Wilmans suffered through difficult circumstances for twenty years, her husband was a farmer and like many farmers was constantly struggling. Wilmans decided to leave her husband and pursue her dream of becoming a member of the 'literati' She took off for San Francisco with the family savings and soon secured a position at a newspaper. Through her job, she earned enough money to live in a style that made her feel more comfortable.

While in San Francisco she noted the great attraction that Mental Science & Eastern Esoteric religions had for so many in the United States. This led her to hone her talents and write several books. She soon realized that in addition to writing, teaching was extremely lucrative. She began teaching mental science and performing healings. Her efforts in these areas helped her to become very wealthy. She cited her own example of using her intellectual talents as opposed to physical endowments to achieve wealth in her book, "The Conquest of Poverty."

Wilmans, like many of the early New Thought Leaders, was a student of Emma Curtis Hopkins. the famous "teacher of teachers" who inspired and taught hundreds of teachers and healers and was a formative force in the nascent New Thought movement.