The Golden Why

Simon Sinek, in early 2014, gave a great Ted talk on how great leaders inspire action. In that talk he tried to convince me that people would be more likely to buy my book if they knew why I was passionate about it. I think he comes close to understanding greatness without quite making it there.

I think people are more inspired by how much one listens than how much drive they have. However to find someone who is completely driven by their love for you is overwhelmingly compelling. (I think I need to stop here and define love, because sometimes people driven by what they call love are actually creepy.) By love I mean an ability to empathize, understand, and know even more than the person being loved can adequately express, and a commitment to provide what is needed.

For those that see this in Jesus Christ, He becomes the ultimate example. For me, I saw it my Father. I also see it in my Mother. When we see how much our parents love us and want us to succeed, sacrificing everything they can to help us--what more compelling persuasion can there be. So while a "why" might be compelling in helping others to see my dream, it is "The Why" that I really need to be great. Love really is the key.  Because where you see that Why is where you identify with great leaders: Lincoln, George Washington, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, ... . And if you don't see their love you don't see them as great leaders but rather as great deceivers (perhaps mentioning Hitler here is appropriate).

So what does my being an author have to do with love? Everything. Art is love. That is why I fell so completely in love with writing. I started writing because I knew how bad I was at writing, or communicating in general. I have loved getting to understand people better: how to use words to better communicate with others and understand those words used by others. Once I better understood that it was the for the people I love that I learn words, I realized how amazing words can be. Grammar as well is amazing (though I think I've demonstrated how difficult that can be, and is for me to get that perfect).

I've wondered, sometimes, how much I need to demonstrate ability to convince potential readers to buy my books. But I don't think that is as important (unfortunately that might be reflected in my book -- some of the comments I've gotten back suggest that). I'm hoping, however, that I can find readers that are invested in me -- perhaps those that can see value in my current weakness. Because I can correct almost any error with relative ease (compared to having gone through a traditional publisher) the errors you help me correct make the books you've bought more valuable because of the limited number of those (at least up until I sell millions).

So this is my marketing strategy. If it has any problems, I hope you tell me (or leave me comfortable in my ignorance). Here I am, a man, desperately trying to become like the gods, or even like God.  For some reason I think publishing a book will help me with that. I've also thought that of running marathons or learning quantum physics. But with this, it's at least easier to see the connection it has to Love which is the most godlike of all characteristics in any being that I'd call God (which is probably why I don't worship any of the ancient Greek gods).

So hopefully with this promotional speech I can convince you to join me in my conspiracy to become Great.