Afterward, he joined the United States Army Air Corps where he became a military officer and a bombardier.

It was in a library in Concord, New Hampshire, where he found W. Clement Stone's classic, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, a book that changed Mandino's life.

A pamphlet that he wrote concerning sales in rural markets got him a job in promotional writing and a position on W. Clement Stone's magazine Success Unlimited.

[9] Mandino's main philosophical message is that every person on earth is a miracle and should choose to direct their life with confidence and congruent to the laws that govern abundance.

He claimed that all successful people take on their own lives by "charting" or consciously choosing both the desired destination and the path to reach it.