The Science of Getting Rich By Wallace Delois Wattles --- 01 CHAPTER 1. THE RIGHT TO BE RICH

CHAPTER 1. THE RIGHT TO BE RICH

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 live
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.
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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.