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Required Reading For Entrepreneurs: Why The Science Of Getting Rich Is A Must-Read

What does a book written over 100 years ago have to do with the side hustles and businesses of today?

Basically everything.

When I was reading the last two chapters (there are 17 in total), my thought was, “How the hell can a book written over 100 years ago be talking about how things are TODAY?” Seriously.

It was wild, but also really shows you that, as much as things change, much also stays the same.

The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles explains the power of thought and willpower and how it can lead you to unlimited wealth. This book explains that there is no one path to wealth, and that you have to be creative about it, rather than competitive.

It also shows that if you focus on what you truly desire (for example, success in your side hustle), you must believe unconditionally that it is possible. If you believe unconditionally, the Universe which gave you those desires in the first place will set you on the path toward fulfilling them.

Yes, it really is ALL about your mindset.

Your mind is a powerful thing. Use it to the benefit of your side hustle.

The Science of Getting Rich: About The Book

While this book is a short read, I’m not going to say it’s an EASY read. Not only were the concepts unfamiliar to me at first (you have a right to be rich, say WHAT?), the language is much more formal than books written today. Even at under 100 pages, this is a book you must read slowly. When I read the first chapter, I was more confused than anything, and didn’t feel like I was really grasping the concepts. Not until I read it a second time.

That’s not a bad thing, though.

By taking this book slowly, reading sentence by sentence until you’re sure you understand what Wattles is writing about, you can really understand and take those first steps toward reframing your mindset about money and wealth. You’re not going to get rich in a day, but after reading this book, you will take the first steps toward reframing your mindset. It’s important to believe that money is flowing to you, and then it will.

Wattles says it’s a science, and while it seems to be a nebulous science, I don’t think he’s wrong. After all, science can really mean a lot of things.

Are you a person who needs less of the concept and more of the concrete? Well, Wattles provides that too. Throughout the book, Wattles gives examples on how people can impress upon “Formless Substance” to produce the things that these people desire. It’s not about using magic to make something appear before you, but it is about setting an intention to bring that thing into your life, believing that it’s already there, until it actually is.

That ultimate belief is what leads a person, side hustler, business owner, what have you, to their desires, whether it’s money or the objects money can procure.

The Science of Getting Rich: Your Right To Be Rich

You have a right to be rich.

Plain and simple.

It is your choice to BELIEVE if you have that right or not.

When I think about this, I think about something I heard in a commercial for Southern New Hampshire University. Now, I’m not here to talk to you about the model these types of institutions offer students, but this quote really stuck with me:

“The world in which we live equally distributes talent, but it doesn’t equally distribute opportunity, and paths are not always the same.”

The concept is the same as what Wattles writes in Chapter One. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, how much money you have in your bank account, you can live a life of wealth. If life wasn’t like that, you’d have a MUCH bigger income disparity between cities and towns (but I’m not here to talk about that either).

You must believe that you have a right to be rich. That is the first step. Even if you grew up in a household that didn’t have much money, or you don’t know about how to obtain wealth, if you believe that you have a right to be wealthy, then you have set yourself up on the path to it.

It’s not an easy path, and it’s not an immediate path, but it is the path. You must take that first step. No one can do it for you. Just remember that wealth has not been cut off from you, no matter what it feels like in today’s society. Check out more on that in Chapter Three: Is Opportunity Monopolized.

Spoiler alert: it’s not.

The Science of Getting Rich: Creativity vs. Competition

Here’s another spoiler: you do not have any competition, other than yourself.

Has your mind been blown yet?

But really, you don’t. There are other bloggers in your niche, and some of them are miles ahead of you in terms of the incomes they earn and the content they create and the courses they host. But they are not your competition. Look at it this way, if there ARE successful bloggers in your niche, then you know you can be successful too.

They’re not your competition though. You can’t go into blogging with the mindset of, “I’m taking so-and-so’s clients.” Because firstly, that won’t work. Secondly, that’s not setting up your side hustle with the correct intentions. You’re building YOUR client base, and you need to do that with integrity.

And guess what! Those client bases CAN and DO overlap. A person isn’t going to opt into the advice of just one affiliate marketing blogger. Or one blogger teaching the finer points of SEO. Or one blogger who teaches the optimal ways to design your home. If a person is serious about getting better at whatever subject, then that blogger is going to follow a TON of experts in any given niche. That can be you AND one a couple big names in your niche. It’s never just one.

Think of it as “and” and not “or”. It’s you AND those big names, working together to provide your clients with the tools they need to become as successful as you are.

Instead of trying to compete with the other bloggers and influencers and biggest names in your niche, find your own way to stand out. Get creative. Put your own spin on your content. You are the only person who can offer the things that you create.

And that’s why you don’t have competition.

The Science of Getting Rich: This Book Is For Everyone (I Promise)

I know this book is called The Science Of Getting Rich, and that may sound intimidating for people who kissed science classes goodbye the second they completed their requirements. Personally, I lasted about two days in AP Chem, and didn’t have to take any hard sciences when I got to college. Poetry degree for the win.

But worry not, because this book IS for everyone. You don’t even need a college degree or a high school diploma to understand it.

Anyone recall those eTrade commercials that are all about admiring your neighbor, your future brother-in-law, that influencer you follow on Instagram? And the tag line is all about, “You like them, but you’d like them a whole better if you made more money than them.”

eTrade also has that commercial of the well-dressed men and women draped about the remains of some fancy pool party and waking up at the crack of noon. Or the nerdy looking man partying it up with models on some super fancy yacht.

In Science of Getting Rich, Wattles makes the point that those commercials are making today (but without the advertising): anyone can be rich. You can be young, old, smart, not-so-smart, healthy, sick, whatever. The avenues of wealth are still open to you.

The Science of Getting Rich: Introducing The Concept Of Manifestation

Growing up, we never talked about money in my house. It just never came up. If I ever needed money, I’d get it, but it was less that I was impressing my desire upon the universe for it, and more because my dad would just hand me 20 bucks every once in a while. That was all well and good, but it didn’t help to teach me about how I could make money on my own. That’s what I’m looking to do now, because, as I said in my Introductory Post, I don’t want to spend the rest of my good years (read: all of them) beholden to a day job and time clock.

But in this book, for the first time in my life, I was introduced to the concept that money is an infinite resource. In order for you to make that money, you must reframe your mindset. Mindset is key to success in all business, and especially in side hustles.

Around the same time I read this book, I was introduced to Rachel Ngom’s She’s Making An Impact Podcast. The first episode I listened to was an interview with Kathrin Zenkina, a money mindset coach. The concepts Zenkina talked about in that interview really struck me (you can (and should listen) to it here). It was the exact same thing that Wattles talks about in The Science of Getting Rich. If you want to make more money, you must impress that desire upon the universe, formless substance, whatever you choose to call it, and the universe will ultimately lead you to it.

The concept of manifestation is completely new to me, but that didn’t stop me from starting in on Zenkina’s podcast backlog. Those first episodes are the Facebook live broadcast she did in December 2017, walking her Facebook group through her 21-day #DecemberMoneybabeChallenge. Since I’ve started listening, I’ve purchased Zenkina’s books Unleash Your Inner Money Babe: Uplevel Your Money Mindset And Manifest $1000 In 21 Days and She’s Killin’ It: The Ultimate 21-Day Journal For Manifesting A KickAss Life. I am SO excited to review both in a future edition of Required Reading.

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I’m really excited about this, because I feel like this 21-day challenge Zenkina has put together is really a level-up on the concepts Wattles put forth in his book. Also, it was published in 2017, so for those of you who are looking for something more modern, here you go.

And know this: manifestation is not some fancy, new niche thing. It’s been around a LONG time. It’s been relevant since Wattles wrote The Science of Getting Rich, and it’ll be relevant to the money mindset coaches who follow in the footsteps of experts like Zenkina.

The Science of Getting Rich: Required Chapters

Chapter One starts out by punching you in the face with the mindset truths.

“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.” – The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter One

Boom.

Throughout the book, Wattles makes interesting points about frugality, and how those that make concerted efforts to be frugal also struggle with intense dissatisfaction. As someone who lived off her savings for nearly a full year, I can wholeheartedly agree with that. Also, note that while I don’t think it benefits a person to be frugal, I do think it benefits a person to be responsible with their spending. Responsibility is incredibly important.

And then there’s Chapter Six, appropriately titled, How Riches Come To You. It’s important to note (which Wattles does as well throughout), that impressing your desires upon the Formless Substance doesn’t mean you don’t have to do the work. The work is half the battle, but the other half is the belief. Your mindset is what informs your wealth. If you think you’ll be successful, the universe will find a way to make it happen.

As Kathrin Zenkina said in one of her podcast episodes, “The Universe is not a tease.” If the universe impresses upon you the idea of a new business or side hustle, then it didn’t do it without good reason. It’ll take work and effort, but believing in your ability to make it happen is that first step of making riches come to you.

I had one of my greatest breakthroughs when reading the last two chapters of this book. Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen, titled: Some Cautions and Concluding Observations and Summary of the Science of Getting Rich, respectively, are just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago.

As much as things may change, many fundamentals will stay the same, including the fundamental belief that wealth is an infinite resource.

Not everyone needs to be as rich as the Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’ of the world. Sure, it would be nice to be a gazillionaire (as long as you use your wealth responsibly), but you don’t need to be a gazillionaire to live a life with wealth. As discussed in last month’s Required Reading for F.U. Money, wealth is about how much YOU need to live a life to your standards. That could be five figures (though more than you’re making in your day job), it could be six, seven, what have you. It’s about what you need to get what you want.

The Science of Getting Rich – The Next Steps

What’s the next step? Buy the book, obviously. The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles is available on Amazon, and I highly recommend picking up a hard copy. You’re going to read this more than once, I know it.

Have you read The Science of Getting Rich? If you have, leave a comment with your favorite part. If you haven’t, comment and let me convince you it’s worth it!

More From The Required Reading Series

Required Reading: F.U. Money by Dan Lok
Required Reading: Rich 20Something by Daniel DiPiazza
Required Reading: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Required Reading: Winning Her Business by Bridget Brennan
Required Reading: The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins

What other books have you read that have expanded your mindset about business? Let me know your favorites in the comments!

How To Start On Your Path To Wealth

 The best way to start on the path to wealth is to have a website of your own. A website gives you credibility, and allows you to a much further reach than any Facebook page or Twitter account will ever be able to afford. A website that you own will take you higher than any other platform that changes its algorithms on a whim.

I write about hosting my websites in 6 Reasons I Host My Side Hustle On Siteground, and I also write about starting your side hustle in Start Your Side Hustle In 5 Easy Steps. You can get started with a WordPress website, hosted through Siteground for as low as $3.95/month. Not only that, but you can be up and running in less than 15 minutes. It’s that easy.

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