The Science of Getting Rich will guide you in developing a vision, strengthening willpower, cultivating gratitude, and receiving life's abundant gifts.
Animated Video Summary by The Swedish Investor
Key Takeaways
Wallace Wattles wrote “The Science of Getting Rich” over a 100 years ago, but it’s timeless advice is as applicable today as it was back then.
"Every man a woman who does this will certainly get rich, for the science here in applied is an exact science, and failure is impossible."
1. Money is a Medium of Value
Money is an integral part of experiencing all of God’s creation. To desire money is therefore to desire more of what he has created. Doesn’t this seem like a noble cause?
Some people associate the strive for riches with greed and selfishness, but according to Wattles, it doesn’t have anything to do with that! Rather the strive for riches is the struggle of being able to experience more of what the world has to offer.
What money truly is is just a medium of value. You trade value with other people every day. All these exchanges don’t include money, but many of them certainly do!
To become rich, you must make sure that you deliver as MUCH value as possible to as MANY as possible. Also, deliver more personal value you ask of capital value in return. Realize that how wealthy you are is often a function of how much value you deliver to your fellow man.
- Don’t be like this guy: “I’m a hard-working man. I’ve been go to my job and doing my duties for the last 30 years.” “I should be paid more! My boss doesn’t fully appreciate the effort I put in.” “Nowadays, I see people online bragging about their expensive cars from their garages.” “It makes me want to puke that they earn more than I do. They probably don’t even have a master’s degree!”
- Be like this guy: Athlean-X, or Jeff Cavaliere, is probably a Youtuber that you’ve heard about. He produces free videos about training with a primary focus on exercises in the gym. I’m a huge fan of this guy, as he presents a holistic approach to training and health. He has offered great value to millions of people all over the world for free, and today, he’s wealthy. He’s rich because he has delivered so much value that people trust his opinion and therefore they buy his training programs. This guy has provided value far exceeding the capital value he’s been asking for in return!
2. Know What You Want
You must have a clear mental image of what you want. You cannot transmit an idea into the physical world unless you have one yourself.
- If you were to text a friend, you wouldn’t send him a bunch of random words and hope that he gets the message. You would type a coherent sentence, one that means something.
This might sound obvious, but it’s nonetheless a critical step that a lot of people overlook. You must have a definite goal, a strategy that can take you there, and stay focused and true to that strategy.
- Don’t be like this guy: “I want to become rich, I think. Or well, it would be cool with a private jet!” “I’m going to become rich by … by ….” “… by getting high grades in school!” “Although, there are other things that are more enjoyable than school, such as partying, playing Fortnite and chilin’. I love chilin’!”
- Be like this guy: Warren Buffett is the most successful investor of all time. At a very young age, he announced to his friends that if he wasn’t a millionaire by the age of 30, he would jump off the highest building in the City of Omaha. His strategy of reaching this goal was to study the art of Value Investing. He knew that, to accelerate his skills in the craft, he needed a very best mentor. Therefore, he offered to work under Benjamin Graham, sometimes referred to as “The Father of Value Investing” for free once he graduated college. He has stayed true to his strategy of studying value investing throughout his whole life. For example, he’s reading about 500 pages of annual and quarterly reports every day.
3. Picture That You Already Have It
Now, when you have a clear mental image of what it is that you want to achieve, begin to substantialize this state in your mind.
When you invest quality time in thinking about your plan, something interesting starts to happen. Your subconscious kicks in, and you start to notice things in your everyday life that you didn’t do before. It’s almost as if you’re receiving awesome ideas from outside of yourself. Wattles refers to this as “Infinite Intelligence”.
Be careful about what kind of media information that you consume daily. You must stay away from opposites. They would only affect you in the wrong direction. Therefore, cut out any news flow regarding poverty.
To become healthy, you shouldn’t study disease. To become a great husband, you shouldn’t study divorce. To become a great investor, you shouldn’t study personal bankruptcies.
Opposites will cause disbelief, and this is the most dangerous thought for your progress towards any goal.
- Don’t be like this guy: “I want to become a healthy athlete, like Jeff Cavaliere.” “I should go to the gym more often.” … in search of anyone who may have come in contact with the first patient diagnosed with Ebola, in the United States. “On second thought, I’d rather stay inside. It will be so nice to have a girlfriend though.” “Jesus! Is this how every relationship end?I could never survive having my heart broken like that!” “Okay, but perhaps I can’t become a great investor then?” We have, right now, breaking news here. Stocks all around the world are tanking – because of the crisis on Wall Street. “Never mind.”
- Be like this guy: Conor McGregor is the first MMA fighter ever to hold two belts at the same time in the UFC. He’s a great example of a person who has a clear mental image of what he wants to accomplish. My dream is to be world champion, world lightweight champion in the UFC. I will be where I want to be. I’m a 100% confident that I that I will make it to the top.
4. Make Everyday a Success
Positive thinking alone is not enough. You must also act. Do everything that can be done during that day. There is a concept called “micro speed, macro patience.” It means that if you squeeze the most out of every day, you don’t have to worry about the future.
People tend to get this backwards and instead exercise “micro patience, macro speed.” They are super impatient about achieving their goals. Yet, they don’t do anything outside of nine-to-five to reach these goals!
Don’t look back at yesterday with nostalgia or regret. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Live and act in the here and now.
- Don’t be like this guy: Yeah! Wow! Shiiiit Nice. Weeeey Puh!
- Be like this guy: Jimi Hendrix was arguably one of the greatest guitarists of all time. This guy to “do everything that can be done during a day” to the next level, even at an early age. Hendrix came from a poor family, and was forced to play on a broom and a one stringed ukulele before he got his first guitar. Once he got his first REAL guitar, though, the two of them were near impossible to separate. He brought it to school, so he could play during recess and he slept with it so he could play it the first thing in the morning.
It’s not enough to just act though, either. You must also act in a smart way. Wallace talks about working perfectly. If you act everyday, and you work perfectly, there’s no way that you can fail.
A tip here is to stay focused. If you want to be a great investor, it might make sense to learn about the basics in every field at first to understand which one that you find the most interesting (or profitable). After that, you must start to focus on a single area and become a master of it!
5. Focus on Creation Rather Than Competition
Everything is not a zero-sum game. The stock market for sure isn’t, and entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be that either. The key to stop competing with everyone else is innovation.
Do something new or different from what’s been done before. Find a new strategy for investing, or start a business which delivers a new service to a new market segment. There’s a great book on the second option called “Blue Ocean Strategy.”
Another advice that has a close resemblance to this one, is that you should focus on something that you’re great at doing. The reason this is related to creation and competition is because it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to be a creator in a field you are inexperienced. Without experience, you will end up doing what everyone else is doing, and in that, you will start to compete with them.