Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich. No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty of money; for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with.
Man develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of things, and society is so organized tha man must have money in order to become the possessor of things; therefore, the basis of all advancement for man must be the science of getting rich.
The object of all life is development; and everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the development it is capable of attaining.
Man's right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted use of all the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual, and physical unfoldment; or, in other words, his right to be rich.
In this book, I shall not speak of riches in a figurative way; to be really rich does not mean to be satisfied or contented with a little. No man ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and enjoying more. The purpose of Nature is the advancement and unfoldment of life; and every man should have all that can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life; to be content with less is sinful.
~The Science of Getting Rich
What does "rich" mean to you?
Have you been denying yourself the right to be rich?
Do you engage in the "sin" of settling for less?
Any other thoughts and ideas?
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6 comments:
Settling for less - WOW! Yes, I do this so often and so well that I don't even notice it anymore.
As for "rich" - when I think of someone who is rich or when I think about me getting rich - it sounds self-serving and greedy.
I don't need to be RICH, I could SETTLE FOR the smaller things... like... enough money to pay my electric bill on time, or gosh! wouldn't it be nice to have a hot water heater again!
Somewhere in the back of my mind there must be this idea that I am not deserving... that it's too much to ask for... that if I did get what I wanted I'd be sorry later...
Very interesting! I think this must be why I've read this book over and over and applied the principles and I'm still just barely making it.
I have the right to be rich???
I deserve it???
Is that really true???
Would he say that if he knew me???
I wonder how I would finish this sentence:
I deserve to be __________! OMG! PUNISHED is the first word that pops into my mind!! But for what? and why? I need to get that turned around pronto!!
The idea that settling for less and being content is a sin is certainly thought provoking. I'm not sure I agree. Sometimes we aren't exactly settling for less but making the best of what we have and being grateful for that so we can remain positive and happy WHILE creating more to enjoy. If I went around thinking I was sinning all the time because I drive an older car or I need repairs done on the house or I shop at Goodwill, then I'd be pretty miserable. I'm interested to see where he is going with this! Intriguing!
"The object of all life is development; and everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the development it is capable of attaining."
I like that! I feel blessed when the tools I need for development and creating are given to me or make themselves apparent. I feel it is our right and purpose to be the best we can be. Of course I deserve to be rich..in all ways. And in most ways I feel rich..except for the darn money thing! Somehow the rest of the Universe hasn't figured that out yet. Ha ha ha!
Good point, Karla. I think there is a difference between "making do" and "settling for less" - it's just hard to know where the line is drawn.
My hot water heater is broken, and I'm "making do" because I don't have the money to buy a new one.
BUT
And this is a biggy!
It doesn't seem to be a number one priority, nor am I working feverishly to make enough money to get one, I'm definitely not fully committed to having hot water no matter what ... I think that sounds an awful lot like "settling for less."
What does "rich" mean to you?
I guess I have considered the word "rich", with filthy, or greedy, and perhaps only with money. I think of abundant as more all-inclusive, probably as ruse for thinking about having lots of money in a context that doesn't make me feel guilty for wanting "riches" as a measure, or as a right, of living an abundant life. I also think of "rich" as something beyond abundant -- bloated, over the limit (some kind of limit). There's also some aspect of judgment of of excess - could there be a bit of envy in there?.....
Being rich isn't a good... I'm not good enough to be rich... Others, who've achieved/attained great wealth make me feel less, and there are always those with so much more and so much less, what's the purpose of having lots of money and lots of stuff, when it's something that i'm unable to handle anyway? Am i able to really manage being rich? Could it be that my attitude toward richness blocks me from even developing the capacity of being rich?
I feel like becoming rich is something I've always dreamed of. I've had some measure of success, financially, in love, in spirit, in friendships, and it's always not quite enough.
So being rich to me, is being more of what i am, never something that's truly attainable. It seems to be a trap. Can one actually "be rich"? or is it an unattainable goal, something that's always "at the end of the rainbow?" a little more than i already have, more than I'm capable of managing -- just another fix, remedy or palative?
"Have you been denying yourself the right to be rich?"
Is becoming rich something that's related to attainment of increasing level of selflessness, so that there isn't the need to "have", but instead to "be" truly rich? Perhaps, in this course, i'll discover that as I develop more gratitude and generosity as a base of life, the riches will follow 'naturally'.
yes, i deny myself the right to be rich. It's a form of denial of an underlying theme, that i'm unworthy (worth?), incapable, unloving, unwilling, not good enough, and on and on and on. Things that keep coming to mind, over and over, insipid background noise of an undeveloped human, struggling endlessly, in circles, against my deepest desires and fears.
^^Do you engage in the "sin" of settling for less?
It's said "You get what you settle for", and i guess that's somewhat true. My focus has been on inward growth, with the outer rewards to come, allowing the process of unfolding of my humanity to drive the presence of mind, the joy of life, to the exclusion of 'working hard to get more'.
so as far as maerial riches go, yes, I settle for less than I want. I don't to but I do. My hope is that the world will change, when my heart's more open, and my mind's clearer, my world better in focus, becoming more aligned in spirit, and expansive in conscious awareness and the wisdom of maturity.
Any other thoughts and ideas?
I want to be rich. Maybe that's another clue into the mystery. Instead then, I ASK to be rich. I ask to have riches as I define them now, without any guilt of having asked the wrong things. And I ask for my relationship to richness to grow and expand as I experience a richer life, and to gain deeper understanding of life, through the attainment of riches as an outer expression of my desire of becoming fully aware of who I am. I allow for mistakes to help guide me in correcting that which doesn't serve my growth and capacity of full self-awareness and expression, just as meditation, study and practices of self-awareness produce experiences to demonstrate the success or failure of my quest for living in love, forgiveness, and in finding wholeness and truth in my life.
Wow Mark - what a great comment! Your answers sound so much like what I was thinking about as I was transcribing that post! And I love the way you wrapped it up at the end!
I took this question to work with me and my boss (who is also my friend - and working this project as well) suggested the concept that "God" is like a "rich dad" who wants us to have what makes us happy and fulfilled.
And I made the comment that my "rich dad - aka God" was probably disgusted with me and had cut me out of his will.
At which point she suggested that I needed to write "I am worthy of God's Grace and Riches" one hundred times.
To which I replied - That just makes me tired just tinking about it!
And then she came up with a brilliant answer for me and one that is working really well. She said... "Look at Paris Hilton! Her rich dad doesn't get disgusted with her and write her off... Why don't you just be a metaphysical Paris Hilton?"
So... I'm thinking OK...
That works for me.
I can be spoiled and ridiculous... and still be rich. I can be selfish and crazy... and still be rich. I can decide to be loving and wonderful... and still be rich. I don't have to "deserve" it. I can just HAVE it because Hey! I have a rich dad!
So...
That was how I resolved that issue - at least for now.
i have been settling for less since I have switched careers. it has been a long 3 years. money has still been coming in. it is time to decided that I can get back to where I was. I have the ability. I do not need to settle for less. I like spending money. if someone does not the stores fail. I love having beauty and being comfortable. yes i have the right to be rich. i deserve to be healthy.
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