Name: The Science of Getting Rich
Rating: 3.9 (220 reviews)
Author: Wallace D. Wattles

What’s in it for me? Open your mind to the magic of getting rich.

How do people get what they want? How do they even know what they want? Do you?

Even though the specifics may differ – some of us desire to learn a skill, others to start a family and yet others to simply grow and harvest a garden – we still all share an underlying desire for growth and abundance.

Most of the time, our desires and wants seem constrained by resources – time, money, opportunities. But what if someone told you that you could create these things for yourself and that there is an inexhaustible amount of them waiting for you if only you’d learn how to think in the right way? According to the author, Wallace D. Wattles, you can.

Along the way, you’ll also learn

why competition isn’t a viable way to happiness;
why cultivating an attitude of gratitude is important; and
how all the resources for a happy and fulfilling life are well within your reach.

To live a full life, you must nurture your mind, body and soul, and this requires material wealth.

Just about everyone wants to be rich. People who don’t have money want to acquire it and people who do have it worry about losing it.

There are those who might try to put this desire for wealth in a bad light, but, actually, it’s only natural.

The three core components of your life are your mind, body and soul, and to live a successful, happy life, you need to nurture them equally, which requires certain material goods.

For instance, you can’t fully celebrate your body if you can’t afford good food, comfortable clothing and a safe, cozy place to sleep.

Similarly, you can’t enjoy your mind without books, education and other intellectual stimulation.

And, finally, you can’t celebrate your soul without love and the means to show love to others. This last one may seem odd, but here’s the fact of the matter: love is most often demonstrated by a desire to give material gifts. In other words, someone with nothing to give can’t enjoy love or relationships to their fullest potential.

So how can you get rich enough to nurture these three aspects of your life?

Well, first of all, you should know that, contrary to what many think, people don’t become rich just because they were born to rich parents or with great talents, but because they behave in a certain way that is conducive to accumulating wealth.

Another common misconception is that not everyone can be rich because there’s only finite amount of riches in the world. According to the author, everything in the world is composed of the so-called Original Substance. The different elements we see in nature are just different manifestations of it. Luckily for us, the Substance is always regenerating, meaning that our natural resources will never run out.

So with this abundance in mind, it’s only natural for humans to want to acquire and experience more things.

This also means that nobody is poor because of any inherent dearth of resources, but rather because they don’t understand their power and the inexhaustible riches within their reach. Simply put, you and every other person has the right to be rich because you’re a part of nature, which abounds with riches.

Thoughts are the primary source of creation, but gratitude is what keeps it going.

What do you think the first step to getting rich is? Is it buying stocks? Starting a company?

Actually, the initial step begins with something much more fundamental: your thoughts. Thoughts are everywhere, and according to the author, by impressing your thoughts upon the Original Substance, you can cause the object of your thought to be created.

Focus your mind on what you want and don’t worry about other people.

Now that you know that you can attain your desires through the power of thoughts, it’s time to learn how to think the right way.

To get started, use your imagination to imbue the Substance with a clear and specific picture of what you want and a strong purpose to obtain it. For example, say you want a house. Picture it in all its detail. How big is it? What are the rooms like?

Acting in the present, in harmony with your faith and purpose, will bring about the future you desire.

Alright, so the power of thought is an incredibly powerful tool for creating your own reality. But action is still required to get things moving. While your thoughts can attract the things you want, only your actions will make them truly yours.

And because you can’t act in the past or in the future, the present is the only moment you’ve got, so you’d better act now. That means, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in, you’ve got to act to prepare yourself for the future you want. If you merely invest energy in visualizing your ideal future and do nothing to work toward it, success will never actually materialize.

Using your talents will help you to grow and inspire others to do the same.

Have you ever been really good at something that you also really like doing? If yes, you know what an incredible feeling it is, and you’d probably agree that every person should strive for such an experience.

Finding the sweet spot where talent and enjoyment intersect will help you perform better, thereby helping you succeed. And what could be better than getting rich while doing what you love?

Kernaussagen in The Science of Getting Rich