Book Summary: The Science of Getting Rich
I first heard about the book The Science of Getting Rich from an influencer, Brooke Raybould. I bought a paperback copy on Amazon, which only cost $3.74! It’s a quick, motivating read. Today, I’ll summarize my favorite parts.
The Science of Getting Rich was actually the inspiration for the book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, which launched a lot of what we consume today in terms of modern manifestation. That means the author, Wallace Wattles, was writing and originating ideas in 1910 that still influence us to this day. That’s how powerful books are.
Note: There are some controversies surrounding this book, but I’m still going to share the parts I enjoyed.
Wealth allows us to enjoy life and do more for others
Wealth is essential for us to have a solid foundation for our body, mind, and spirit. Our bodies need rest and recreation, and wealth allows us to have that. Our minds need objects of art and beauty. And to be happy, we need to “bestow benefits” upon everyone we love. He writes, “Love finds its most natural and spontaneous expression in giving.”
There is a science to getting rich
Wattles creates a convincing thesis when he explains that wealth is not determined by the following:
Environment
Talents
Ability to save money
Doing certain things
He writes, “Everywhere, we see rich and poor living side by side, in the same environment, often in the same vocations.”
Some talented people never get rich.
Similarly, “getting rich is not the result of saving or ‘thrift’ as many penurious people are poor while free spenders often get rich.”
I found this particularly interesting: 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.”
So if you don’t get rich from your environment, talents, ability to save, or doing certain things, then how on earth do you get rich? Wattles says you must do things in a Certain Way. Yes, he capitalizes that. And he emphasizes, “there is more than enough for all.”
So what is the Certain Way?
The author never clearly defines the Certain Way. Instead, he goes into a number of chapters describing elements of The Way. I’ve taken the liberty of summarizing this in my own fashion:
Step 1: Form things from your thoughts into existence
Wattles starts to use this idea of the “Formless Substance,” which means ideas that have not been created yet. One way to get rich, he says, is to use the resources of the Formless Substance to create new things into existence.
“Thought is the only power which can produce tangible riches from the Formless Substance.”
“Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought about Formless Substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.”
You can see how this book became the foundation of much of what we know about ‘manifestation’ today:
Wattles explains:
“To think ‘health’ when surrounded by the appearances of disease, or to think ‘riches’ when in the midst of appearances of poverty, requires power; but he who acquires this power becomes a master mind. He can conquer fate; he can have what he wants.”
“The science of getting rich begins with the absolute acceptance of this faith.”
Step 2: Understand that getting rich is the natural order of things and it will not harm anyone else
“You want to get rich in order that you may eat, drink, and be merry when it is time to do these things; in order that you may surround yourself with beautiful things, see distant lands, feed your mind, and develop your intellect; in order that you may love men and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world to find truth.”
Getting rich is part of life’s natural order. As Wattles describes, “that which makes you want more money is that which makes the plant grow; it is Life seeking fuller expression.” Getting rich helps you “make the most of yourself” so you can “help others make the most of themselves.”
Often, when we think of getting rich, we think of competition. In starting a business, we think: who are the competitors? But according to Wattles, to get rich, we have to get rid of the thought of competition.
To get rich, we have to create, not compete. Getting rich will not take anything away from anyone. You do not have to:
“Drive sharp bargains
Cheat or take advantage
Let any man work for you for less than he earns
Covet any property of others or look at it with wishful eyes
Hurry before someone beats you to it”
The competitive mind is rooted in lack. He says, “riches secured on the competitive plane are never satisfactory or permanent; they are yours today, and another’s tomorrow. Remember, if you are to become rich in a scientific and Certain Way, you must rise entirely out of the competitive thought.”
Your competitive mind “arrests” your “creative movement.”
Instead, look at the “limitless riches of the Formless Substance and know that they are coming to you as fast as you can receive and use them.” By this, I take it to mean that inspiration and creative drive are always coming toward you. You must harness it and create something tangible.
“You are not seeking anything that is possessed by anybody else; you are causing what you want to be created from Formless Substance, and the supply is without limits.”
Step 3: Give to every man more than you take from him
Mic drop moment in the book:
“You are going to get what you want, but in such a way that when you get it every other man will have more than he has now.”
You can’t give your customer more cash than they give to you. But you can give them more value than what the cash was worth to them.
I bought The Science of Getting Rich for $3.74 but if the ideas within the book bring me thousands of dollars, then I haven’t been wronged by the people who sold it to me. They have given me great value for a small cash value. Therefore, you do not have to beat anyone in business. You need to “give every man more in use value than you take from him in cash value.” Through this model, you are “adding to the life of the world [with] every business transaction.”
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