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 neighborhoods 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 favorable than
others, but when two men in the same business are in the same
neighborhood, 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 neighbors 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 parlor 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.
