A fair warning: this post delves into something I’m passionate about, which is somewhat philosophical in nature. So if you’re of a certain religious persuasion and easily offended by others, then please skip over this blog post. If not, read on…

“The Secret” is taking the entire world by storm. It deals with the “Law of Attraction,” in that we attract to ourselves what we think and feel, and that our perceptions mold our reality.

As Earl Nightingale proclaimed in “The Strangest Secret,” one of the first self-help programs I’ve ever bought: “We become what we think about.”

You may have seen it talked about on Larry King, Oprah, and many other talk shows. It’s the most successful Internet launch of any product. It hit Alexa #1 soon after its launch, and propelled to the Amazon.com’s #1 best selling book and DVD within a few months.

It appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Time Magazine, and even on the cover of Newsweek, which came shortly thereafter.

But is “The Secret” truly worth the buzz? Or is it just an old-world philosophy packaged in some newfangled marketing? The answer to the former is definitely “yes.” But for the latter, it’s “yes” and “no.” Let me explain…

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Are copywriters spin doctors? Maybe.

Spin-doctoring is often attributed to people, mostly politicians, who attempt to do damage control to downplay something truly negative. But in terms of copywriting, there’s a difference between putting a positive spin on a negative idea, versus putting a positive spin on an idea that can be perceived as negative.

Left to her own devices, a reader can come to many conclusions. Both right and wrong. Both true and false. Copy, in this case, has the power to steer the reader in the right direction — and therefore avoid going in the wrong one.

One such tool that enables copywriters to do this is hyperbole. In fact, hyperbole is powerful because it helps to drive home some important points, and aids in the comprehension of critical or complex ideas. But when it is perceived as hype, that’s when the copy did a poor job.

So how can you turn “hype” into “hallelujah?”

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