Dien,
Yes, people do seem to base their mistaken beliefs about wealth on false premises such as the one you mentioned.
As soon as you get a chance you should read it all the way through. Wattles destroys this false premise and MANY others throughout this excellent book.I can honestly say this is one of the best books I have ever read in my life.

Henry Seymore

> Hi Henry,

> Thanks for posting that link to The Science
> of Getting Rich !

> I haven't read through the whole book yet,
> but I agree with its premise, which is

> "THERE is a Science of getting rich,
> and it is an exact science, like algebra or
> arithmetic. There are certain laws which
> govern the process of acquiring riches; once
> these laws are learned and obeyed by any
> man, he will get rich with mathematical
> certainty." And I agree that the
> right mental attitude is the cornerstone to
> any kind of success....

> Desiring riches can be a good thing; in my
> mind, it's how you got your wealth, and
> also what you do with it once you've got
> it which is the most important thing.

> Maybe you've met certain kinds of people,
> Henry, which I'm going to describe.... I
> mention this type of person not to put them
> down, but just as an observation to watch
> out for.

> There's a certain group of people who often
> use certain phrases when they talk....
> Phrases like, "The only way to get rich
> is by ripping people off." This is a
> statement based on a false premise!

> I think there are two basic consequences of
> this WRONG belief....

> Firstly, this kind of belief could stop a
> moral person from working towards having
> wealth, because they think the only way to
> do it is immorally (which is a wrong
> belief). So they'll end up with money
> problems which they find difficult to
> solve....

> The second kind of consequence is an immoral
> person will believe this and act on it, and
> go on to try to take advantage of people!
> This kind of person may have monetary
> success for a while, but it's often
> temporary -- in the end they often have
> legal troubles and will either lose their
> money or could even end up in jail.

> An alternative view is that you CAN make
> money morally, by HELPING OTHERS. Or as
> Gordon Alexander says, by using the
> principle of "WIN/WIN/WIN" -- you
> win, your customers win, and those who they
> deal with will win too. You can help people
> solve their problems and have a better life!

> If you believe you can make money by helping
> other people, well, that's a big leap on the
> way to success. :)

> Thanks Henry for the site, and for sharing
> this source of wisdom with us.... :)

> - Dien