Does it matter if it's the placebo effect or not as long as you achieve your desired end result? Besides, the belief that you are a genius might be biting off to much, especially seeing as how you spelled genius wrong. =P just kidding.
As for PG: Do you know what to look for? The point of PG is not to wake up one morning and exclaim, "I just realized that the Calabi-Yau space is a real three-dimensional slice through the quintic hypersurface in complex projective four-space!! Whoa, dude!!" The point of Personal Genius is to help you achieve the Flow State, and improve the use of your Personal Genius by utilizing your multiple intelligences more effectively. You'll notice that the mansion metaphor is similar to a mind map (the entire mansion is at the center of the mind map, the rooms of the mansion are branches of the mind map, etc), and in the other ear you get "...provides a deep flow of concentration that is light, free, and enjoyable." You see what I mean? You have to know what you're looking for. Notice, Own, Play, Stay.