Interviewer: It’s gotta feel wonderful knowing you’re making a difference in so many people’s lives. Now 20 years of doing this — what is it that keeps you motivated?
Ellen Kreidman: I’ll tell you. I’m motivated by what’s happened in my own life. In 1991, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And then in 1995, I had a reoccurrence and I had to undergo a bone marrow transplant. And I’m here to tell you that when you are hooked up to life support and you have no hair, no eyelashes, no fingernails, no toenails, and you are as close to death as you can be… you know the meaning of life. And it is to love somebody with all your heart and soul and to have them love you back.
That’s from the Light His Fire infomercial. In that program, Dr. Ellen Kreidman teaches women how to fall in love, stay in love, and avoid divorce.
And the best part?
Your husband doesn’t have to join in for it to work… and he doesn’t even have to know you’re using the Light His Fire method on him!
That’s a strong appeal. But it’s not why I’m bringing this up.
Instead, it’s just that bit up top. Because if you’re selling something, there’s a good chance people will wonder what your motivation is.
“If this thing is so good,” they might mutter, “why are you sharing it with me?”
Or, they might get cynical:
“Sure, sure… you want to help me save my marriage. Yeah, right. All you really want is to help your bank account.”
Don’t worry. I’m not going all Simon Sinek on you. I don’t believe that people will buy just because your why is good enough. As I’ve written before, there are plenty of businesses that failed in spite of a noble why.
But if you have a good offer, then it’s smart to talk about why you’re putting it out there. It can help soothe the skepticism and cynicism your prospects feel when they see your ad.
And as the Light His Fire infomercial shows, your reason why doesn’t have to be clever. Pure enthusiasm is often enough.
Should I tell you what my reason why is?
I wouldn’t call it enthusiasm. Rather it’s a kind of obsessive curiosity.
Once upon a time, I used to believe I know myself well. It was hard to face the fact that this is not true.
But on the bright side, it opened up lots of fascinating areas to investigate and explore.
​​So it’s good I’ve found a job that rewards me for exploring why we think, feel, and behave in often mysterious ways… and it’s good I’ve found a small group of people, like yourself, dear reader, who are also interested in the same.
By the way, I also have a newsletter. My motivations for that are much the same. In fact, the content is much the same as this blog… except the newsletter comes out sooner, and it comes without fail. If you’d like to sign up, here’s where to go.