You'll never enjoy breakfast cereal again

Battle Creek, Michigan, 1877. 

Dr. John is struggling to find food that’s so bland that even the invalids in his sanitarium can chew it - so he decides to invent it. 

He plays around with wheats, oats and corn to create something he calls “granula”. Since that name was taken already, he names it “granola” instead. 

His patients love it, so he keeps at it and tries different recipes, including a butter made from peanuts (which he chooses not to patent). 

One night, in the middle of his baking experiments, he is called out in a hurry to see a patient, and leaves a batch of dough out. 

The next morning, instead of throwing it out, he rolls the dough, bakes it, and creates what we now know as corn flakes. 

Dr. John was John Harvey Kellogg, and his invention would eventually become Special K and revolutionise the way much of the world eats breakfast. 

But why did a busy doctor, in charge of a full sanitarium, spent so much time and effort trying to invent alternative food?  

It wasn’t for his patients - not after he’d already had granola. 

It wasn’t for the money - that’s not what motivated him.  

The real reason? 

You’d never guess it. 

It was…  

Wait for it…

Ready? 

He believed a diet of bland foods would discourage… masturbation 😳

Yep. That’s right.  

America’s favourite cereal was invented to stop teenagers’ favourite pastime.  

(That was also why Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker, by the way. Folks really didn’t approve of self-love in those days…)  

And when John H Kellog wasn’t inventing foods and leading the national anti-masturbation movement (really), he spent his time promoting the two other causes he cared deeply about:  

Sterilising “mentally defective persons” and encouraging racial segregation through the Race Betterment Foundation 🤦‍♂️ 

I guess you’ll never look at Tony the Tiger the same way again… 

Simon Sinek was wrong

Sometimes it’s better if no one knows your WHY 😂

But, most times, he’s right: the why makes all the difference: 

• Are you trying really hard to get that client because you believe you can help them, or because you want to meet your sales targets? 

• Are you excited you made some money because now you can provide for your family, or just so you can rub it in some people’s faces? 

• Are you demanding your kid tries harder in swimming class because someone you loved drowned, or because you were a great swimmer and “no son of yours can be a loser”?

When you tell a story, the motivation behind the characters can change completely how the audience sees them. If they can’t relate to it, they won’t relate to the characters. And if the motivation isn’t clear, there’s always a chance they’ll assume it’s something worse. 

How do you avoid that? One line will do it: 

“This is so frustrating, I’m sure I can really help her!”

“As soon as the money hits my account I’ll get sorted with my landlord, maybe I can even splash on a meal out with the kids.”

“I know I’m being hard on him, but after what happened to my cousin on that lake… never again.”

The why matters 🤘

(But I’ll forgive you if you choose to ignore it the next time you have breakfast!) 

-Francisco 

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Getting clarity through your story to stand out from all the other coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs out there 

2. If you dream of speaking at a TED-style conference, we can find your idea, book the talk of your dreams and deliver it with impact

3. If you (or your team) got any storytelling challenges, I’m sure there’s something we can do together ;-)

Thanks for reading! Reply any time.