On a recent podcast, Joe Rogan took aim at a widespread celebrity belief: that thinking or visualizing might help you achieve your goals. While many believe in the law of attraction, the UFC commentator has questioned its exaggerated claims, disputing the notion that thinking alone causes success.

And while his take sparks a rare clash between practical realism and the manifestation mindset endorsed by the likes of Conor McGregor and Will Smith, it surely is one worth listening to.

Joe Rogan challenges ‘manifestation’ in celebrity culture

Joe Rogan’s perspective on manifestation is rooted in practical realism. On his podcast, he stated that, while there is some benefit to setting intentions and believing in positive results, the idea that one can “wish their life into existence” is oversimplified. For the JRE host, manifestation is really a minor component of a much broader puzzle, not a miraculous formula for success.

He made parallels with health and fitness, stating that getting meaningful results needs a combination of factors, including good nutrition, consistent exercise, rest, hydration, and avoiding reckless habits. Just as a single action cannot make someone healthy, envisioning goals does not immediately make them a reality.

Many celebrities see manifestation as a key to their success. Fighters like Conor McGregor attribute their success in the sport to visualization and keeping a “bulletproof mindset,” and actors like Will Smith emphasize the idea that people influence their reality through intention and clarity about their goals.

So, while Joe Rogan recognized the motivational potential of such methods, he emphasized that people frequently misunderstand them, treating them as the primary driver of results rather than a component of a wider system. He said on JRE #2389 with guest Sal Vulcano, “I think that is a part of things—that putting something into your head is a part of things. But I don’t think it’s the whole thing.”

Belief can guide action, he said, but it cannot replace the planning, preparation, and constant work required to generate visible results. He further added, “Things don’t happen exactly as randomly as we want to believe that they do. There’s a lot of examples of it. It’s a weird one to believe in because I feel like it’s ‘an’ element to life, and the problem is people are always looking for it to be ‘the’ element.”

Rogan’s criticism raises a key question: how much of this widespread notion is supported by facts and science? Understanding the theories and limitations of the law of attraction allows you to distinguish between inspirational ideas and myths, as well as revealing why mindset alone cannot guarantee success.

Rogan unknowingly highlighted the science and limits of manifestation

While Joe Rogan acknowledges that mindset can shape focus and motivation, he also emphasizes that not all claims of manifestation hold up under scrutiny. The law of attraction states that thoughts and emotions produce vibrational frequencies that attract similar experiences from the universe. Positive, focused thinking aligns these vibrations, whereas negative thinking repels desirable outcomes.

Manifestation practices often involve setting clear intentions, visualizing goals, and maintaining belief while detaching from the exact outcome. However, Joe Rogan believes that such ideas often exaggerate the impact of consciousness on real-world results. Scientific research supports his caution.

The law of attraction has little empirical support and is widely regarded as pseudoscience. Popular claims relating it to quantum physics or prominent scientists are false, because complicated processes like superposition, where particles can exist in multiple states at once, and the observer effect, where measuring a particle changes its behavior, occur at subatomic scales and cannot explain daily happenings.

Joe Rogan’s perspective emphasizes the distinction between metaphorical insight and literal effect. Visualizing goals may assist in influencing behavior or maintaining motivation, but it does not physically change reality. Manifestation can be useful as a cognitive tool, but success still requires preparation, skill development, and constant effort.