For 250 years, we’ve been at sail in this fine old boat called America. Fifty years ago, a book called Believe! laid out nine simple but powerful principles that comprise what we like to call “The American DNA.”

God, family, community, country: this is what we Believe! in. Perseverance, courage, an upward look: these are the path to the free and dignified enterprise that’s always sustained us. This is what’s important. The naysayers are just noise.

What started with the Declaration of Independence lives on through those who’ve turned these principles into prosperity for themselves and their communities. Their stories are Americas’ own, and they’re happening now, from Grand Rapids to Silicon Valley to destinations waiting to be named by those who Believe! in this country’s vast untapped potential. And we’re bringing them together here.

When the algorithms and talking heads say Why bother?, we can’t help but laugh. This is America: look around you! We didn’t go from the windmill to the microprocessor by moping on the sidelines when the going got tough.

When a storm blows through, we remember that there’s no such thing as a bad wind. Where the rest of the world wrings their hands in deliberation, we take the wheel and mind our guiding light. The Believe! principles set the course, and those with the strength to see the journey through will find rewards limited only by the horizons of their belief.