positive thinking

One of the great fallacies in the self-help industry is the notion that you can change your life with "positive thinking." The purveyors of positivism, starting with Napoleon Hill and including the people who now promote The Secret, contend that we all have, at our conscious disposal, the means to transform ourselves into walking, breathing success machines. Some self-help gurus sell positive thinking because they know it is one of the most lucrative products to put in the marketplace. Change one thought and you can change your life! What better promise can you make to an underachieving, want to-be-rich-and-successful couch potato?