THERE is a Science of getting rich, and
it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws
which govern the process of acquiring riches; once these laws are learned and
obeyed by any man, he will get rich with mathematical certainty.
The ownership of money and property
comes as a result of doing things in a certain way; 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 get rich.
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 neighbourhoods would
become wealthy; the people of one city would all be rich, while those of other
towns would all be poor; or 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 men 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 favourable than others, but when two men in the same business are in the same neighbourhood and one gets rich while the other fails, it indicates that
getting rich 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 other who have very little talent get
rich.
Studying the people who have got rich,
we find that they are an average lot in all respects, having no greater talents
and abilities than other men. It is evident that they do not get rich because
they possess talents and abilities that other men have not, 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 men 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 getting rich is the result of doing things in a Certain
Way.
If getting rich 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, whether this
Certain Way may not be so difficult that only a few may follow it. This cannot
be true, as we have seen, so 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 in so far 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. Location counts for something; one would not go to the
heart of the Sahara and expect to do successful business.
Getting rich involves the necessity of
dealing with men, 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 get
rich, 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 neighbours in the 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 parlour would do better in a warm
climate than in Greenland, and a salmon fishery will succeed better in the
Northwest than in Florida, where there are no salmon.
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 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 get rich; 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 man 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 causes success.
Let’s look at 'The First Principle
in The Science of Getting Rich' in our next post.
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