Secret is a fairly recent phenomenon, spiritual thinkers say they've been studying the concepts for years.

Acclaimed author Louise Hay is considered the mother of positive thinking. She is back to continue the conversation about the law of attraction, which is the basis of The Secret . "The law of attraction is that our thinking creates and brings to us whatever we think about," she says. "It's as though every time we think a thought, every time we speak a word, the universe is listening and responding to us."

Louise says negativity can keep you from obtaining the things you want in life. "We don't want to put ourselves down," she says. "We don't want to say, 'Oh, it will never work for me,' or 'I'm not good enough.' Because that's what the universe hears and returns to you."

Instead, Louise says you can transform your life by staying positive. "You have to start saying things that you feel really good about yourself. 'I love who I am. I love life. Life loves me. It's going to be smooth and easy. Life works for me.' And you just start doing that—it's planting seeds. You're not going to get it the first day, but you plant a seed and you water it and you continue the affirmations, and things start to shift and change in your life."