THE RIGHT TO BE RICH

. 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 one 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.
A person develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of
things, and society is so organized that we must have money in
order to become the possessors of things. Therefore, the basis of
all advancement 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.
A person’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 one 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 everyone should have all that
can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of
life. To be content with less is sinful.
The person who owns all he wants for the living of all the life
he is capable of living is rich, and no person who has not plenty
of money can have all he wants. Life has advanced so far and
become so complex that even the most ordinary man or woman
requires a great amount of wealth in order to live in a manner
that even approaches completeness. Every person naturally wants
to become all that they are capable of becoming. This desire to
realize innate possibilities is inherent in human nature; we cannot
help wanting to be all that we can be. Success in life is becoming
what you want to be. You can become what you want to. We live for the body,
we live for the mind, we live for the soul. No one of these is better or holier than the other .You can be what you want to be only by making use of things, and you can have the free use of things only as you become rich enough to buy them. To understand
the science of getting rich is therefore the most essential of
all knowledge.
There is nothing wrong in wanting to get rich. The desire for
riches is really the desire for a richer, fuller, and more abundant
life . and that desire is praiseworthy. The person who does not
desire to live more abundantly is abnormal, and so the person
who does not desire to have money enough to buy all he wants
is abnormal.There are three motives for which we live: We live for the body,
we live for the mind, we live for the soul. No one of these is
better or holier than the other; all are alike desirable, and no one
of the three . body, mind, or soul . can live fully if either of the
others is cut short of full life and expression. It is not right or
noble to live only for the soul and deny mind or body, and it is
wrong to live for the intellect and deny body or soul.
We are all acquainted with the loathsome consequences of living
for the body and denying both mind and soul, and we see
that real life means the complete expression of all that a person
can give forth through body, mind, and soul. Whatever he can
say, no one can be really happy or satisfied unless his body is
living fully in its every function, and unless the same is true of
his mind and his soul. Wherever there is unexpressed possibility
or function not performed, there is unsatisfied desire. Desire is
possibility seeking expression or function seeking performance.
A person cannot live fully in body without good food, comfortable
clothing, and warm shelter, and without freedom from
excessive toil. Rest and recreation are also necessary to his physical life.
One cannot live fully in mind without books and time to study
them, without opportunity for travel and observation, or without
intellectual companionship.
To live fully in mind a person must have intellectual recreations,
and must surround himself with all the objects of art and
beauty he is capable of using and appreciating.
To live fully in soul, a person must have love, and love is denied
fullest expression by poverty.
A person.s highest happiness is found in the bestowal of benefits
on those he loves; love finds its most natural and spontaneous
expression in giving. The individual who has nothing to give
cannot fill his place as a spouse or parent, as a citizen, or as a
human being. It is in the use of material things that a person.
finds full life for his body, develops his mind, and unfolds his
soul. It is therefore of supreme importance to each individual to
be rich.
It is perfectly right that you should desire to be rich. If you are
a normal man or woman you cannot help doing so. It is perfectly
right that you should give your best attention to the science of
getting rich, for it is the noblest and most necessary of all studies.
If you neglect this study, you are derelict in your duty to
yourself, to God and humanity, for you can render to God and
humanity no greater service than to make the most of yourself