THERE IS A SCIENCE OF GAINING GENUINE WEALTH, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are
certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by
anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty.
The ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way, and those
who do things in this certain way — whether on purpose or accidentally — get rich, while those who do
not do things in this certain way — no matter how hard they work or how able they are — remain poor.
It is a natural law that like causes always produce like effects, and, therefore, any man or woman
who learns to do things in this certain way will infallibly gain genuine wealth.
That the above statement is true is shown by the following facts:
Getting rich is not a matter of environment, for if it were, all the people in certain neighborhoods
would become wealthy. The people of one city would all be rich, while those of other towns would all be
poor, or all the inhabitants of one state would roll in wealth, while those of an adjoining state would be
in poverty.
But everywhere we see rich and poor living side by side, in the same environment, and often
engaged in the same vocations. When two people are in the same locality and in the same business, and
one gets rich while the other remains poor, it shows that getting rich is not primarily a matter of
environment. Some environments may be more favorable than others, but when two people in the same
business are in the same neighborhood and one gets rich while the other fails, it indicates that gaining genuine
wealth is the result of doing things in a certain way.
And further, the ability to do things in this certain way is not due solely to the possession of talent,
for many people who have great talent remain poor, while others who have very little talent get rich.
Studying the people who have gotten rich, we find that they are an average lot in all respects,
having no greater talents and abilities than other people have. It is evident that they do not get rich
because they possess talents and abilities that others do not have, but because they happen to do things
in a certain way.
Getting rich is not the result of saving, or thrift. Many very penurious people are poor, while free
spenders often get rich.
Nor is getting rich due to doing things which others fail to do, for two people in the same business
often do almost exactly the same things, and one gets rich while the other remains poor or becomes
bankrupt.
From all these things, we must come to the conclusion that gaining genuine wealth is the result of doing things
in a certain way.
If gaining genuine wealth is the result of doing things in a certain way, and if like causes always produce like
effects, then any man or woman who can do things in that way can become rich, and the whole matter
is brought within the domain of exact science.

The question arises here as to whether this certain way may not be so difficult that only a few may
follow it. As we have seen, this cannot be true (as far as natural ability is concerned). Talented people get
rich, and blockheads get rich; intellectually brilliant people get rich, and very stupid people get rich;
physically strong people get rich, and weak and sickly people get rich.
Some degree of ability to think and understand is, of course, essential, but insofar as natural ability
is concerned, any man or woman who has sense enough to read and understand these words can certainly
get rich.
Also, we have seen that it is not a matter of environment. Yes, location counts for something. One
would not go to the heart of the Sahara and expect to do successful business.
Gaining genuine wealth involves the necessity of dealing with people and of being where there are people to
deal with, and if these people are inclined to deal in the way you want to deal, so much the better. But
that is about as far as environment goes. If anybody else in your town can gain genuine wealth, so can you, and if
anybody else in your state can get rich, so can you.
Again, it is not a matter of choosing some particular business or profession. People get rich in every
business and in every profession, while their next door neighbors in the very same vocation remain in
poverty.
It is true that you will do best in a business which you like and which is congenial to you. And if
you have certain talents which are well developed, you will do best in a business which calls for the
exercise of those talents.
Also, you will do best in a business which is suited to your locality: An ice cream parlor would do
better in a warm climate than in Greenland, and a petrol dealer will succeed better in a country that loves car much more than he can achieve in a country where the citizens view car ownership as a liability.
But, aside from these general limitations, getting rich is not dependent upon your engaging in
some particular business, but upon your learning to do things in a certain way. If you are now in
business and anybody else in your locality is getting rich in the same business, while you are not getting
rich, it is simply because you are not doing things in the same way that the other person is doing them.
No one is prevented from getting rich by lack of capital. True, as you get capital the increase
becomes more easy and rapid, but one who has capital is already rich and does not need to consider how
to become so. No matter how poor you may be, if you begin to do things in the certain way you will
begin to gain genuine wealth and you will begin to have capital. The getting of capital is a part of the process of
getting rich and it is a part of the result which invariably follows the doing of things in the certain way.
You may be the poorest person on the continent and be deeply in debt. You may have neither
friends, influence, nor resources, but if you begin to do things in this way, you must infallibly begin to
get rich, for like causes must produce like effects. If you have no capital, you can get capital. If you are in
the wrong business, you can get into the right business. If you are in the wrong location, you can go to
the right location.
And you can do so by beginning in your present business and in your present location to do things
in the certain way which always causes success. You must begin to live in harmony with the laws governing
the universe.

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 one 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 person 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 must be the science of gaining genuine wealth.
The object of all life is development, and everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the
development it is capable of attaining.
A person’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 genuinely wealthy.
To be really wealthy does not mean to be
satisfied or contented with a little. No one 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 everyone should
have all that can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life. To be content with less
is painful to the complete human entity.
The person who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is genuinely wealthy, and no
person 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 genuine wealth is therefore the most
essential of all knowledge.
There is nothing wrong in wanting to become wealthy. The desire for wealth is really the desire for a richer,
fuller, and more abundant life — and that desire is praiseworthy. The person who does not desire to live
more abundantly is abnormal, and so the person 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. 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 a person can give forth
through body, mind, and soul. Whatever he can say, no one can be really happy or satisfied unless his
body is living fully in its 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.
A person 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.
One 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 a person 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, a person must have love, and love is denied fullest expression by poverty.
This is why GOD IS LOVE {1 Jn.4:8} because HE has all that he can bestow on any being whether the good, the bad or the ugly even allowing the devil to tempt a soul knowing fully that he alone created the soul and no other being can take a soul from his hands!!!
A person’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 individual who has nothing to give cannot fill
his place as a spouse or parent, as a citizen, or as a human being. It is in the use of material things that a
person finds full life for his body, develops his mind, and unfolds his soul. It is therefore of supreme
importance to each individual to become wealthy.
It is perfectly right that you should desire to become wealthy. 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 gaining genuine wealth,
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.