Isn't the Law of Attraction Essentially Just You Visualizing What You Want and Taking Initiative to Get It, Rather Than Magic Hokum?

No. With manifestation, things can happen that range from the highly unlikely to the nearly impossible. 

Like opportunities falling into your lap out of nowhere.

For example, I always wanted to translate a spiritual book, but it was highly unlikely that my wish would come true.

I had translated some articles and marketing material from German into English, but I didn’t have any contacts in the publishing industry and neither experience nor a diploma as a professional translator. It was a nerdy but pretty futile desire, so I never told anyone about it.

One day, my best friend called me and said that a small German publisher—who got her contact information through a friend of a friend—had emailed her and offered her to translate a New Age book.

But she didn’t feel like doing it, she said: “I thought this would be right up your alley.”

So I actually got to translate the book. What kept the story from becoming a “happily ever after,” was that the publisher ran into financial problems, and the translation was never published.

He also never paid me, despite me bombarding him with increasingly pissed-off reminder emails. Since I lived in a different country, I had no legal recourse.

In the end, I realized that I only ever envisioned translating a spiritual book but forgot to envision getting paid for it too. 

It was a good reminder to be careful what you wish for and to align yourself with God's will at all times.