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.
< Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2>
This work is in the public
domain in the United States because it was published before January 1,
1923. It may be copyrighted outside the U.S.
