Striving to Get Rich

One evening in April or May 2020, I went to my hometown of Kiserian with the intention of getting a haircut. I was afraid I might not have my hair done that evening because our county government had ordered the closure of all barbershops in Kiserian to curb the spread of coronavirus that had broken out in Kenya. Luckily, I found the door of my favorite barbershop partially open. A barber allowed me into the barbershop and quickly closed its door to shave my hair in secrecy.

I plopped myself down in a chair in the fluorescent-lit barbershop and instructed the barber on how I wanted my hair shaved. After listening to my instructions, he began cutting my hair while talking. He said that he had to continue with his hair-cutting job despite the strict government restrictions since he needed to eat. In effect, he was saying that he needed cash.

The barber had a point in saying he needed cash, for money is essential during our time on this grand and magnificent planet. Without money, we cannot lead a decent life. That necessity of having money is what leads many people to abandon their hobbies to do jobs that will put cash in their pockets. And those who can't find jobs resort to crime in order to get the much needed money.

During my evening walks in Kiserian, I usually observe people selling such merchandise as shoes, clothes and vegetables by the roadside, even on Sundays. Their hustle often leaves me pondering on how the need for money can force us to spend hours standing by the roadside, watching folks pass by, hoping a few will buy our merchandise. Isn't that boring?

When I reflect on how people engage in all sorts of jobs and tricks to get money, I am baffled by how some make a lot of money easily while others labour hard but earn very little. Some spend half a day in the office yet earn enough money to afford a Toyota Landcruiser. Others spend a whole day hawking such mundane items as sandals and at the end of the day, the money they earn hardly meets their basic needs.

It is that importance of money and the yearning to know how to get it easily that compelled me to purchase Wallace D. Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich. I read the book about two months ago, eager to learn how I can make money in abundance without forgetting God and His principles.

Wallace D. Wattles wrote The Science of Getting Rich in 1910, long before the invention of personal computers and the internet. But the ideas in his evergreen book are still as relevant today as they were in his days. He began the book with this memorable statement: "Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich."

He went ahead to share in the book his ideas on how everyone can become rich. And he buttressed some of his ideas with facts from the Bible. Among his ideas on how riches are gained is developing an attitude of gratitude. He pointed out that many people are kept in poverty by their ingratitude for what they have.

Wallace D. Wattles offered in the book some advice on how to attract more customers to a business - advice I could use to net more visitors to this lovely blog of mine - but to be quite honest, I didn't fully understand it. I also didn't comprehend some of the methods he claimed riches are gained.

Although I didn't fully understand Wallace D. Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich, the book has ignited in me a desire to get rich. So much do I now want to be wealthy that I have deleted from this blog all quotes that encourage poverty and underrate the importance of money.

My beloved reader, I encourage you to also aspire to be rich if you are struggling financially because money is important during our sojourn on this grand and magnificent planet. As they say, get rich or die trying. But I hasten to implore you to get rich the godly way: that is, from work and investments that benefit the lives of others. Adieu!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on striving to get rich, you might also enjoy another one on "My Take on Getting Rich" which I wrote over a year ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.