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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