Steven Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

I have a secret. Actually, I have a copy of The Secret. It's the book that sold a gazillion copies.

It was all about visualizations, affirmations, and the law of attraction.

The idea was simple.

Visualize what I want.

Feel what it feels like to have it.

And voila!

Secret universal vibrations would zip into the ether, track down what I want, and bring it back to me.

It's a cosmic ATM with a delivery boy and no withdrawal limit.

What could be better?

My parents used the law of attraction when I was a kid.

They would write,

We're rich and enjoying our money on pieces of paper and stick them to their mirror.

Then they went out and spent my college fund, so I guess it worked for them.

To be fair, my dad did chip in during freshman year with the cashback bonus from his Neiman Marcus loyalty card. Scientists want a cosmic ATM as much as we do,

so they've studied affirmations. In the book 59 seconds, author Richard Wiseman shares the research.

Since scientists aren't paid very well,

they've researched this one a lot. The result? It turns out that when you imagine having what you want, you are actually less likely to get it. This is true for weight control, romance,

and career success. And what do most self-help programs tell us to do? Imagine

feeling as if we've already reached our goal. That doesn't work. So then we have to come back and

buy more self-help. I guess it does work for them. In fact, research shows that when we feel

like we have what we want, we're less motivated

...