Around 1910 an individual by the name of Wallace D Wattles wrote a book called The Science of Getting Rich. He also wrote a book entitled The Science of Being Well, which is fascinating but another story altogether. Wallace D Wattles contention was that "the ownership of money and property comes as a result of doing things in a certain way; those who do things in this Certain Way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich; while those who do not do things in this Certain Way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor".

Today, Paul McKenna, leading hypnotist and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) master trainer, is serializing his book "I Can Make You Rich" in our national newspapers, complete with self hypnosis CD. So what have we learnt in nearly 100 years and numerous theories and textbooks on the subject and is it really possible to teach yourself how to get rich?

Paul McKenna builds on Wallace D Wattles and the work of Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to interview 400 of the richest people to learn how they created their wealth. By interviewing such individuals as Charles M Schwab, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford and Woodrow Wilson, Napoleon Hill proved Carnegie's hypothesis and established that the real secret to wealth creation was that all wealth is created with the human mind. Defining further just what an individual could do to create this wealth, Hill identified a number of actions including having a real desire to pursue your purpose, faith (not so much spiritual but faith in your ability to reach your goal) and persistence to keep going in the face of adversity.

Paul McKenna gives a modern day twist. As a well known hypnotist and NLP Trainer, he is able to apply his skills to help individuals who may have a negative or destructive relationship with money. Beyond this much of what he says is in line with Napoleon Hill and Wallace D Wattles. He says that rich thinkers are those who live life according to their rules and their terms. Their bank balance may go up and down but they work from an inner belief that they will be wealthy. Poor thinkers on the other hand, may have big houses and wear fancy clothes, but their heads are filled with fears about the future and they mistrust those around them.

Rich thinkers work from a position of ‘abundance'. They understand there is enough to go around and enough opportunities for everyone. They don't feel the need to protect what they have from others. They realize that making money is neither a mysterious process nor a cosmic reward; it is just a skill, such as learning to juggle or ride a bike.

McKenna says that in order to develop a wealth mindset, you must be able to recreate and connect with your ‘rich moments'. You do this by thinking about something in your life that brings you a sense of pleasure, satisfaction and meaning. Next, you create a better relationship with money by spending less and growing your financial awareness through such techniques as categorizing your spending as A = essential, B = important, but not essential, C = everything else. For those individuals who have an unhealthy relationship to money, such as shopaholics, McKenna is in his element – he knows just how to change people's thinking by getting them to ‘associate' negative images with shopping so that people cease to get the same adrenaline rush they did when shopping for items they have no use for and can ill afford.

McKenna also touches on the need to define a ‘higher purpose' for your wealth. What is it you will do with that extra £1 million? What do you want to achieve? This is particularly important in any culture which may have negative associations around money and rich folk. Having a higher moral purpose makes us feel better about wanting to be rich. ‘It's not that I want money for money's sake you understand, it's because I want to save the world."

There is not just the wealthy mindset though. John Asaraff, serial entrepreneur, who recently appeared in the film, The Secret, interviewed 5 multi millionaires who between them had been responsible for establishing dozens of successful businesses. They believed that to become rich you also needed: to be passionate about your goals - money is often the by-product of success for millionaires but money is not the goal; to be focused; to undergo huge personal sacrifice; to have a strong work ethic, to have high levels of energy and good health.

Beyond the right mindset, the vision, the energy and good health, you also need practical wealth creation skills. This is particularly important for individuals who are not fortunate enough to be born to entrepreneurial parents. Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker, defined a number of ‘wealth cycles' which individuals need to establish to become rich. One of these is about ‘investing in yourself' by placing a certain amount of your monthly income in an investment account to accumulate and buy passive investments which will in turn produce more income. These techniques are even more powerful when taught to individuals who have taken time to understand the thinking behind wealth creation.

It is a huge step to get your mind sorted – to understand you have the ability to be wealthy just like everyone else. Another matter altogether is to know you have the right be wealthy. Perhaps McKenna's approach and techniques will help us on our journey; after all, he is a very wealthy individual himself.