The idea behind Upstream came from an interview with the Devil. In 1938, Napoleon Hill wrote a fictional book called, Outwitting the Devil where he uses the devil as a metaphor of our darker, inner selves and breaks down the key pillars of society with the goal of uncovering secrets to mindset, freedom and success.

In this fictional book, Napoleon simplifies society into two groups: drifters, and non drifters. Drifters are categorized as people who go about life without having a clear goal or direction while Non-Drifters are engaged and intentional in all that they do. From the way they walk to the way they talk, Non-Drifters know what they want and won't stop until they get it.

Non-Drifters don't just follow the current, they go counter-current, they go upstream.