many people will scoff at the idea that there is an exact science of getting rich; holding the impression that the supply of wealth is limited, they will insist that social and governmental institutions must be changed before even any considerable number of people can acquire a competence.

but this is not true.

it is true that existing governments keep the masses in poverty, but this is because the masses do not think and act in the certain way.

if the masses begin to move forward as suggested in this book, neither governments nor industrial systems can check them; all systems must be modified[144] to accommodate the forward movement.

if the people have the advancing mind, have the faith that they can become rich, and move forward with the fixed purpose to become rich, nothing can possibly keep them in poverty.

individuals may enter upon the certain way at any time, and under any government, and make themselves rich; and when any considerable number of individuals do so under any government, they will cause the system to be so modified as to open the way for others.

the more men who get rich on the competitive plane, the worse for others; the more who get rich on the creative plane, the better for others.

the economic salvation of the masses can only be accomplished by getting a large number of people to practice the scientific method set down in this book, and become rich. these will show others the way, and inspire them with[145] a desire for real life, with the faith that it can be attained, and with the purpose to attain it.

for the present, however, it is enough to know that neither the government under which you live nor the capitalistic or competitive system of industry can keep you from getting rich. when you enter upon the creative plane of thought you will rise above all these things and become a citizen of another kingdom.

but remember that your thought must be held upon the creative plane; you are never for an instant to be betrayed into regarding the supply as limited, or into acting on the moral level of competition.

whenever you do fall into old ways of thought, correct yourself instantly; for when you are in the competitive mind, you have lost the co-operation of the mind of the whole.

do not spend any time in planning as to how you will meet possible emergencies in the future, except as the[146] necessary policies may affect your actions to-day. you are concerned with doing to-day’s work in a perfectly successful manner, and not with emergencies which may arise to-morrow; you can attend to them as they come.

do not concern yourself with questions as to how you shall surmount obstacles which may loom upon your business horizon, unless you can see plainly that your course must be altered to-day in order to avoid them.

no matter how tremendous an obstruction may appear at a distance, you will find that if you go on in the certain way it will disappear as you approach it, or that a way over, through, or around it will appear.

no possible combination of circumstances can defeat a man or woman who is proceeding to get rich along strictly scientific lines. no man or woman who obeys the law can fail to get rich, any more than one can multiply two by two and fail to get four.

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give no anxious thought to possible disasters, obstacles, panics, or unfavorable combinations of circumstances; it is time enough to meet such things when they present themselves before you in the immediate present, and you will find that every difficulty carries with it the wherewithal for its overcoming.

guard your speech. never speak of yourself, your affairs, or of anything else in a discouraged or discouraging way.

never admit the possibility of failure, or speak in a way that infers failure as a possibility.

never speak of the times as being hard, or of business conditions as being doubtful. times may be hard and business doubtful for those who are on the competitive plane, but they can never be so for you; you can create what you want, and you are above fear.

when others are having hard times[148] and poor business, you will find your greatest opportunities.

train yourself to think of and to look upon the world as a something which is becoming, which is growing; and to regard seeming evil as being only that which is undeveloped. always speak in terms of advancement; to do otherwise is to deny your faith, and to deny your faith is to lose it.

never allow yourself to feel disappointed. you may expect to have a certain thing at a certain time, and not get it at that time; and this will appear to you like failure.

but if you hold to your faith you will find that the failure is only apparent.

go on in the certain way, and if you do not receive that thing, you will receive something so much better that you will see that the seeming failure was really a great success.

a student of this science had set his mind on making a certain business combination which seemed to him at the[149] time to be very desirable, and he worked for some weeks to bring it about. when the crucial time came, the thing failed in a perfectly inexplicable way; it was as if some unseen influence had been working secretly against him. he was not disappointed; on the contrary, he thanked god that his desire had been overruled, and went steadily on with a grateful mind. in a few weeks an opportunity so much better came his way that he would not have made the first deal on any account; and he saw that a mind which knew more than he knew had prevented him from losing the greater good by entangling himself with the lesser.

that is the way every seeming failure will work out for you, if you keep your faith, hold to your purpose, have gratitude, and do, every day, all that can be done that day, doing each separate act in a successful manner.

when you make a failure, it is because you have not asked for enough;[150] keep on, and a larger thing than you were seeking will certainly come to you. remember this.

you will not fail because you lack the necessary talent to do what you wish to do. if you go on as i have directed, you will develop all the talent that is necessary to the doing of your work.

it is not within the scope of this book to deal with the science of cultivating talent; but it is as certain and simple as the process of getting rich.

however, do not hesitate or waver for fear that when you come to any certain place you will fail for lack of ability; keep right on, and when you come to that place, the ability will be furnished to you. the same source of ability which enabled the untaught lincoln to do the greatest work in government ever accomplished by a single man is open to you; you may draw upon all the mind there is for wisdom to use in meeting the responsibilities which are laid upon you. go on in full faith.

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study this book. make it your constant companion until you have mastered all the ideas contained in it. while you are getting firmly established in this faith, you will do well to give up most recreations and pleasures; and to stay away from places where ideas conflicting with these are advanced in lectures or sermons. do not read pessimistic or conflicting literature, or get into arguments upon the matter. do very little reading, outside of the writers mentioned in the preface. spend most of your leisure time in contemplating your vision, and in cultivating gratitude, and in reading this book. it contains all you need to know of the science of getting rich; and you will find all the essentials summed up in the following chapter.