Summary of The Science of Getting Rich

This is Chapter 17 from Wallace D Wattles book, The Science of Getting Rich.  Wallace was a pioneering ‘Success’ writer who lived from 1860-1911.

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

In order to do this, a person must pass from the competitive to the creative mind.  Otherwise he cannot be in harmony with formless intelligence, which is always creative, and never competitive in spirit.

A person may come into full harmony with the formless substance by entertaining a lively, sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him.  Gratitude unifies the minds of individuals with the intelligence of substance, so that a person’s thoughts are received by the formless.

A person can remain on the creative plane only by uniting himself with the formless intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

A person must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become, and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the supreme that all his desires are granted to him.  The person who wishes to get rich must spend his leisure hours in contemplating his vision, and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to him.

Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, couple with unwavering faith and devout gratitude.  This is the process by which the impression is given to the formless and the creative forces set in motion.

The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the social and industrial order.  All that is included in his mental image will surely be bought to the person who follows the instructions given above, and whose faith does not waver.  What he wants will come to him through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive his own when it is ready to come to him, a person must be in action in a way that causes him to more than fill his present place.  He must keep in mind the purpose to get rich through realisation of his mental image.  And he must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner.  He must give to every person a use value in excess of the cash value he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life, and he must hold the advancing thought so that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom he comes in contact.

The men and women who practice the foregoing instructions will certainly get rich, and the riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.