Wallace Delois Wattles - New Thought Writer

American author Wallace Delois Wattles was born in the United States in 1860. Little is known about his early life. He spent the first several years living and working on his parent’s farm in McHenry County, Illinois.

His parents were both born in New York and had no other children. Wattles received little formal education, but began studying the many religious philosophies and beliefs of the world as an adult.

Wattles left his parents home with the goal of becoming a great writer. He suffered many failures, barely making enough money to feed himself.

In 1908, Wattles ran for Congress as a Socialist Party of America Candidate. He ran again in 1910 for the office of Prosecuting Attorney for Indiana’s 50th court district. He lost both elections.

He even held a position in the Methodist Church at one point, but was ejected for “heresy”. Yet still, he refused to give up on his dreams. It wasn’t until many years later that Wattles discovered the secrets of wealth and success.

Wattles met George Davis Herron in Chicago, Illinois in 1896 while attending “a convention of reformers”. Herron was a professor of Applied Christianity at Grinnell College as well as a Congregational Church minister. He preached a form of Christian Socialism that attracted nationwide attention. It was this meeting that led Wattles on a path towards becoming a social visionary.

Wattles became an active proponent of the New Thought Movement; a popular spiritual movement that emphasized metaphysical beliefs. Members of this movement included Emma Curtis Hopkins, Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Walker Atkinson. These individuals all promoted the effects of positive thinking, creative visualization and personal power.

Wattles spent a great deal of time studying their writings, as well as other work written by members of the New Thought Movement. Through personal study, Wattles claimed to have unearthed the fundamental truths of New Thought principles and began to practice them in his own life.

Wattles wrote several books that outlined these practices and principles. The Science of Being Great, The Science of Being Well and Health Through New Thought and Fasting were three such books. He encouraged readers to try his theories out for themselves rather than just relying on his word.

One of the techniques that Wattles practiced and taught in his books was called creative visualization. This involved forming a visual image of a desired goal or accomplishment, and then working toward the realization of that goal.

Another of Wattles’ books, and arguably his most famous work, was The Science of Getting Rich. Many programs are modeled after this book, even today.

Wattles’ tradition is carried on, many years later by people who study, reinvent and utilize his techniques and methods in pursuit of achieving happiness, prosperity and wealth.

Wallace Delois Wattles - New Thought Writer