This short and amazing book is one of the first and most successful books of the twentieth century on success but for some reason never maintained its popularity.
Wallace Wattles was part of the New Thought movement which grew out of the Christian Science movement. Other members of the The New Thought Movement had influence from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Russell Conwell (Acres of Diamonds and founder of Temple University) Norman Vincent Peale (The Power Of Positive Thinking), and Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) are considered part of the movement.
When in The Secret they refer to writings that have been passed down through the ages, you can understand a bit of why the movie makes this claim.
It explains why there are so many references to Gd in Wattles’ books and why he spends so many paragraphs explaining why Christians do not have to live in poverty.
This may also help to explain why so many of the greatest self-help/motivational writers are religious and why this content will be found on the book shelves of religious people of all faiths.
You can find out more about Wattles’ life story at Wikipedia.
The book was published around the time Napoleon Hill claims to have interviewed Andrew Carnegie. I am wondering if this book had any influence on Napoleon Hill.
You can see some of Wattles influence on Brian Tracy in his Maximum Achievement series. Brian gets into much of the detail missing from Wattle’s book.
The book inspired the movie The Secret and has been used by Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield in their program the Secret of Getting Rich. You should sign up and get their free 7 lessons.
The book uses language and references from the early 1900′s and so reading it can be a bit slow going for the modern reader. I have annotated the table of contents and added some comments in the text of the book to help make it an easier read. The book is not long and can be read in an hour or so.
Chapter 1: The Right To Be Rich
Wattles starts his work with a clear description of the goal for the reader of the book. Which is to be rich. He then goes on and describes all the different things that wealth requires. The book was written in the early 1900′s and Wattles is clearly addressing the belief that living in poverty is a noble and good thing.
While Wattles wrote thirty years before Maslow introduced the hierarchy of needs, the Science Of Getting Rich outlines a similar hierarchy.
The motivational quote from this chapter is “Every person naturally wants to become all that they are capable of becoming.” This is the basis of the motivation self help movement. In the Success Through Balance language I refer to this as Growing Intellectually. In this approach he explains that as you become richer – you are more able to purchase more and then grow even more.
Wattles discounts the thought that living in poverty is a noble or good thing. If you live in poverty or without – you are clearly not able to achieve all that you are capable of.
The next level for Wattles is being able to give to all those that you love, and he makes the case that if you really love people – you will want to give to them, and if you want to give to them, you have an obligation to become wealthy.
CHAPTER 2: There Is A Science of Getting Rich
In Chapter 2 Wattles proves with simple and straight forward logic that riches are available to everybody and everywhere.
My favourite line in this chapter is “It is a natural law that like causes always produces like effects“. Therefore, if you do what rich people did to become rich, then you too can become wealthy.
He addresses many of the common complaints of why people do not become wealthy.
Wattles discusses the complaints that people are not borne to the correct family, that they are borne in the wrong location, that a person is lacking in skills, a person is lacking education, and the problem of people not enjoying what they do. Lastly he addresses the concern of people not to have capital.
If you don’t believe that you can become rich, then this chapter will start to address your concerns. Wattles demonstrates that wealth is available to all, he then shows that since their are so many wealthy people, in so many different places, there must be a system that people are following.
CHAPTER 3: Is Opportunity Monopolized?
In Chapter 3 – Wattles helps people who feel “Us” vs. “Them” phenomenon. He addresses the issue of people believing that others control all the wealth.
Many times in my life I met people who believe for some strange reason that they are not allowed to do things. The one that always frightens me are people who say only “those kind of people” can be Doctors, as if they were given some special blessing that the rest of us don’ have.
Wattles addresses Us vs. Them and introduces the “The Law Of Wealth”. He passionately declares that The Law Of Wealth states that their is enough wealth and material goods so that every single person can have wealth and riches in abundance.
This is totally in keeping with modern economic thought. Our economy assumes that new wealth is created daily and that economy will keep growing.
In personal terms, this means if I get wealthy, somebody else does not have to become poor. We both become wealthy when we create something new.
On a macro level – only when our economy goes into a recession or a depression is wealth destroyed.
But don’t forget, even in the worst of the 1930′s depression, people made money and created wealth.
I got my first job in the early 1980′s recession and I had many job offers. While the economy as a whole shrinks – parts of it grow and those parts are the leading industries once the recession ends.
Here is a hint – if the economy are enters into a recession – find the parts of the economy that will be growth in two to three years. If you are part of it now, you will rise to the top when it ends.
CHAPTER 4: The First Principle in The Science of Getting Rich
In Chapter 4 – Wattles introduces what has become known as the Law Of Attraction. the Law Of Attraction states that what you think about will manifest its self in your world. This is the biggest challenge to believing in The Secret.
Wattle has three assumptions that taken on their own are hard to believe because they are in contradiction with what we know of the physical world. While his conclusions make sense from his statements, the underlying statements are just too difficult to accept.
Wattles has three core statements:
- The universe is made up of thinking stuff.
- When you think of things – the thinking stuff becomes what you are thinking about.
- A person has the power to control the “Thinking stuff”.
If we reinterpret his ideas into some modern concepts, then his ideas are not so difficult to agree with and the rest of the logic flows.
The core belief is in the power of visualization. Athletes do it, public speakers, and all sorts of leaders do this all the time.
Prior to doing something, we need to visualize the result. We need to fully and completing visualize what we want and how we want it to happen. With great effort, the visualization will move into our subconscious. Once its in our subconscious, the subconscious starts helping us make our visualization a reality. We start acting in a certain way, we start noticing things that will help, we start focusing our full efforts on creating what we want.
In Chapter 6, Wattles discusses how Thinking Stuff becomes reality.
[A lot of the above is described in more detail in Brian Tracy's goals program.]
CHAPTER 5: Increasing Life
In Chapter 5 – Wattles returns to some of the thoughts from Chapter 4 that stop us from going forward. He addresses the belief common in 1910 that Gd wanted people to be poor. Wattles is vehement that “There is no Deity whose will it is that you shall be poor”.
The rest of the chapter deals with what it means to be rich. And that riches come from honesty and treating others fairly and with respect.
The major thought of the chapter is summed up in one line when Wattles says “Intelligent substance will make things for you, bit it will not take them away from someone else and give them to you.”
CHAPTER 6: How Riches Come To You
In Chapter 6 – Wattles explains what he means by “thinking stuff” in a more practical manner. He expands on how thinking stuff gets converted into practical things like a sewing machine.
Wattles continues to address the mistaken belief that Gd or “fate” has decreed that a person is poor.
He ends with a clear example of visualization and how it manifests itself into reality.
CHAPTER 7: Gratitude
Chapter 7 Connects Wattles beliefs to the power of Gd and that we must live a life of gratitude to the supreme being.
To atheists and non-believers, this concept will be a little hard to understand, for people of faith, this is not a challenge.
Certainly in Judaism we accept the concept of Gd interacting in our lives each and every day, but we retain the ability to have free will, which is a whole different discussion for another article.
The quote from this chapter is “To fix your attention on the best is to surround yourself with the best, and to become the best.”
Wattles starts to teach about how you should think and the kinds of thinking that you should avoid.
CHAPTER 8: Thinking in The Certain Way
In Chapter 8 Wattles teaches about setting clear goals and the importance of visualization in achieving your goals.
CHAPTER 9: How To Use The Will
In Chapter 9 Wattles provides us some valuable lessons:
- Never apply the powers learned through the Science Of Getting rich against any other people, rather use it to help others.
- Poverty can be eradicated by teaching people how to become wealthy and that each of us has the obligation to teach others.
- The greatest wealth is created by creating something new, not by taking away something that exists.
CHAPTER 10: Further Use of The Will
In Chapter 10 Wattles tells us all about how to spend our time. Wattles spends a number of paragraphs on the trend of his time – Séances.
CHAPTER 11: Acting in The Certain Way
In Chapter 11 we move into the area of action. This is where the movie the The Secret ends and where Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield’s The Secret of Getting Rich. picks up.
This chapter can be summed up by the quote “By thought, the thing you want is brought to you. By action, you receive it.” Wattles goes on to explain how to go about taking action and not to let your current circumstances in any way hinder you.
There are some special paragraphs that apply to the particularly intelligent reader. The ones who have advanced degrees, but are unable to receive the kind of financial rewards that their intelligence would seem to rate.
CHAPTER 12: Efficient Action
In Chapter 12 Wattles explains what the action a person must take. He starts with doing the best you can with what you have today. Tomorrow is another day and you use what you have tomorrow.
Wattles sets the tone all when he states “You do not know the workings of all the forces that have been set moving in your behalf.”
Wattles doesn’t mean blindly rushing off in every direction, but to take some time in planning. Generally, its been found that for every hour spent in planning, 10 hours of execution can be saved. But beware of planning and never executing. Planning, like thinking for some people becomes an excuse.
CHAPTER 13: Getting Into The Right Business
In Chapter 13 Wattles discusses what business to go into. How to select your business based on your strengths and weaknesses. As is consistent in the entire book, he focuses on using your brain as the focal point for your success.
He makes a strong point – even if you don’t know what to do in your business, you can learn if you focus on it and make it your passion.
My own story is a case in point – I started out with a degree in Computer Science – now I write, speak and consult on setting goals and achieving them.
“Do not be afraid to make a sudden and radical change if the opportunity is presented and you feel after careful consideration that it is the right opportunity, but never take sudden or radical action when you are in doubt as to the wisdom of doing so.”
CHAPTER 14: The Impression of Increase
In Chapter 14 Wattles introduces his concept of focusing on increase. By increase he means “more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, more knowledge, more pleasure — increase in something, more life. ”
By increasing for others, you will increase for yourself. The concept of “playing it forward.”
In sales, we refer to this as the after sale process. Ensure that your client understands that they are better off now that they have purchased your product or service.
Wattles finishes the chapter with some good advice on how a person should behave, even when they are wealthy.
CHAPTER 15: The Advancing Personality
In Chapter 15 Wattles discusses the professional person or the person who works for another. He uses examples of a Doctor and Clergyman.
CHAPTER 16: Some Cautions and Concluding Observations
In Chapter 16 Wattles makes it clear that wealth is available for all those that want it and that world is a better place each time a person becomes wealthy.
CHAPTER 17: A Summary of The Science of Getting Rich
In Chapter 17 Wattles provides a concise summary of The Science Of Getting Rich without any of the details required to implement it.
This article is part of the Success Through Balance series. You can read more about becoming successful through a balanced life here.
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