BEYOND "WHAT IF?": Real Stories of How Purpose Turns Dreams Into Reality

Written by a collaboration of Napoleon Hill Foundation Certified Instructors and Students, each co-author adds their anecdote to the collective wisdom underlying Dr. Napoleon Hill’s 17-principle personal success philosophy. Dr. Hill developed the philosophy under the direction of American philanthropist and steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie. It was organized over a period of twenty years in which Hill spent conducting interviews and gathering research on what made achievers out of some 500+ of the most successful men of the early 1900’s. Likewise, he studied the non-achievers and came to understand that commonalities existed in the conduct, process, and methods used for both failure and success. He performed his work without compensation; a demonstration of persistence and self-discipline which are part of his documented science of achievement. Indeed, he utilized all aspects of his own philosophy throughout its very creation. The findings and workings of the success formula are time tested and still relevant today. It is unquantifiable how many millions of lives have been touched by Hill achieving his life’s Purpose and how many more to come will attribute their success to the principles and Hill’s most famous work – one of the best-selling books of all time - Think and Grow Rich. One need only be aware of the millions of his books continuing to be sold worldwide in multiple languages to gain a grandiose impression of how widespread the use of this philosophy is. Napoleon Hill lived from 1883 – 1970 and in addition to writing, spent his lifetime teaching, lecturing and leading by example through his motivational style influence. His outstanding achievements are the basis for most current leadership books and his literature has become the benchmark against which all other like-minded material is compared.
Although Beyond What If mentions many of the other principles (because they all work synergistically), its general focus is on the principle of Definite Major Purpose (DMP) Definiteness of Purpose, or DMP, is one’s chief aim in life and the starting point of all achievement. It represents the single most prominent desire that you aspire to achieve, the fruits of which you are willing to leave as a monument to yourself or in other words, your legacy. Although we may have many minor purposes, Hill teaches that without an overall lifelong purpose, one is wasting the better portion of their life. Everyone wants the better things in life but most people never go beyond wishing for them. Dr. Hill challenges us to understand the crucial difference between a wish and having a burning desire to achieve something. With a burning desire to pursue and achieve your life’s goal, he believes you will be born again mentally, physically, and spiritually and gain the realization of your individual power and dignity as a unit of mankind.
The Napoleon Hill Foundation was established in 1962 as a non-profit corporation whose sole purpose is to perpetuate his philosophy of individual achievement through Hill’s published and yet unpublished manuscripts, recordings, and courses. It is a highly skilled and knowledgeable educational institution. The Foundation conducts itself in a manner that would obtain Dr. Hill’s approval and well exceed his expectations. It is managed and operated with Dr. Hill’s best interests at heart and with the same intention, honor and respect, integrity and tenacity that he himself would have used.

The mind is a fascinating landscape of relatively unexplored territory. More and more, the field of science is able to validate what Dr. Hill has known and shared with his audience for decades: What the Mind can Conceive and Believe, it can Achieve. The motivational stories in Beyond What If will inspire you to go beyond your self-imposed limitations and deflating beliefs to discover your Purpose and turn your dreams into reality.