I think the main thing is if...
a) the intentions create/change something in the universe
b) the intentions helps us to make that change/find that something in the universe
First I want to say... That not being into "PD" doesn't mean not being into PD really. lol... I mean, everyone that tries to be happy, to live a good life... is into personal development, no matter if he has ever heard of the exact words.
Gandhi never was in PD
. I think you know what I mean... PD stuff is not all the PD stuff.
I've just made a huge change coming back to believe in SR. Now, "a" or "b"... mostly are the same thing cause we don't know for sure what's on the universe and it's not... and what is possible and what is not!.
Go tell someone in the 15th Century what a plane is.
I don't think we can change the universe itself but surely we can change "our" universe, our subjective universe.
Not making things appearing out of the nowhere (that would miracles instead of manifestations...) just getting to that things for the possibles ways to them. It could be a certain person to meet, a certain discovery, etc.