Table of Contents
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. 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.
The object of all life is development, and everything that lives has an absolute 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. 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.
To understand the science of getting rich is therefore the most essential of all knowledge. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get rich. The desire for riches is really the desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant life. 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.
The Science of Getting Rich
There is a Science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. Certain laws 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 always get rich.
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 residents 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 others who have very little talent get rich. Getting rich is not the result of saving, or “thrift”; many very penurious people are poor, while free spenders often get rich. 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 then any man or woman who can do things in that way can become rich.
Even no one is prevented from getting rich by a lack of capital. You may be the poorest man on the continent, and be deeply in debt; you may have neither friends, influence, nor resources; but if you begin to do things in this way, you must infallibly begin to get rich. If you have no capital, you can get capital; if you are in the wrong business, you can get into the right business; if you are in the wrong location, you can go to the right location; and you can do so by beginning in your present business and in your present location to do things in the Certain Way which causes success.
Thinking in the ‘Certain Way’
For thinking in the Certain Way, you must form a clear and definite mental picture of what you want; you cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself. You must have it before you can give it; and many people fail to impress Thinking Substance (subconscious power) because they have only a vague and misty concept of the things they want to do, to have, or to become.
It is not enough that you should have a general desire for wealth “to do good with”; everybody has that desire.
It is not enough that you should have the wish to travel, see things, live more, etc. Everybody has those desires also. If you were going to send a wireless message to a friend, you would not send the letters of the alphabet in their order, and let him construct the message for himself; nor would you take words at random from the dictionary. You would send a coherent sentence; one which meant something. When you try to impress your wants upon Thinking Substance, remember that it must be done by a coherent statement; you must know what you want, and be definite.
You can never get rich, or start the creative power into action, by sending out unformed longings and vague desires.
Go over your desires; see just what you want, and get a clear mental picture of it as you wish it to look when you get it. That clear mental picture you must have continually in mind, as the sailor has in mind the port toward which he is sailing the ship; you must keep your face toward it all the time. It is not necessary to take exercises in concentration, nor to set apart special times for prayer and affirmation, nor to “go into the silence,” nor to do magic stunts of any kind. These things are well enough, but all you need is to know what you want, and to want it badly enough so that it will stay in your thoughts.
The more clear and definite you make your picture, then, and the more you dwell upon it, bringing out all its delightful details, the stronger your desire will be; and the stronger your desire, the easier it will be to hold your mind fixed upon the picture of what you want.
Something more is necessary, however, than merely to see the picture clearly. If that is all you do, you are only a dreamer and will have little or no power for accomplishment. Behind your clear vision must be the PURPOSE to realize it; to bring it out in tangible expression. And behind this purpose must be an invincible and unwavering FAITH that the thing is already yours; that it is “at hand” and you have only to take possession of it. Live in the new house, mentally, until it takes form around you physically.
“Whatsoever things ye ask for when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” said Jesus.
See the things you want as if they were actually around you all the time; see yourself as owning and using them. Make use of them in your imagination just as you will use them when they are your tangible possessions. Dwell upon your mental picture until it is clear and distinct, and then take the Mental Attitude of Ownership toward everything in that picture. Take possession of it, in mind, in the full faith that it is actually yours. Hold to this mental ownership; do not waver for an instant in the faith that it is real.
And express your sincere GRATITUDE; be as thankful for it all the time as you expect to be when it has taken form. The man who can sincerely thank God for the things which he owns only in imagination has real faith. He will get rich; he will cause the creation of whatsoever he wants.
You do not need to pray repeatedly for the things you want; it is not necessary to tell God about it every day. “Use not vain repetitions as the heathen do,” said Jesus to His pupils, “for your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things before ye ask Him.”
The answer to prayer is not according to your faith while you are talking, but according to your faith while you are working. You cannot impress the mind of God by having a special God’s day set apart to tell Him what you want, and then forgetting Him during the rest of the week. You cannot impress Him by having special hours to go into your closet and pray, if you then dismiss the matter from your mind until the hour of prayer comes again.
Oral prayer is well enough, and has its effect, especially upon yourself, in clarifying your vision and strengthening your faith; but it is not your oral petitions which get you what you want. In order to get rich you do not need a “sweet hour of prayer”; you need to “pray without ceasing.” And here prayer means holding steadily to your vision, with the purpose to cause its creation into solid form, and the faith that you are doing so.
“Believe that ye receive them.”
Live in the new house; wear the fine clothes; ride in the automobile; go on the journey, and confidently plan for greater journeys. Think and speak of all the things you have asked for in terms of actual present ownership. Imagine an environment, and a financial condition exactly as you want them, and live all the time in that imaginary environment and financial condition. Mind, however, that you do not do this as a mere dreamer and castle builder; hold to the FAITH that the imaginary is being realized, and to the PURPOSE to realize it. Remember that it is faith and purpose in the use of the imagination which make the difference between the scientist and the dreamer. (Excerpt is from “The Science of Getting Rich” by W. D. Wattles).
