I was reading it for the fourth time, but it just wasn’t clicking—the About section of my latest project, DessertNearMe.SG felt too bland.
I had explained the what:
“A curated guide to Singapore’s best desserts—from bingsu to basque cheesecake, from cookies to kunafa, and from gelato to jalebi.”
It read like an encyclopedia. Informative, but soulless.
Frustrated, I left it for later.
Then, I started helping my son with his homeschool project on famous scientists.
He was scrolling through names: Avicenna, Aristotle, Newton, George Washington Carver…quickly finding out what each was known for.
Avicenna… wrote The Canon of Medicine.
Aristotle… was a philosopher.
Newton… laws of motion.
Carver… crop rotation to help farmers.
Then he paused.
“Why farmers?” he asked.
I would have moved on, but he didn’t. He kept digging.
He found that Carver had been born into slavery, lost his parents early….he saw poverty first hand. Nights without food, days of back-breaking work….all of it built his resolve to help poor farmers. His inventions were never just about improving agriculture. They were meant to improve the lives of farmers.
That why changed everything for my son. Carver wasn’t just another name in his book anymore. He became a story.
And that got me thinking.
I went back to my About page and rewrote it from the heart:
“I built DessertNearMe.SG to help you find the dessert you (or your loved ones) are craving. Just finding the nearest café isn’t enough. I know because my family’s taste buds are all over the place. We’ve got a burnt cheesecake fanatic (that’s me!), a crème brûlée guy (my husband), a dark-chocolate lover (my son), and a daughter who’s all about strawberry shortcake. I live this sweet challenge—and I wanted to make it easier for everyone.”
Maybe no one will ever read the About page. But for me, as a creator, it matters that what I put out there meets a certain standard. One that reflects not just what I do, but why I do it.
Simon Sinek calls it the Golden Circle: start with why, then how, and finally what.
It’s true for leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, parents…anyone trying to move hearts or minds.
Investors bet on why. People remember why.
Why is constant. What changes.
What is fact. Why is story. And people don’t remember facts. They remember stories.
Even beyond business, the same principle holds. Students don’t just need to know what to study, but why it matters. In relationships, we don’t rebuild because of what went wrong, but because of why it’s worth fixing. At work, it’s not what you do that sustains you, but why you care.
So the next time you’re stuck, unmotivated, or unsure — go back to your why.
That’s where energy lives. That’s where meaning begins.
P.S.: If you live in Singapore, check out this website I built to discover the best desserts Singapore has to offer. Let me know how you find it. And if you like what you see, do share it with friends. ❤️
Very nicely brought out
So true! The pressures and practices of modern day society mold us to think of the What and How. What car, what bag, what destination for the holiday, and to make that happen, the focus quickly shifts to How we'll make it happen (secure loan for a car, etc). The society rewards the What we do. They see it in our pictures and our social media updates, so we end up focusing on the What and How. This, often makes one forget about their own Why, which is the key reason for unhappiness despite having most (or indeed all) things money can buy. Discovering, and staying true to one's why is the path to true happiness.