Success Key: Gratitude, Part 2

Posted by Catmandu • December 7, 2009 • Printer-friendly

The whole process of mental adjustment and atonement can be summed up in one word, gratitude. The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more good things we will receive, and the more rapidly they will come; and the reason simply is that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come. Gratitude will lead your mind out along the ways by which things come; and it will keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought.

Wallace D. Wattles

Students of Success, the following passage is Chapter 7, entitled "Gratitude" from the timeless Success classic, The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles, first published under that title in 1906 and later published under the title, Financial Success through Creative Thought. This passage is a follow-up to the our first post on Success Key: Attitude of Gratitude. Wattles was a prolific New Thought writer, focusing primarily on - you guessed it - Success. Many current life coaches, mentor, and writers, including my prior personal coach, Bob Proctor, rely heavily on the principles enunciated by Wattles more than a century ago - particularly The Science of Getting Rich, often referred to as the "Little Green Book."

Our passage now follows:

The Science of Getting Rich

Wallace D. Wattles

Chapter 7

Gratitude

THE illustrations given in the last chapter will have conveyed to the reader the fact that the first step toward getting rich is to convey the idea of your wants to the Formless Substance.

This is true, and you will see that in order to do so it becomes necessary to relate yourself to the Formless Intelligence in a harmonious way.

To secure this harmonious relation is a matter of such primary and vital importance that I shall give some space to its discussion here, and give you instructions which, if you will follow them, will be certain to bring you into perfect unity of mind with God.

The whole process of mental adjustment and atonement can be summed up in one word, gratitude.

The whole process of mental adjustment and atonement can be summed up in one word, gratitude.

First, you believe that there is one Intelligent Substance, from which all things proceed; second, you believe that this Substance gives you everything you desire; and third, you relate yourself to it by a feeling of deep and profound gratitude.

Many people who order their lives rightly in all other ways are kept in poverty by their lack of gratitude. Having received one gift from God, they cut the wires which connect them with Him by failing to make acknowledgment.

It is easy to understand that the nearer we live to the source of wealth, the more wealth we shall receive; and it is easy also to understand that the soul that is always grateful lives in closer touch with God than the one which never looks to Him in thankful acknowledgment.

The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more good things we will receive, and the more rapidly they will come; and the reason simply is that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come.

If it is a new thought to you that gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe, consider it well, and you will see that it is true. The good things you already have have come to you along the line of obedience to certain laws. Gratitude will lead your mind out along the ways by which things come; and it will keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought.

Gratitude alone can keep you looking toward the All, and prevent you from falling into the error of thinking of the supply as limited; and to do that would be fatal to your hopes.

There is a Law of Gratitude, and it is absolutely necessary that you should observe the law, if you are to get the results you seek.

There is a Law of Gratitude, and it is absolutely necessary that you should observe the law, if you are to get the results you seek.

The law of gratitude is the natural principle that action and reaction are always equal, and in opposite directions.

The grateful outreaching of your mind in thankful praise to the Supreme is a liberation or expenditure of force; it cannot fail to reach that to which it addressed, and the reaction is an instantaneous movement towards you.

"Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you." That is a statement of psychological truth.

And if your gratitude is strong and constant, the reaction in Formless Substance will be strong and continuous; the movement of the things you want will be always toward you. Notice the grateful attitude that Jesus took; how He always seems to be saying, "I thank Thee, Father, that Thou hearest me." You cannot exercise much power without gratitude; for it is gratitude that keeps you connected with Power.

But the value of gratitude does not consist solely in getting you more blessings in the future. Without gratitude you cannot long keep from dissatisfied thought regarding things as they are.

The moment you permit your mind to dwell with dissatisfaction upon things as they are, you begin to lose ground. You fix attention upon the common, the ordinary, the poor, and the squalid and mean; and your mind takes the form of these things. Then you will transmit these forms or mental images to the Formless, and the common, the poor, the squalid, and mean will come to you.

To permit your mind to dwell upon the inferior is to become inferior and to surround yourself with inferior things.

On the other hand, to fix your attention on the best is to surround yourself with the best, and to become the best.

The Creative Power within us makes us into the image of that to which we give our attention.

The Creative Power within us makes us into the image of that to which we give our attention. We are Thinking Substance, and thinking substance always takes the form of that which it thinks about.

The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best; therefore it tends to become the best; it takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best.

Also, faith is born of gratitude. The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith. The reaction of gratitude upon one's own mind produces faith; and every outgoing wave of grateful thanksgiving increases faith. He who has no feeling of gratitude cannot long retain a living faith; and without a living faith you cannot get rich by the creative method, as we shall see in the following chapters.

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.

Do not waste time thinking or talking about the shortcomings or wrong actions of plutocrats or trust magnates. Their organization of the world has made your opportunity; all you get really comes to you because of them.

Do not rage against corrupt politicians; if it were not for politicians we should fall into anarchy, and your opportunity would be greatly lessened.

God has worked a long time and very patiently to bring us up to where we are in industry and government, and He is going right on with His work. There is not the least doubt that He will do away with plutocrats, trust magnates, captains of industry, and politicians as soon as they can be spared; but in the meantime, behold they are all very good. Remember that they are all helping to arrange the lines of transmission along which your riches will come to you, and be grateful to them all. This will bring you into harmonious relations with the good in everything, and the good in everything will move toward you.

Related Websites

Time Alone is Time Well Spent [The following is a guest post from Matt Wolfe. He authors the How I Will Be Rich. I encourage you to subscribe to his RSS feed.] Spend some time alone. How often do you really get a chance to get away and be alone in silence? If you are like......
Publish Blog Posts More Successfully Blogging is about more than just putting your thoughts down in words, because blogging is capable of sharing news, spreading messages, facilitating conversations and so much more. Learning how to publish blog posts more successfully is one of the best things that you can do if you want to get......
Restaurant Success Secret #1 You Must Have the Desire to change and willingness to confront your situation head on. If you want to improve your business and increase the rate of success, it really needs to start with wanting to do something about it. Some don't want to do something about it; they're......
Book Review And Giveaway: Rich By Thirty, A Young Adult's Guide To Financial Success. I already know what you are thinking, but you can stop right now, as this book is for people of all ages. Although the title says "By Thirty", the information in this book is really meant for anyone and any age bracket can get a lot out of it. Rich......
Building a Better Mood about Your Money Today I am writing about building a better mood about money. About replacing despair over what happened and is happening economically in 2008 with gratitude for what we still have. You are probably asking yourself if I am ill. It's not like Mr. ToughMoneyLove to lift the pedal off the......

Leave a Response

Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

The Success Manual

Achieving Success One Thought at a Time!

Subscribe to The Success Beacon Newsletter

Success Categories

Twitter Visitors

Success Manual Strategist Pages

Success Archives