The 5207418 Sniff Test
5207418 is a number sequence that people repeat or write in the hope of attracting money. Whether you find it meaningful or not, you can check any claim like this in about a minute with four questions.
The four questions
Mechanism. Does it claim a “how” that it cannot show? If so, treat it as a story. It may be a lovely story, but it is not a fact.
Blame. What happens when it does not work? If the answer is “you doubted,” be careful. A method that can never fail is a trap.
Money. Does it need your money? Numbers are free, and a pen is free. Anything beyond that is markup.
Action. Does it send you toward doing something real in your life, or does it replace doing?
If two or more raise a flag, close the tab.
A fair test
If you are curious, run the Noticed-vs.-Caused Log for thirty days. Whenever money or an opportunity arrives, write down what happened, what you did beforehand, and whether it could have happened anyway. The log protects you from remembering every hit and forgetting every miss.
Download the Sniff Test and the Noticed-vs.-Caused Log. Both are in Chapter 5 of the book.