CHAPTER 3: Is Opportunity Monopolized?

NO man is kept poor because opportunity has been taken away from him; because other people have monopolized the wealth, and have put a fence around it. You may be shut off  from engaging in business in certain lines, but there are other channels open to you.

Probably it would be hard for you to get control of any of the great railroad systems; that
field is pretty well monopolized. But the electric railway business is still in its infancy, and offers plenty of scope for enterprise; and it will be but a very few years until traffic and transportation through the air will become a great industry, and in all its branches will give employment to hundreds of thousands, and perhaps to millions, of people. Why not turn your attention to the development of aerial transportation, instead of competing with J. J. Hill and others for a chance in the steam railway world?

It is quite true that if you are a workman in the employ of the steel trust you have very little chance of becoming the owner of the plant in which you work; but it is also true that if you will commence to act in a Certain Way, you can soon leave the employ of the steel trust; you can buy a farm of from ten to forty acres, and engage in business as a producer of foodstuffs. There is great opportunity at this time for men who will live upon small racts of land and cultivate the same intensively; such men will certainly get rich. You may say that it is impossible for you to get the land, but I am going to prove to you that it is not impossible, and that you can certainly get a farm if you will go to work in a Certain Way.

At different periods the tide of opportunity sets in different directions, according to the needs of the whole, and the particular stage of social evolution which has been reached.  At present, in America, it is setting toward agriculture and the allied industries and  professions. Today, opportunity is open before the factory worker in his line. It is open before the business man who supplies the farmer more than before the one who supplies the factory worker; and before the professional man who waits upon the farmer more than before the one who serves the working class.

There is abundance of opportunity for the man who will go with the tide, instead of trying to swim against it. So the factory workers, either as individuals or as a class, are not deprived of opportunity. The workers are not being “kept down” by their masters; they are not being “ground” by the trusts and combinations of capital. As a class, they are
where they are because they do not do things in a Certain Way. If the workers of America
chose to do so, they could follow the example of their brothers in Belgium and other countries, and establish great department stores and co-operative industries; they could elect men of their own class to office, and pass laws favoring the development of such co-operative industries; and in a few years they could take peaceable possession of the industrial field.

The working class may become the master class whenever they will begin to do things in
a Certain Way; the law of wealth is the same for them as it is for all others. This they must learn; and they will remain where they are as long as they continue to do as they do. The individual worker, however, is not held down by the ignorance or the mental slothfulness of his class; he can follow the tide of opportunity to riches, and this book will tell him how.

No one is kept in poverty by a shortness in the supply of riches; there is more than enough for all. A palace as large as the capitol at Washington might be built for every family on earth from the building material in the United States alone; and under intensive cultivation, this country would produce wool, cotton, linen, and silk enough to cloth each person in the world finer than Solomon was arrayed in all his glory; together with food enough to feed them all luxuriously.

The visible supply is practically inexhaustible; and the invisible supply really IS inexhaustible. Everything you see on earth is made from one original substance, out of which all things proceed.

New Forms are constantly being made, and older ones are dissolving; but all are shapes assumed by One Thing. There is no limit to the supply of Formless Stuff, or Original Substance. The universe is made out of it; but it was not all used in making the universe. The spaces in, through, and between the forms of the visible universe are permeated and
filled with the Original Substance; with the formless Stuff; with the raw material of all things. Ten thousand times as much as has been made might still be made, and even then
we should not have exhausted the supply of universal raw material. No man, therefore, is poor because nature is poor, or because there is not enough to go around.

Nature is an inexhaustible storehouse of riches; the supply will never run short. Original Substance is alive with creative energy, and is constantly producing more forms. When the supply of building material is exhausted, more will be produced; when the soil is exhausted so that food stuffs and materials for clothing will no longer grow upon it, it will be renewed or more soil will be made. When all the gold and silver has been dug from the earth, if man is still in such a stage of social development that he needs gold and silver, more will produced from the Formless. The Formless Stuff responds to the needs of man; it will not let him be without any good thing. This is true of man collectively; the race as a whole is always abundantly rich, and if individuals are poor, it is because they do not follow the Certain Way of doing things which makes the individual man rich.

The Formless Stuff is intelligent; it is stuff which thinks. It is alive, and is always impelled toward more life. 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. The universe of forms has been made by Formless Living Substance, throwing itself into form in order to express itself more fully.

The universe is a great Living Presence, always moving inherently toward more life and fuller functioning. Nature is formed for the advancement of life; its impelling motive is the increase of life. For this cause, everything which can possibly minister to life is bountifully provided; there can be no lack unless God is to contradict himself and nullify his own works. You are not kept poor by lack in the supply of riches; it is a fact which I shall demonstrate a little farther on that even the resources of the Formless Supply are at
the command of the man or woman will act and think in a Certain Way.

Peter’s story: A case of success

I will tell the story of Peter, a man I know. We are not friends, but I know him through some mutual friends. He is a person of about forty, very responsible in their work, married with two children. He knew the book and science of Wattles some time ago, and decided to implement it. I think he was more animated by spirit of proving that the belief that he would succeed. For months, as we said after a meeting of friends, read the book and studied every idea, every message. So he thought it was time to apply.
There he encountered a problem. Do not know what he wanted. I knew he wanted to have some deep economic success, but had no particular idea about how to get through that activity, and it seemed very abstract thinking only about the money.
Peter worked for a trading company. He had a medium position, but pretty well paid, but never had more than enough money. He was comfortable with his work, so change was not an option for him. He could have wished to ascend in their work, but did not think. He only knew wanted economic independence and to do what he liked. He chose those two things and ran.
The day after that his thoughts were focused this way, was called to the boss’s office. There would be a restructuring of the company and decided to leave it out. They appreciated the services but it was inevitable. He went home wrapped in a tangle of questions and confused, not knowing what to do. However, he was not nervous, just confused, say now. He now believes that the ideas of Wattles gave the peace to pass the wrong time and be able to think more clearly.
Analyzing the situation with his wife, decided that it should interpret the event of becoming unemployed as a sign that someone gave him. If requested financial security and given the opportunity to go it alone. He decided to start his own company. Fabricate ornate lamps he had seen in a fair and sold cheap. He set to work with all his energy, his mind clear on success, and all his knowledge and responsibility.
The company did not work. For some reason the few lamps that could sell had dropped in price, and the recession made it very difficult get each sale. He changed his business, and sold similar lamps manufactured in another city. Put his energy into motion again and lunged with all his ability to do so. Wrong.
Pedro was not discouraged. He continued doing things the better his ability gave him, putting all his energy into every sale, every potential customer, every business. At times it seemed that the future was closed, that he ran out of options. However, he continued with his good character convinced that one day he would succeed.
Around that time I met him. He knew I knew Wattles and we talked a long time. To hear him talk about The Science of Getting Rich gave pleasure, because it seemed that the person speaking was a successful person, full of riches and money. However, their savings were running out and he had, as confessed, no plan in sight to get ahead. I was impressed by his powerful faith that would make it.
A few months later I found it again. He told me his life was definitely on track and his businesses prosper. It had been the result of casualties, as some people call who do not understand the facts. He had found an old friend who had introduced him to the business of the fans, and his company was finally taking off, made money, was independent and his family was happy to see him being a successful person.
I’m sure there are thousands people like Peter out here. And who knows any of these thousands or even heard of Wattles, although after The Secret this is quite difficult. It would have been just before that movie / book. No need to know Wattles to have a way like Peter. But we need to follow their principles, although have never read the book.
Faith, security, clear vision and smart work and constant, give more than what you get and be thankful, are the ingredients that, appropriately combined, make every day a lot like Peter worldwide leave their paralysis and transformed into living people, free, successful and do what they like.
Personally I think what brought Peter to thrive as wanted was his enormous patience, not to despair, to stand firm in his convictions, with the confidence that success would come. And be aware of opportunities. The remaining ingredients are in Wattles, as I said above, but you have to apply wisdom and patience to give them the opportunity to act.

Am I a millonaire?

It is a question many of you will do, and rightly, as it would be a logical consequence of having mastered and applied the teachings of Wallace Wattles. And the answer is simple: I am not a millionaire. While I have an excellent work, which as I explained in several posts I got through Wattles, very well paid, comfortable and totally happy I’m not a millionaire. In reality, the answer would be more correct if I said I am not yet.

Per the issue is more complex still, because in reality, I still can not answer the question we must all ask ourselves as we embark on this journey. I really want to be a millionaire? As we have also repeatedly said, is a question that has a fast response and real response, which do not always coincide.

Most of you would say, too fast, yes I want to be a millionaire. But when someone begins to detail the difficulties faced by a millionaire living in some poor countries, the answer would begin to doubt. The quotations appear, well, but without the problem of security, kidnapping, able to move or to go unnoticed “etc. etc. So if the answer is “yes” becomes “yes, but …” And is not the same. Since the decision, the faith and purpose Wattles asks us are not so clear. And so are the results, obviously.

You see, the issue is complex. Venture to be a millionaire is not a simple issue and more than one you can not only raise doubts, but rather to be afraid, inclusive. Many might even think that this is an excuse, but if you look closely you will find that it’s not that simple.

I have a close example. I know a couple who has had much luck in his life (maybe Wattles?) And, coming from poor families, made a lot of money. The first problem they had was to flee the city to a suburb surrounded by guards. Regularly stopped seeing his friends, because the distances were great. In addition, they discovered they knew few people in her situation of so much money, so they had to make new friends, but close.Then the children were placed in a super exclusive school, which not even the parents could visit often. Well, do not relate the other complications like that, just say it’s not easy being a millionaire.

However, since I read Wattles for the first time, I realized that if this science was used to being rich, could also serve to make my life the way I wanted. And so I applied.

I told in repeated posts, and I will do it again later, as things were changing in my life from Wattles. In my work, my relationships, my lifestyle, everything began to accommodate my wishes. More than money, who also came to a large extent, however the most notable were the changes that were accommodating to everything I wanted.

The most important of these is control. Knowing that your life is under control, under your control. You can do what you want using the method of Wattles, you can meet whoever you want, your work will take the shape you want on the site you want. Those places you want to know you are approaching a miracle. That people who do not want to be around, move away quickly.

And that money suddenly appears. Control and money is the perfect formula, but between both I prefer the control. To see the experiences of readers.

Why helping others?

One of the first things you learn when reading the first book The Science of Getting Rich from Wallace Wattles is the need to give more than you receive. Wattles says on trade: to give more in use value that the money they receive for a particular good. Perhaps the limitations of the time, and overstated the value of trade at the time, gave this turn, purely commercial. But its significance is large. Give more than you receive, nothing more and nothing less.

The reason is simple. Thus, being generous to those who give us a good, which may consist of only buy something, enrich the world. For those who are in the trade, the customer is a help, a partner, without it there is no business. If all give more than they give us, the world would benefit. The abundance reign, rather than poverty and misery on vast expanses of our planet.

Of course, one might think that if gives more than receives could be impoverished. And no. Because precisely that Wattles said to give more in use value that the monetary value. So give more, but differently. Of course if I give two loaves of bread in my bakery when they are paying just one, I will break. So is the phrase “to give more in use value” or give something different than what we are giving. Something that would be useful in a different way.

If everyone give a smile when we buy something, or a word of encouragement or appreciation, or simply a good wish, that multiplied by billions make the world richer. They even large corporations have understood this truth after one hundred years. There is a large corporation not having any plans or community development programme of aid to the needy, support for minorities, etc etc etc..

And if these insensitive capitalism monsters have understood. What we expectto understand? (Continue…)