The Science of Getting Rich, written by Wallace D. Wattles

The science of getting rich is a very old book.

It was first published in 1911, which makes it more than 100 hundred years old.  However, the pearls of wisdom contained within its pages are timeless.  They are still valuable and practical to this day.

Here are some of the thoughts shared

in the book that piqued my interest:

Wallace D. Wattles opens the book by asserting that every man has the right to be rich.  No one ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and enjoying more.  He asserts that it is not possible to live a really complete and successful life unless you are rich.

He says that you can become what you want to become only by making use of things, and you can have the free use of things only as you become rich enough to buy them.  To understand the science of getting rich is therefore the most essential of all knowledge.

Desiring wealth for the purpose of increase to all is noble.  Every man has the potential, the right and the duty to increase his own wealth so that he may contribute to the increase of the good in the world.

“No man is prevented from getting rich by external circumstances,” says Wallace, “if this was the case, then the people of one city would all be rich while those of other towns would all be poor. But everywhere, we see rich and poor living side by side, in the same environment, and often engaged in the same vocations.”

Getting rich is an inside job.  It starts in your own mind.  It is a decision that you must make for yourself.  You can create what you want to create.  You can have what you want to have.  And you can become what you want to become.  Anyone and everyone has the capacity to increase their wealth.  “The desire for wealth is simply the capacity for larger life seeking expression.” Says Wallace Wattles.

He continues by saying, “It is your right and your duty to get rich. You need to become wealthy because in order to know more, do more, and be more we must have more; we must have things to use, for we learn, and do and become only by using things.  We must get rich so that we can live more.”

 “Thought is the only power that can produce tangible riches from the formless substance… everything you see on earth is made from one original substance out of which all things proceed,” Wallace says.  He continues, “All the forms that man fashions with his hands must first exist in his thoughts; he cannot shape a thing until he has thought that thing.”

Your wealth – your success – your happiness all starts in your mind.  Every tangible product that exists was first an idea.  An idea that someone believed in so much that he decided to act on it and make it real so the world can benefit from the fruit of his thoughts and labor.

The best way to make your riches tangible, to bring them to life, is to get in your mind a clear picture of the things you want. 

Clarity is power.  Fuzzy goals and thoughts will only yield fuzzy results.  In order to harvest tangible riches from the riches of your mind, Wallace Wattles offers the following advice, “Your part is to intelligently formulate your desire for the things which make for a larger life, and to get these desires arranged into a coherent whole. Use your faith to form a mental image of what you want and to hold that vision with faith and purpose…”

Be mindful of the thoughts and emotions that you allow to dwell in your mind.  If your goal is to increase your wealth, your duty is to visualise your intention with conviction and faith. He says that “Doubt and unbelief are as certain to start a movement away from you as faith and belief (purpose) are to start one toward you.“

 “The answer to your prayer is not according to your faith while you are talking, but according to your faith while you are working,” says Wattles.

Thought begins the journey to the science of getting rich. 

Belief and faith accelerate the process.  And action is the master key that opens the doors of opportunity.  Action is the big step that brings it all together and brings forth the chief aim of right thought and right faith.  “An ounce of doing things is worth a pound of theorising,” concludes Wallace.

“Begin to do what you can do where you are; and you must do ALL that you can do where you are… you can only advance by being larger than your present place; and no man is larger than his present place who leaves undone any of the work pertaining to that place,” writes the author.

This sentiment is echoed by Russell Cornwell, author of Acres of Diamonds.  It stands to reason then, that if you seek progress, you must start to act now – wherever you are.  When you know what to think and do, then you must use your willpower to think and do the right things.

Don’t wait for some future event, don’t lament your past misfortunes, ACT NOW!  There is never any time but now, and there will never be any time but now… you cannot act where you are not; you cannot act where you have been, and you cannot act where you are going to be; you can only act where you are.

Wallace Wattles warns that you shouldn’t try to do too many things all at once.  This will overwhelm you and lead to you wearing yourself out.  He cautions that “It is really not the number of things that you do, but the efficiency of each separate action that counts… every inefficient act is a failure, and if you spend your life doing inefficient acts, your whole life will be a failure. The more things you do, the worse for you, if all your acts are inefficient ones.  On the other hand, every efficient act is a success in itself, and if every act of your life is an efficient one, your whole life must be a success.  The cause of failure is doing too many things in an inefficient manner, and not doing enough things in an efficient manner.”

Knowing this then, your job is to do, every day, all that can be done that day, and to do each act in an efficient manner.

Recognise that it is your right to be rich… and that your thoughts and emotions will guide the actions you must take in order to live a more fulfilling life, and to contribute more to this experience we call life.

Recognise that the very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.

Don’t try to cheat your way to wealth.  You must give every man more in use value than he gives you in cash value.  Wallace Wattles says, “When things reach you they will be in the hands of other men, who will ask for an equivalent for them, and you can only get what is yours by giving the other man what is his.”

Don’t forget to be grateful for all the good you are getting and all that you are becoming.  Gratitude is the major force that connects you to all the good things coming into your life.

Place no limits on your desire for wealth… you are not prevented from getting rich by your physical environment, your current circumstances or your mental endowment.

Wallace Wattles concludes beautifully by saying:

“Talented people get rich, and blockheads get rich;

intellectually brilliant people get rich, and very stupid people

get rich; physically strong people get rich, and weak and sickly people get rich… some degree of ability to think and understand is, of course, essential; but in so far as natural ability is concerned, any man or woman who has sense enough to read and understand these words can certainly get rich.”

What has been preventing you from getting rich?  

Why have you allowed it to do so?

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