The “Law of Attraction” (LoA) is commonly framed as “like attracts like”—that focused thoughts and emotions draw corresponding experiences. While the phrase exploded into mainstream new age culture in the 2000s, its lineage runs through 19th-century New Thought and early 20th-century success literature, then resurged with contemporary self-help media (Britannica, 2025; History of New Thought, 2025; New Yorker profile of Byrne, 2010). This brief history sketches the major waypoints and texts that shaped LoA’s evolution into popular culture (Atkinson, 1906/1908; Haanel, 1916/1919; Wattles, 1910; Hill, 1937; Hicks & Hicks, 2006; Byrne, 2006).
New Thought emerged in the United States amid religious skepticism, Romanticism, and interest in mind-healing, with Phineas P. Quimby often cited as an early progenitor (Britannica, 2025). Its central conviction—that mind influences matter and correct thought promotes health and flourishing—became a cradle for ideas later labeled the Law of Attraction (EBSCO Research Starters, n.d.; Encyclopedia.com, n.d.). The specific phrase “law of attraction” appears in 19th-century metaphysical literature and is developed extensively by Prentice Mulford in essays later collected as Your Forces and How to Use Them, which argue that thought is a creative force shaping experience (Mulford, 1888/1904; see also Prentice Mulford overview, 2025).
Early New Thought linked “mind-cure,” idealism, and practical spirituality, distributing its ideas through lectures, periodicals, and books across the U.S. and abroad (Britannica, 2025).
The early 1900s produced books that codified LoA-adjacent principles for a mass audience. William Walker Atkinson’s Thought Vibration; or, The Law of Attraction in the Thought World (1906) explicitly states, “thoughts are things,” and frames attraction as a mental “vibration” principle (Atkinson, 1906/1908). Charles F. Haanel’s The Master Key System (1916) organizes visualization, concentration, and “thought-force” into a 24-part course later cited by modern proponents (Haanel, 1916/1919). Wallace D. Wattles’s The Science of Getting Rich (1910) presents a pragmatic “creative thought” method for material success (Wattles, 1910). By the 1920s–1930s, Napoleon Hill popularized success psychology’s emphasis on desire, belief, and persistence in The Law of Success (1928) and Think and Grow Rich (1937), embedding mind-over-matter ideas into American self-help culture (Hill, 1937).
In the early 2000s, Esther and Jerry Hicks advanced LoA through the “Abraham” teachings, culminating in The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (2006) and related works that framed deliberate focus and emotional guidance as keys to “allowing” desired outcomes (Hicks & Hicks, 2006). Shortly after, Rhonda Byrne’s documentary and book The Secret (2006) propelled LoA into global mainstream culture, drawing on New Thought texts (e.g., Wattles) and featuring contemporary teachers (New Yorker, 2010). The popularization drew both devoted audiences and critiques that LoA risks oversimplifying structural realities or encouraging self-blame for uncontrollable hardships (New Yorker, 2010).
| Period | Figure / Work | Notes & Influence |
|---|---|---|
| Mid–late 1800s | New Thought emergence; Phineas Quimby; Prentice Mulford, Your Forces and How to Use Them (1888) | Mind-healing, idealism, and “thought as cause” become popular; Mulford elaborates thought-creativity themes (Britannica, 2025; Mulford, 1888/1904). |
| 1906 | William W. Atkinson, Thought Vibration; or, The Law of Attraction in the Thought World | Explicit “Law of Attraction” framing; “thoughts are things” and “like attracts like” (Atkinson, 1906/1908). |
| 1910–1916 | W. D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich (1910); C. F. Haanel, The Master Key System (1916) | Systematized creative thought, visualization, and concentration for success and self-development (Wattles, 1910; Haanel, 1916/1919). |
| 1928–1937 | Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success (1928); Think and Grow Rich (1937) | Success psychology mainstreams mind-set, desire, belief, and persistence (Hill, 1937). |
| 2004–2009 | Esther & Jerry Hicks (Abraham) titles incl. The Law of Attraction (2006) | Modern spiritual framing of deliberate focus and emotional alignment (Hicks & Hicks, 2006). |
| 2006 | Rhonda Byrne, The Secret (film & book) | Global popularization, substantial cultural impact and debate (New Yorker, 2010). |
Atkinson, W. W. (1908). Thought vibration; or, The law of attraction in the thought world. The Library Shelf. (Original work published 1906). https://archive.org/details/thoughtvibratio00atkigoog
Britannica. (2025, July 28). New Thought. https://www.britannica.com/event/New-Thought
Byrne, R. (2006). The Secret. Atria Books/Beyond Words. (Context & reception summarized in: Remnick, 2010).
EBSCO Research Starters. (n.d.). New Thought (religious movement). https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/complementary-and-alternative-medicine/new-thought-religious-movement
Haanel, C. F. (1919). The master key system. (Original course 1916). https://archive.org/download/masterkeysystem1919haan/masterkeysystem1919haan.pdf
Hicks, E., & Hicks, J. (2006). The law of attraction: The basics of the teachings of Abraham. Hay House. https://cmc.marmot.org/Record/.b2688835x
Hill, N. (1937). Think and grow rich. The Ralston Society.
Mulford, P. (1904). Your forces and how to use them (Vol. 4). White Cross Library. (Original essays 1880s). https://iapsop.com/ssoc/1904__mulford___your_forces_and_how_to_use_them_v4.pdf
Remnick, D. (2010, September 13). Power lines. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/13/power-lines-2
Wattles, W. D. (1910). The science of getting rich. Elizabeth Towne. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/59844/59844-h/59844-h.htm