THE MILLIONAIRE'S SECRETS

A pointless parable whose message is, Everything you need to know, you can learn in the rose garden. John Blake, age 32, is an ostensibly brilliant ad copywriter who has lost his way in the world. Afraid of ``los[ing] the power to dream,'' he quits his job. His lofty dream? To run his own ad agency. He meets a reclusive millionaire, who utters sub-par bon mots such as ``Don't forget, you can do anything you really believe you can do'' and ``Once you start something you have to work hard.'' The millionaire (who made his debut in Fisher's first book, The Instant Millionaire, not reviewed) is a tender of roses and shows John how to look—really look—at a rose and emphasizes the importance of having faith. The mentor then imparts a mysterious box, just so John can also become rich—not just in spirit, but in cash. John starts his own ad firm and falls in love with his gorgeous assistant, Rachel. But the young disciple must undergo trials: The agency fails, his legs become paralyzed, he loses Rachel. But he starts getting the millionaire's message; he realizes his true goal is to write a screenplay and earn $250,000. (The millionaire aims a bit higher: His script must ``show that God rests in each and every one of us''—no doubt, a big seller in Hollywood.) With a bit of lying and manipulation (after all, John reasons, everyone does it), he sells his screenplay for . . . $400,000. And he reunites with Rachel, too, just in time to prevent her marriage to another man and to watch her give birth to his child. Inspiration confused with motivation, New Age spirituality mixed with old-fashioned ambition and greed. If this is the spirit of the '90s, one can only be grateful that the millennium is upon us.