Where does Manifestation Originate? Download the Selfpause Affirmation App Many people identify the Law of Attraction, or the concept of manifesting in general, with the book or film “The Secret,” and as a result, many people believe that the Law of Attraction is a relatively new concept. However, this is not the case. As a result, I wanted to clear up any misconceptions with this insight into the history of the law of attraction, answering your question regarding where it started. So, where did the Law of Attraction come from? For nearly a century, people have believed in the Law of Attraction. And obviously not a modern invention. It was first mentioned in William Walker Atkinson’s 1906 book “Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World.”