Jaime Kern Lima, the creator of IT Cosmetics, sold her company to L’Oreal in a billion dollar deal and became the first female CEO of L’Oreal. Yet, that almost didn’t happen.

Jamie & her husband built IT Cosmetics from their living room, pumping hundreds of thousands of hours over 3 years to develop and sell their make-up line. This was make or break for the couple. She quit her job in TV news and the couple invested everything into launching the company.

IT Cosmetics was certainly fulfilling a mission for Jamie. She struggled with her skin for years, especially being a TV news anchor, and wanted to create a product line for women, like her, who could never find a solution that worked for them.

The company floundered for years, getting rejection after rejection. Until finally, QVC agreed to give her 10 minutes on the air to sell her concealer product, which was her foundational item.

There was a catch. QVC required 6 thousand units on-hand to sell & ship in order to do the segment. That meant she had to manufacture all those units and get them to QVC before she earned anything from the appearance. To fund the order, she had to get bank and even personal loans to get the product made in the HOPES that people would buy it.

By the time her segment was to air, Jaime was down to her last $1,000. If the segment didn’t work, she’d be out of business with thousands of unused products and in a major financial hole.

Of course, she prepped for her segment. Part of the prep was meeting with QVC consultants who all gave her the traditional advice for success on the show. It essentially was to feature 20 year old models with perfect skin as demos.

However, Jamie’s why was to help women like her who had less than great skin and had not ever found a solution that works for them. She thought, seeing a 20-something model won’t prove to her audience that the product would also work for them.

So, she trusted her intuition and tapped into her why. SHE was the demo. She came on live TV with her face showing her own flaws, applied the concealer on herself and showed how it covered up her flaws.

Phone lines lit up. By the end of the 10 minute segment, she sold out. Demand was so high that QVC brought her back again & again & again. All because, she tapped into her why, spoke from her heart and connected with millions of women across the world.

How to use your “why”

First off, there’s no need to be intimidated by a “why.” Some people have well thought out north stars and it guides them every move. You may not. Don’t worry about a big why, simply find a few “little why’s” to help get you motivated.

Ask yourself: “Why work at all?” Seems like a silly, almost trite question. Is it because you need money to live? Why is it important to do that or to do it for the people you do it for?”

Next ask: “Why do I do the work I do?” You could choose to be in multiple jobs, maybe even multiple industries. Yet, you choose the one you’re in. Why?

As you start to ask yourself those questions, something will emerge that will be important to you. Something that you want to strive to make happen.

Match the outcome that you want from your why to the activities that it takes to make it happen. The moment that – like Jaime had – you begin to understand why you’re doing something, what and how you live your life will become all the more clear.

Bottom line: tapping into your why gives you a reason to engage in an activity or set of activities. Provides personal context for achieving a goal and usually creates fulfillment. Your why sustains over a longer period of time.