His daughter Florence described him as writing "almost constantly. It was then that he formed his mental picture. He saw himself as a successful writer, a personality of power, an advancing man, and he began to work toward manifestation of this vision.

Wattles says his book is "Intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money; who wish to get rich first, and philosophise afterward. It is pragmatical, not philosophical; a practical manual, not a lot of theory. It is for those who have, so far, found neither the time, the means, nor the opportunity to go deeply into the study of metaphysics, but who want prosperous results and who are willing to take the conclusions of science as a basis for action."

"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. You cannot rise to your greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless you have plenty of money. For to unfold your soul and to develop talent you must have many things to use, and you cannot have these things unless you have money with which to buy them."

Wattles died not long after the 1910 publication of The Science of Getting Rich, but his books have had a remarkable effect on people, and inspired most of the success and self-development literature of the past 100 years by writers such as Napoleon Hill, Robert Schuller, Anthony Robbins and Catherine Ponder.