The New Science of Getting Rich

PREFACE

THIS BOOK is pragmatic, not philosophic; a practical manual, not a treatise upon theories. It is intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money, who wish to get rich first and philosophize afterward. It is for those who have, so far, found neither the time, the means, nor the opportunity to go deeply into the study of metaphysics, but who want results and who are willing to take the conclusions of science as a basis for action, without going into all the processes by which those conclusions were reached.

It is expected that the reader will take the fundamental statements upon faith, just as he would take statements concerning a law of electrical action if they were promulgated by a Marconi or an Edison; and, taking the statements upon faith, that he will prove their truth by acting upon them without fear or hesitation. Every man or woman who does this will certainly get rich; for the science applied herein is an exact science, and failure is impossible. For the benefit, however, of those who wish to investigate philosophical theories and so secure a logical basis for faith, I will here cite certain authorities.

The monistic theory of the universe, the theory that One is All and that All is One; that one Substance manifests itself as the seeming many elements of the material world, is of Hindu origin and has been gradually winning its way into the thought of the western world for two hundred years. It is the foundation of all the Oriental philosophies and of those of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Schopenhauer, Hegel, and Emerson.

The reader who would dig to the philosophical foundations of this is advised to read Hegel and Emerson.

In writing this book, I have sacrificed all other considerations to plainness and simplicity of style, so that all might understand. The plan of action laid down herein was deduced from the conclusions of philosophy; it has been thoroughly tested and bears the supreme test of practical experiment: it works. If you wish to know how the conclusions were arrived at, read the writings of the authors mentioned above; and if you wish to reap the fruits of their philosophies in actual practice, read this book and do exactly as it tells you to do.

—W. D. Wattles

UPDATED VERSION

1. THE RIGHT TO BE RICH

WHATEVER MAY be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that no one can live a really complete or successful life unless they’re rich. We can’t achieve our greatest potential unless we have plenty of money; for to develop our gifts and talents, we must use many things, and we can’t have those things unless we have money to buy them with.

People develop themselves—mind, soul, and body—by using things and going places, and in today’s money oriented society, we must spend money to have those things and go those places. Our world has advanced so far and become so complex that even the most ordinary man or woman requires a great amount of wealth, compared to any time in the past, to come even close to fulfillment.

An Inalienable Right

All of life has one purpose: development. Everyone naturally wants to become all that they are capable of becoming. It’s inherent in human nature; we can’t help wanting to be all that we can be! And everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the development it’s capable of attaining (our Founding Fathers called this the pursuit of happiness). Everyone has the right to the free and unrestricted use of all the things they need for their fullest mental, spiritual, and physical development. In short, we all have the right to be rich.

In this book, I’m not talking figuratively or just about psychological or emotional riches. To be really rich does not mean to be satisfied or contented with a little. No one should be satisfied with a little if they’re capable of using and enjoying more. Nature’s purpose is to advance and develop all of life, which means that everyone should have all that can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of their life, and to be content with less is contrary to nature’s intent.

The Desire for a Richer Life

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get rich. A desire for riches is really the desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant life, and that desire is praiseworthy. Anyone who owns all they want to live all the life they’re capable of living is rich, and, in our world, no one who hasn’t got plenty of money can have all they want. Anyone who doesn’t want enough money to buy all that they desire is denying their true nature.

Success in life is becoming what you want to be. You can become all you want to be only by making use of things, and you can have the free use of things only as you become rich enough to acquire them. So, understanding the science of getting rich is the most essential of all knowledge.

Living Fully

Three aspects of our being need to be developed: the body, the mind, and the soul. No one of these is better or holier than the other; they’re all equally desirable, and no one of the three—body, mind, or soul—can live fully if either of the others is deprived of full life and expression. It’s neither right nor noble to live only for the soul and deny mind or body, and it’s wrong to live for the intellect and deny the body or soul.

We’ve all seen the painful consequences of living for the body and denying both mind and soul, and we see that to live a full life means the complete expression of all three. Whatever they might say, no one can be really happy or satisfied unless their body is living fully in every function and unless the same is true of their mind and their soul, as well.

Wherever there’s a possibility unexpressed or one of these functions unperformed, we experience unsatisfied desire. Desire can be defined, therefore, as possibility seeking expression or function seeking performance.

No one can live fully in body without good food, comfortable clothing, and warm shelter, and without freedom from excessive toil. Periodic rest and recreation are also needed.

No one can live fully in mind without books or media and time to study them, without opportunities for travel and observation, or without intellectual companionship. In fact, to live fully in mind, we must have interests to explore and must surround ourselves with all the objects of art and beauty we’re capable of using and appreciating.

To live fully in soul, we must have love, and love can’t be fully expressed when we’re stuck in poverty. This is because love finds its most natural and spontaneous expression in giving: our highest happiness is found in providing the blessings of life to those we love. People who have nothing to give can’t really fill their role as a spouse or parent, as a citizen, or as a human being.

Clearly, it’s in the use of material things that anyone finds full life for the body, develops the mind, and unfolds the soul. It’s therefore supremely important for us to be rich.

Fulfilling Our Duty

It’s perfectly right that you should desire to be rich. If you’re a normal man or woman, you can’t help doing so. It’s perfectly right that you give your best attention to the science of getting rich, for it’s the most fundamental of all studies.

In fact, to neglect this study is to be derelict in your duty to yourself, to God, and to humanity, for the highest service you can render to God and humanity is to make the most of yourself.

SUMMARY

No one can achieve their greatest potential unless they have plenty of money, for to develop our gifts and talents, we must use many things and go many places, and unless we have money, we can’t.

A desire for riches is really the desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant life, and that desire is praiseworthy.

No one can be really happy or satisfied unless their body is living fully in every way, and the same is true of their mind and their soul, as well.

It’s perfectly right that you should give your best attention to the science of getting rich because it’s fundamental to all studies, and the highest service you can render to God and humanity is to make the most of yourself.

2. THERE IS A SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH

THERE’S A science of getting rich, and it’s an exact science, like chemistry or arithmetic. Certain laws govern the process, and once anyone learns and obeys these laws, they will get rich. No doubt about it. Acquiring money and property comes from doing things in a certain way, and those who do things this certain way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich, while those who don’t do things this way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor.

The science is based on the natural law that states: like causes always produce like effects.¹ This law works in the same way as the law of gravity or any other natural law: it applies equally to everyone, everywhere. Everyone has the choice to act in accordance with it or to ignore it, but we all experience its consequences. So anyone who learns to create the causes that produce riches will automatically get rich. Anyone.

It’s Not the Environment

It can happen anywhere. Getting rich isn’t a matter of environment; if it were, all the people in certain neighborhoods would become wealthy. The people of one city would all be rich, while those of other towns would all be poor, or everyone who lived in one state would roll in wealth, while those of an adjoining state would be stuck in poverty. But everywhere we see rich and poor living side-by-side, in the same environment, and often doing the same kinds of work.

When two people are in the same business in the same vicinity and one gets rich while the other remains poor, it shows us that getting rich is not primarily a matter of environment. Some environments may be more favorable than others, but when two people in the same business are in the same neighborhood and one gets rich while the other fails, it indicates that getting rich is the result of some other factor.

It’s Not About Talent

Nor is getting rich due to how talented one is, for many people who have great talent remain poor, while others who have very little talent get rich. In fact, studying people who have gotten rich shows that they’re pretty average, with no greater talents and abilities than most other people have. They don’t get rich because of any special talent they might have but because they happen to do things in the certain way that produces riches.

It’s Not About Thrift

Getting rich is not the result of being careful how you spend money. Many thrifty people are poor, while free spenders often get rich. Nor is getting rich due to doing business differently than others, for often two people in the same business do almost exactly the same things and one gets rich while the other remains poor or even goes bankrupt.

It’s clear then that getting rich is simply the result of doing things in a certain way. And if anyone who does things that way becomes rich, then what we’re talking about is a science.

It’s Not Difficult

The question then becomes whether this science is too difficult for most people to do. Well, if we look around us, we can see the answer: 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 or sickly people get rich. Some degree of ability to think and understand is, of course, essential, but all the evidence says that anyone who has sense enough to read and understand these words can certainly get rich.

It’s Not What Business You’re In

Again, it’s not a matter of any particular business or profession. People get rich in every business and in every profession, while their next-door neighbors, in the very same line of work, might remain in poverty.

It is true that you’ll do best in a business that you like and is congenial to you. And if you have certain talents that are well developed, you’ll do best in a business that uses those talents. Also, you’ll do best in a business that’s suited to your locality: an ice cream parlor would do better in a warm climate than in Greenland, and a salmon fishery will succeed better in the Pacific Northwest than in Florida, where there are no salmon.

But, aside from these general limitations, your getting rich doesn’t depend on any particular business you might go into; it only depends on your learning to do things in a certain way. If you’re now in business and anybody else in your locality is getting rich in the same business while you aren’t, it’s simply because you’re not doing things in the same way they are.

It’s Not Your Location

Yes, location counts for something. No one would go to the heart of Antarctica or the Sahara and expect to run a successful business! Getting rich involves dealing with people and being where there are people to deal with, and if these people are inclined to deal in the way you want to deal, so much the better. But that’s it as far as environment goes. If anybody else in your town can get rich, so can you, and if anybody else in your state can get rich, so can you.

It Doesn’t Require Capital

No one is