The Science of Getting Rich

Simple enough.

The greatest way you can serve God and the world is to make the most of yourself. That works for me. Echoes one of my favorite thoughts by Abraham Maslow who said: “What one can be, one must be!”

Clearly, the greater we are, the greater we can serve, no?

Alright. If we agree on that point, that begs the question: What do we need to make the most of ourselves?

Wattles offers: “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. 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.”

OK. Simple enough.

If you want to reach your highest potential, you need money. That sounds reasonable to me.

You may say: “But what about Gandhi? He was poor!”

Or: “Mother Teresa certainly wasn’t concerned about money!”

I used to think the same thing. Then I remember reading a great quote—I think it was in one of Eknath Easwaran’s books (brilliant translator of The Bhagavad Gita and The Dhammapada who walked with Gandhi as a college student in India) where he joked that a wealthy industrialist who supported Gandhi made the remark: “It costs me a fortune to keep Gandhi poor.”

Think about it: Do you really think Gandhi or Mother Teresa could have run their organizations with no money?

MILLIONS and millions of dollars flowed through their organizations every year to enable them to have the impact they did. Although they chose to personally renounce material pleasures, they certainly did not reject money.

So, we’re back to the conclusion that we need money to reach our highest potential, eh?

Then, Wattles ties #1: We can best serve the world by living at our highest potential with #2: We can only live at our highest potential if we’re rich to conclude that, in effect, we have a moral (!) obligation to become rich:

“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.”

That works for me. :)

And, not being the kind of guy who likes to violate logic or moral obligations, I would agree that to be content with less than living at our best and attaining the resources to do so is, in fact, sinful.

You?

“What he [God] wants is that you should make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others; and you can help others more by making the most of yourself than in any other way. … You can make the most of yourself only by getting rich; so it is right and praiseworthy that you should give your first and best thought to the work of acquiring wealth.”

Amen. That’s beautiful.

Imagine that: A seed planted into the ground, springs to life. And, as it does so, the mere act of living produces a hundred more seeds which then spring to life as well.

As Wattles says: “life, by living, multiplies itself.”

I like to think of the seeds that I’m planting in my life—seeds of love, kindness, generosity, creativity, inspiration. Knowing that as I plant these seeds within my own life, I have the potential to produce a hundred more seeds in other people’s lives—which will then produce a hundred more seeds and they, in turn, of course, have the potential to produce a hundred more seeds and…

THIS, I believe, is how we change the world.

It starts with the most simple moment to moment behaviors and speaks to the eternally poignant truth of Gandhi’s wisdom that if we wish to change the world, we must first “be the change” we want to see.

How about you?

What seeds are you planting?

As you know, the process works both ways. Plant anger, frustration, rudeness, pettiness, competitiveness, aggression and you plant seeds that will also produce more of their kind.

The challenge and call is simple: Let’s plant the seeds within ourselves that we wish to see multiply in our lives and in our world!

…

“It is the natural and inherent impulse of life to seek to live more; it is the nature of intelligence to enlarge itself, and of consciousness to seek to extend its boundaries and find fuller expression.”

And, as you become more and more, remember:

I love this distinction.

Creator or Competitor?

Imagine choosing to live from a place of pure creativity—where we go inside and offer the world what is best within us. We create from a place of joy and overflow—having fun as we give our unique gifts to the world, creating incredible value as we serve as true creators.

Feel that?

Now, imagine choosing to live from a place of pure competitive energy—where we see the world through a narrow, competitive, zero-sum lens—a world in which, if you win, I must lose. And, for me to win, YOU must lose.

How’s that feel?

I don’t know about you, but I can actually feel a difference in my body’s energy—like I’m heating up inside when I imagine the competitive lens; whereas, when I imagine the pure creative flow, I feel a lightness and a joy.

Interesting…

Obviously, we live in a world where products and services compete with one another in the marketplace.

However, WE do not need to be competitive. We need to create.

Rather than investing all of our energy into worrying about “barriers to entry” and outmaneuvering our “competitors,” why not simply create? Simply show up every day and seek to create value in the world through exceptional service and a heartfelt desire to give our best to the world—day in and day out?

(And, if you feel the need to compete, play to win at the “Who can serve the most?!?” game! :)

As we do so “in such a way that when you get it every other man will have more than he has now” we are BOUND to be successful.

P.S. Did you know the word compete comes from the Latin competere and means to “aim at, seek” (petere) “TOGETHER” (com). To seek together, not against, but together. Interesting how the word has been relegated to zero-sum hell, eh?!?

…

So, to create we must fully express ourselves, which begs the question:

Sounds obvious.

And, well, it IS obvious. :)

But… Have you spent any time really looking at what you love to do and what your best at? AND whether your current position is really making full use of your capacities?!?

Martin Seligman, the author of Authentic Happiness, defined the science of happiness in similar terms. According to his research, we need to discover our “signature strengths,” and use them often in our day-to-day lives. We do this and we have more significant, sustained levels of happiness. Throw in using our strengths for something bigger than ourselves and voila! We have a meaningful life.

How about you? What are you best at? What do you love to do? Does your Highest Self get to play with you at work everyday? If yes, how you can you express and give yourself even more?!? If no, what can you do to change that?!?

And, remember: “It is essential, however, that your purpose should harmonize with the purpose that is in All.” … Plus, we’ve gotta live with:

Ahhhhh… Gratitude.

As Wattles says: “You cannot exercise much power without gratitude; for it is gratitude that keeps you connected with Power.”

Let’s get right to the point: What are you grateful for?

Who are you blessed to have in your life right now? Who has supported you in achieving all that you have achieved in your life?

What material things do you have in your life that you’re grateful for? Your house? Your car? Your toilet? (It wasn’t that long ago that the wealthiest person alive didn’t have 99% of what you have so let’s not take the incredible luxuries we have for granted, eh?)

What are 10 things you can choose to be grateful for right now?

1. _______________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________

6. _______________________________________________________________

7. _______________________________________________________________

8. _______________________________________________________________

9. _______________________________________________________________

10. _______________________________________________________________

Very nice.

Now meditate on these things EVERY day, throughout the day. It’s scientifically impossible to be both grateful and depressed at the same time. Seems like a no-brainer decision to me. :)

And, while we’re at it, remember this:

“It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you; and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

Wow. I love that.

So, now that we’ve captured some of the wonderful, “positive” things in your list of things to be grateful for, how about another list of all the challenges you’ve had in your life. Can you see how these challenges have shaped you and that without them you wouldn’t be who you are? And, therefore, you should grateful for them!

This list can range from the guy who cut you off on your way to work today—to whom you feel gratitude because he provided a reminder of how you don’t want to show up—to the relationship that ended and opened up the space for you to get to know yourself better and create new, more empowering relationships.

So, what are 5 challenging things that have contributed to your advancement that you can include in your gratitude?

1. _______________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________

“You want to be rich in order that you may eat, drink, and be merry when it is time to do these things; in order that you may surround yourself with beautiful things, see distant lands, feed your mind, and develop your intellect; in order that you may love men and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world to find truth.”

Amen.

So, what do you want to create?

Wattles is clear that you need to get clear on what you intend to create.

And, you can’t hold the vision for a few minutes a day or week or whatever.

Your prayer needs to be CEASELESS—maintaining your faith and purpose as you, very importantly (!!) TAKE ACTION.

We simply CANNOT hold a strong enough intention long enough and have things magically appear. Hate to break it to you, but that’s not how the Universe works. (But you already know that, eh? :)

We need show up and, as Wattles says, “more than fill our current position” as we do all that needs to be done today, in the most efficient, purposeful manner possible.

We do that and we’ve turned the final key in unlocking our financial potential. Fun. :)