The Science of Getting Rich with Study Guide

Deluxe Special Edition

Wallace D. Wattles

• Publisher: G&D Media
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781722520809
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

The way to prosperity is no longer a mystery. You too can prosper from the "exact science" of achieving financial success as you learn to: Change your life by changing your thoughtsAttract the prosperity you deserveAppreciate the opportunities that await youLive true to the values most precious to youManage stress and self-defeating impulses that hold you backMake the contribution to the world that only you can make, and enjoy the abundance you'll receive in return.This deluxe edition of the classic work, The Science of Getting Rich, includes a 21st century study guide structured with introspective questions that will allow you to explore your inner world, and apply the wisdom the author imparts to your life. It will be a remarkable journey of rejuvenation and self-discovery.

Chapter 1

The Right To Be Rich

Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich. No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty of money; for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with.

A man develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of things, and society is so organized that man must have money in order to become the possessor of things; therefore, the basis of all advancement for man must be the science of getting rich.

The object of all life is development; and everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the development it is capable of attaining Man’s right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted use of all the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual, and physical unfoldment; or, in other words, his right to be rich. In this book, I shall not speak of riches in a figurative way; to be really rich does not mean to be satisfied or contented with a little. No man ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and enjoying more. The purpose of Nature is the advancement and unfoldment of life; and every man should have all that can contribute to the power; elegance, beauty, and richness of life; to be content with less is sinful.

The man who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich; and no man who has not plenty of money can have all he wants. Life has advanced so far, and become so complex, that even the most ordinary man or woman requires a great amount of wealth in order to live in a manner that even approaches completeness. Every person naturally wants to become all that they are capable of becoming; this desire to realize innate possibilities is inherent in human nature; we cannot help wanting to be all that we can be. Success in life is becoming what you want to be; you can become what 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 buy them. To understand the science of getting rich is therefore the most essential of all knowledge.

There is nothing wrong in wanting to get rich. The desire for riches is really the desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant life; and that desire is praise worthy. The man who does not desire to live more abundantly is abnormal, and so the man who does not desire to have money enough to buy all he wants is abnormal.

There are three motives for which we live; we live for the body, we live for the mind, we live for the soul. No one of these is better or holier than the other; all are alike desirable, and no one of the three—body, mind, or soul—can live fully if either of the others is cut short of full life and expression. It is not right or noble to live only for the soul and deny mind or body; and it is wrong to live for the intellect and deny body or soul.

We are all acquainted with the loathsome consequences of living for the body and denying both mind and soul; and we see that real life means the complete expression of all that man can give forth through body, mind, and soul. Whatever he can say, no man can be really happy or satisfied unless his body is living fully in every function, and unless the same is true of his mind and his soul. Wherever there is unexpressed possibility, or function not performed, there is unsatisfied desire. Desire is possibility seeking expression, or function seeking performance.

Man cannot live fully in body without good food, comfortable clothing, and warm shelter; and without freedom from excessive toil. Rest and recreation are also necessary to his physical life.

He cannot live fully in mind without books and time to study them, without opportunity for travel and observation, or without intellectual companionship.

To live fully in mind he must have intellectual recreations, and must surround himself with all the objects of art and beauty he is capable of using and appreciating. To live fully in soul, man must have love; and love is denied expression by poverty.

A man’s highest happiness is found in the bestowal of benefits on those he loves; love finds its most natural and spontaneous expression in giving. The man who has nothing to give cannot fill his place as a husband or father, as a citizen, or as a man. It is in the use of material things that a man finds full life for his body, develops his mind, and unfolds his soul. It is therefore of supreme importance to him that he should be rich.

It is perfectly right that you should desire to be rich; if you are a normal man or woman you cannot help doing so. It is perfectly right that you should give your best attention to the Science of Getting Rich, for it is the noblest and most necessary of all studies. If you neglect this study, you are derelict in your duty to yourself, to God and humanity; for you can render to God and humanity no greater service than to make the most of yourself.

STUDY GUIDE

The Right to Be Rich

  1.  Wattles opens this book with the declaration, “… it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich.” Do you believe this statement to be true? Why or why not?

  2.  If you believe this statement to be true, list three examples of individuals who have wealth and live a “really complete or successful life.”

  3.  He continues by saying that “… to unfold the soul and to develop talent he (man) must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with.” Using the three examples that you listed above, provide specific details on the “things to use” that would enable one to “rise to his greatest possible height?”

  4.  According to Wattles, man’s right to life includes his right to be rich. Do you believe you have a right to be rich, simply by being on this earth, or do you believe you have to “do” something to attain wealth? Explain.

  5.  If you believe that you have to “do” something to get rich, look into your past. Where did you learn this belief? Family? Culture? Religion?

  6.  Wattles states that “No man ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and enjoying more.” Make a list of everything you would enjoy having or doing in your life. (E.g. larger house, loving partner, travel, leisure time, etc.)

  7.  Wattles also states, “… to be content with less is sinful.” Expand on this concept in your own words.

  8.  Wattles emphasizes that the desire to become all that we are capable of is inherent in human nature. How does this desire manifest in your life?

  9.  How have you felt when you have not experienced all that you are capable of?

10.  Wattles states that, “Success in life is becoming what you want to be.” List the ways in which you are becoming what you want to be.

11.  List the ways in which you are not what you want to be.

12.  According to this book, not having a desire for money is abnormal and having the desire for riches is actually the praiseworthy desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant life. Is there any part of you that judges your desire to get rich? If so, why do you believe that you have such a judgment?

13.  We live for the equal enrichment of our minds, bodies and souls. Denying any is wrong. Do you give equal weight to the care of your body, mind and soul’s needs? If not, for which of the three do you take most care? Why?

14.  Desire is “possibility seeking expression” or “function seeking performance”. List something that you desire in your life, noting how it fits into this definition of “desire”.

15.  Rest and recreation are necessary to your physical life. How many hours each week do you dedicate to getting adequate rest? Similarly, how much time do you dedicate to recreation each week?

16.  Noting the hours that you listed for rest and recreation, what would be the ideal hours that you would dedicate to each on a weekly basis?

17.  Travel, observation, and intellectual companionship help us live full lives. Do you travel as much as you would wish? If not, describe the type, duration, and frequency of travel that you desire.

18.  Do you spend optimal time on reading and studying? If not, how many hours do you currently dedicate to it, and how many hours would you ideally like to dedicate to it?

19.  To live fully in your mind, you must surround yourself with all the objects of art and beauty that you are capable of using and appreciating. Have you done so? If not, what more would you want to add to your surroundings?

20.  To live fully in your soul is to love. According to Wattles, love is denied expression by poverty. In other words, love cannot flourish in poverty and lack. Write about an example of this lack that you have observed.

21.  Love finds its most natural and spontaneous expression in giving. How has love been expressed in your life? How would you desire it to be fully expressed?

22.  According to the author, The Science of Getting Rich is the noblest and most necessary of all studies; without which you are derelict in your duty to yourself, to God and humanity. This really shifts most people’s perception of this pursuit. When considering that attaining wealth is your obligation to God and to humanity as a whole, how do any feelings of guilt or unworthiness shift for you?

Chapter 2

There Is A Science Of Getting Rich

There is a Science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches; once these laws are learned and obeyed by any man, he will get rich with mathematical certainty.

The ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way; those who do things in this Certain Way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich; while those who do not do things in this Certain Way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor. It is a natural law that like causes always produce like effects; and, therefore, any man or woman who learns to do things in this certain way will infallibly get rich.

That the above statement is true is shown by the following facts: Getting rich is not a matter of environment, for, 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 the inhabitants of one state would roll in wealth, while those of an adjoining state would be in poverty.

But everywhere we see rich and poor living side by side, in the same environment, and often engaged in the same vocations. When two men are in the same locality, and in the same business, and one gets rich while the other remains poor, it shows that getting rich is not, primarily, a matter of environment. Some environments may be more favorable than others, but when two men 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 doing things in a Certain Way.

And further, the ability to do things in this certain way is not due solely to the possession of talent, for many people who have great talent remain poor, while other who have very little talent get rich.

Studying the people who have got rich, we find that they are an average lot in all respects, having no greater talents and abilities than other men. It is evident that they do not get rich because they possess talents and abilities that other men have not, but because they happen to do things in a Certain Way.

Getting rich is not the result of saving, or “thrift”; many very penurious people are poor, while free spenders often get rich. Nor is getting rich due to doing things which others fail to do; for two men in the same business often do almost exactly the same things, and one gets rich while the other remains poor or becomes bankrupt. From all these things, we must come to the conclusion that getting rich is the result of doing things in a Certain Way.

If getting rich is the result of doing things in a Certain Way, and if like causes always produce like effects, then any man or woman who can do things in that way can become rich, and the whole matter is brought within the domain of exact science.

The question arises here, whether this Certain Way may not be so difficult that only a few may follow it. This cannot be true, as we have seen, so far as natural ability is concerned. 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 natural ability is concerned, any man or woman who has sense enough to read and understand these words can certainly get rich. Also, we have seen that it is not a matter of environment. Location counts for something; one would not go to the heart of the Sahara and expect to do successful business.

Getting rich involves the necessity of dealing with men, and of 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 is about 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. Again, it is not a matter of choosing some particular business or profession. People get rich in every business, and in every profession; while their next door neighbors in the same vocation remain in poverty. It is true that you will do best in a business which you like, and which is congenial to you; a...