by Will Edwards
The first thought that struck me after reading Wallace D Wattles' classic book The Science of Getting Rich was that there was no reason that I should not become wealthy too. I can truly say that before that instant I had never really contemplated the possibility. But when I read what Wattles described as the cause of wealth, I realised that it was a very real possibility for me.
It was difficult to disagree with the powerful argument of the author to the effect that the causes of wealth are not those that people normally associate with getting rich. For example, your level of education, access to opportunities or even the social circles you move within. In fact, the book begins with a comprehensive demolition of such erroneous thinking.
After dealing with the matter of what things are not the causes of wealth, he goes on to make a strong case for his main proposition that the real cause of wealth is the way things are done; and not what is being done. Doing things in the right way, he says, is what is responsible for the generation of riches.
The amazing proposition he advances is that absolutely anyone who can learn to do things in, what he calls, the 'certain way' can become rich. Although he does not really emphasise the matter, he also strongly suggests that to become rich, you really need to be in business.
He says that you need to give every person with whom you deal more in use-value than you take in cash-value. Theres a key principle right there, of course, concerning over-delivering, but it strikes me that the spirit of the language is naturally directed toward people who trade in some way i.e. those in business for themselves.
Personally, I think it is self-evident that you need to have your own business to become rich. If you work for someone else, your income will rise to a level dictated by the market for your talent or skills - and thats it. You may earn slightly more than your market worth, but thats absolutely it, you can never, therefore, become rich by pursuing such a course.
However, when you are working for yourself, there is no reason your earnings should stop at a particular level. Once you know how to create wealth, you can keep doing it. And with the internet in its present state of evolution, there has never been a better time for people to start their own business because, on the web, it is so very affordable and such low risk.
The Science of Getting Rich was written, in my opinion, for the age of the internet. Of course, Wattles didn't do that deliberately, but nevertheless, his principles translate very well to the world of the internet. There really is nothing standing in the way of the average person applying this thinking and changing their lives for good.
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