Is "the secret" just a placebo effect?

i believe this is bullcrap and is just a placebo effect on a m scale. i believe this because everything in the book(i have read it 3-4 times) could realistically and pragmatically be surmised in a few pages, but reading the whole book, keeps you thinking positive the whole time, getting belted with relentess amounts of optimism, which makes it seem that much more precarious when delivering the "solution". if the secret was actually practical on a concrete basis, a whole "bible" of thinking positive would not be necessary and rather a few principle rules would suffice. is it ultimately an addmitted placebo effect, which works more efficiently cause of its scientific basis, and has its covered by,"if you dont believe in it, and think positive, its not true?" or is it actually a modern medicine that could change a person in their totality, rather than just replacing a negative mind-set. if the arguement against my allegations is "thats the whole point, to think positive and good things happen ot people who always are thinking good of themselves" then isnt this just an obsolete platitude, taken to new and unecessary levels, in order to make money? whats going on? explanations?