The science of getting rich, or, financial success through creative thought

If you’re looking for a book that challenges conventional thinking about wealth and success, The Science of Getting Rich deserves a spot on your reading list. Originally penned by Wallace D. Wattles over a century ago, this text was given new life when it came out in its modern edition on December 1, 2004, through The Crane’s Nest, with contributions from Ruth L. Miller, Patricia J. Crane, and Rick Nichols. What’s remarkable is how this book didn’t fade into obscurity—instead, it’s become a cornerstone in the personal development world, recently recognized by scholar Tom Butler-Bowdon in his 50 Success Classics as one of the most influential works on achievement.

The core idea Wattles presents is refreshingly counterintuitive: getting rich isn’t about competition, but about creation. In our world obsessed with hustle culture and beating others to the finish line, this distinction matters. He argues that financial success comes through creative thought and aligning yourself with what he calls the “formless intelligence” that permeates everything. Rather than seeing wealth as a zero-sum game where your gain means someone else’s loss, Wattles reframes prosperity as something you attract through clarity of purpose and creative action. It’s a philosophy that removes the moral weight many people carry around money—the guilt, the shame, the sense that wanting to be rich somehow makes you selfish or shallow.

What makes this edition particularly valuable is how the editors have packaged this foundational text for contemporary readers:

• Clarity of purpose – The emphasis on having a clear mental picture of what you want before pursuing it
• Non-competitive abundance – The radical idea that you don’t need to beat anyone to succeed
• Practical application – Moving beyond abstract philosophy into concrete steps for creating the life you want
• Harmony with others – Achieving economic security while maintaining loving, harmonious relationships

The book’s influence on the personal development genre cannot be overstated. When The Secret became a cultural phenomenon, much of its foundation came directly from Wattles’s thinking. But there’s something more genuine about reading the original source material. Wattles writes with conviction but without the modern tendency to oversimplify. He takes time to develop his arguments, to explain the “why” behind his assertions about thought, creation, and wealth formation.

The idea that thought is the primary force in creating wealth remains provocative and worth examining, even if you don’t buy it entirely.

One of the strengths of this edition is that it doesn’t just reprint Wattles unchanged. The additions from Miller, Crane, and Nichols help bridge the gap between early 20th-century philosophy and contemporary life. The book explores how economic and emotional security can be achieved in a practical, imaginative, and noncompetitive way—something increasingly relevant as people reassess what success actually means to them.

The reading experience itself is engaging, though notably different from modern self-help books. Wattles doesn’t rush. He circles his core ideas, approaching them from different angles, building a case rather than delivering quick tips. There’s a meditative quality to it. You’re not scrolling through bullet points and action items; you’re being invited into a way of thinking. This slower pace actually gives you room to reflect and consider whether his ideas resonate with your own experience.

Consider what this book addresses head-on:

1. The poverty mindset – How limiting beliefs about money keep people trapped in struggle
2. The creation versus competition divide – Why the most successful people think differently about abundance
3. The role of gratitude and mental clarity – Practical frameworks for shifting your relationship with wealth
4. Harmony and integrity – How financial success integrates with a meaningful life rather than compromising it

What’s particularly striking is how Wattles integrates spiritual philosophy with practical finance. He’s not dismissing the material world or telling you that money doesn’t matter. He’s saying that understanding the creative principles underlying success is more powerful than grinding yourself down through sheer effort. That message resonates because it’s both deeply hopeful and oddly practical.

The book also grapples with something many success books avoid: the question of whether you can get rich while maintaining your ethics and relationships. Wattles argues you not only can but must. This isn’t about lowering your financial ambitions—it’s about raising your integrity. That’s a distinction worth sitting with.

Whether you’re skeptical of self-help philosophy or you’re deep into personal development reading, this edition offers something solid to engage with. It’s not a quick fix. It won’t give you a ten-step blueprint. But it will make you think differently about the relationship between your thoughts, your creativity, and your ability to create wealth. In a culture obsessed with shortcuts and hacks, that intellectual friction might be exactly what you need.