Many people have become increasingly aware of the law of attraction, or the idea that positivity begets positivity and negatively begets negativity, with the last few years showing an increase in people looking for a manifestation coach that can help them live the life they want to live.

The first mention of the term law of attraction was by Helena Blavatsky in 1877, but her idea of the law as an attractive power between spirits is not connected to the law of attraction as we know it today.

In fact, it would take another ten years before Prentice Mulford would first describe manifestation as we know it in The Law of Success published in 1887, although other New Thought writers such as Henry Wood and Ralph Waldo Trine would follow suit.

Over the next century, several of the most successful books ever written would be based on the law of attraction, such as The Power of Positive thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and Louise Hay’s You Can Heal Your Life.

Mr Peale’s book, in particular, would inspire many people to practice manifestation, affirmation and visualisation techniques to help them improve their lives and themselves.

However, in recent years, the biggest exposure of manifestation came from the 2006 film The Secret, a documentary that interviews a range of people who teach the law of attraction to others.

It was a huge success, making 20 times its original budget at the box office, but its companion book was an even bigger success, in part because it would get the support of one of the most powerful women in television.

The Oprah Winfrey Show had two major episodes showcasing the book and she invited author Rhonda Byrne onto her show to talk about her story of writing and shooting the documentary.

This, along with the marketing of the ideas as a ‘secret’ thrust manifestation into the mainstream and the book sold over 30m copies.

Since then, many more coaches, teachers and proponents have sworn by manifestation and have found ways it has helped their lives.