Harry Potter fends off a pack of Dementors with his Patronus charm, a magical version of the LOA.

What can Harry Potter teach us about the law of attraction? What would he even need it for, if he has a magic wand? Actually, one of his most powerful charms is nothing more than the LOA in a more visible form.

Of all the evil forces Harry faces, few are as sinister as the Dementors. Immortal soul-sucking wraiths, they turn the air cold and dark, feed on positive emotions, and make people feel like they’ll never be happy again. If they succeed in carrying out “the Dementor’s Kiss,” the victim is left as an empty shell with no chance of recovery, a fate believed to be worse than death.

Fortunately, there’s a very effective defense against Dementors, called a Patronus charm. Harry simply points his wand and says the magic words “Expecto Patronum!” Unlike most of Harry’s incantations, this one is correct classical Latin, meaning “I await a protector.”

And then the protector–the Patronus–arrives, an ethereal being flowing out of his wand as bluish white light. It absorbs the Dementors’ negative energy and repels them like a dog herding sheep.

Oh, how nice it would be to just wave a wand and sit back, letting the universe send a magical protector to chase away evil while you went about your business.

But here’s the catch – even in the magical world of Harry Potter, there is no universe-appointed protector. The Patronus is just you. It comes from your own emotions and, when fully formed, appears as an animal that reflects your personality or is somehow significant to you (according to various online quizzes, mine would be a phoenix, an eagle, a hawk, or a stag).

It’s an incarnation of your deepest positive feelings, that part of you that feels no despair and is thus immune to negative energies. Remus Lupin tells Harry, “In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory…Allow it to fill you up…lose yourself in it.”

So the Patronus is only as good as the one conjuring it. Although it’s completely within their control, it’s still very difficult to master, especially when under the stress of facing a Dementor. Lose your focus, and the Patronus becomes a weak veil of mist that won’t protect you from a fly. Even Harry failed in his first few attempts to cast one.

Whether there’s any metaphysical basis for the law of attraction, there’s no denying that a positive attitude can work wonders in plainly obvious ways. When people are putting you down, telling you you’re no good, saying you’ll fail, it takes a tough mind to tune them out. Most people don’t.

But if you let yourself be overcome by negative thoughts, there’s no escape. You fall victim to the Dementor’s Kiss, and become an empty shell of what was once a courageous soul. And the odds of an empty shell accomplishing anything meaningful are precisely zero.

OK, I know what you’re thinking. In a fantasy world, it’s not so hard to think happy thoughts for a few seconds until an enchanted animal spews forth from your wand and saves the day. In reality, it’s a lot harder to stay positive year after year when facing obstacles that don’t run away so easily. A dead-end job, poor health, and a struggling relationship don’t instantly fix themselves when you say “Expecto Patronum.” Why can’t we live in a world where things are that simple?

True, in our world, there’s a very convoluted connection between thoughts and outcomes. Overnight success still takes years, even when you stay focused and do everything right. But if results appeared instantly, would that be any better? Not really.

There will always be challenges, and the easier they are to overcome, the quicker they’re replaced with harder ones. A world that gave more power to you would also give more power to your obstacles.

If you could unlock a door by saying “Alohomora,” people could also say “Colloportus” to make the important doors Alohomora-proof. If you could disapparate (teleport) at will, people could also use anti-disapparition jinxes to keep you where you belong. If you could knock out any enemy by saying “Stupefy,” their friends could wake them up with the counter spell “Rennervate.” There are no special breaks, even for wizards, and certainly not for you and me.

Don’t wish for the world to be less challenging. Will yourself to have the strength to deal with it. Courage doesn’t require anyone’s permission but your own.

Are you awaiting a protector? If so, when will you create one?

For much more on the law of attraction, read Greatness Without Genies: The Law of Attraction for Realists.

What lets ordinary people tap into unlimited strength, peace, health, and abundance? The Secret.

What offers the same benefits, without asking you to believe in the supernatural? Greatness Without Genies.

As you may have guessed, I am now unveiling my latest ebook, Greatness Without Genies: The Law of Attraction for Realists.

Ever since The Secret came out, people have waged wars over the law of attraction. Choose your side: is the law of attraction the unquestioned lord and master of the universe, or is it a complete fantasy?

I’d like to offer a third perspective. There’s a middle ground. Well, there are many middle grounds, but specifically, you can dramatically improve your life with your thoughts, and you don’t need to believe in a genie to do so. That’s what this ebook is about.

Look, I liked The Secret, despite it having some pretty serious flaws. But many people just don’t want to go near anything that says a genie is going to give you the Midas touch. For years, the realists have been looked down on by people who proclaim that obviously you could move Fort Knox into your basement, if only you would put out the right frequency and get it to vibrate properly. You lazy bum, why won’t you vibrate?

For God’s sake, can’t someone deliver the benefits of the law of attraction without the mystical hype? Why yes, thank you for asking. Instead of just accepting or rejecting The Secret as is, I rewrote it from scratch, creating a new interpretation of the law of attraction. (And I actually refer to it as the principle of attraction as it’s not a scientific law. These details matter.)

You see, we really do have tremendous control over our lives, far more than we realize. I’d hate to see someone miss out on this just because they don’t like the way The Secret was presented. If you like The Secret, fine, so do I (at least the book version). But for the people who need real explanations (not pseudoscience or circular logic) and practical steps (not wishin’ and hopin’), you finally have something for you.

Last week in my Steve Pavlina interview, Steve said something about the law of attraction that I thought was right on the money:

“[The law of attraction] can be so effective for people, but it’s also missing some key aspects, which is why it often fails to work…The LoA is a step in the right direction, but it’s too inaccurate and flawed to work well in all situations. You can get some interesting results with the LoA…but the flaws in that model often leave people with little or nothing to show for their efforts. Holding clear intentions is still important and useful, but that’s only one piece of the larger puzzle.”

I agree, holding clear intentions is just one piece of the larger puzzle. If you’re ready to move beyond that first piece, order Greatness Without Genies: The Law of Attraction for Realists, and see the bigger picture of how you can realistically turn your thoughts into reality.

This ebook is $27, with a 50% affiliate payout. Genie sold separately, but not by me.