The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Delois Wattles: The Science of Getting Rich (Annotated)

Wallace D. Wattles was a writer best known for his literature on the New Thought Movement that was developed in the 1800s. This was a spiritual movement in the United States that followed the teachings of a spiritual teacher named Phineas Quimby. His “New Thought” ideas had to do with God being everywhere in our lives and that everything we do are divine. If we were to endure hardship, like develop an illness, then we must open our minds to God’s wisdom in order to overcome it. This same concept can be applied to mental barriers that hold us back from being successful. In the book “The Science of Getting Rich,” Wattles explains how to overcome these mental barriers and how creating something new will attract more wealth than simply trying to compete with others.

In the book “The Science of Getting Rich”, Wattles describes certain mental concepts and strategies that will help become wealthier in your life. For example, someone with a negative mindset who is always cynical will never be able to create wealth because they will be too afraid to try anything new. Wallace motivates people to have a positive mindset and take a chance on their ideas in order to create wealth for themselves.

Wattles based the concepts of “The Science of Getting Rich” on a set of Hindu philosophies where “one is all” and “all is one.” Wattles described these concepts as the “Certain Way of Thinking.” According to the editor-in-chief of Penguin Books Michael Horowitz, the “Certain Way” idea was a descendent of the mental healing movement that was started by Phineas P. Quimby towards the late 1800s. Quimby taught that having a positive attitude towards the physical symptoms of discomfort in your life will cause you to feel relief from them. This proper mindset involves conducting numerous mental strategies developed by Quimby. As for Wattles, he took these ideas and built on them in his book “The Science of Getting Rich” and wrote about topics such as mind training, business prosperity and succeeding in the material world.