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 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.

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Author: Wallace D. Wattles