The Story Behind Wired That Way

How Two Stapled Pages Became a Lifetime of Work

This year, 2026, marks the twentieth anniversary of Wired That Way. As I’ve celebrated that milestone, I’ve found myself thinking less about the book itself and more about the remarkable journey that led to it.

People often assume my work began when I wrote Wired That Way. The truth is, it began much earlier.

It began with my father, a couple of sheets of paper, and a little girl sitting in the back of the room.

When I was just nine years old, my father created the Personality Profile that became the foundation of everything we now know as The Personalities. It wasn’t fancy. It consisted of two mimeographed pages stapled together—one page for the Profile and one for scoring.

That simple Profile would eventually be used by churches, businesses, schools, families, and organizations around the world. But none of us knew that at the time.

When I was in my early teens—and for many years afterward—I often traveled with my mother, Florence Littauer, to her speaking engagements. This was before she had written any books. She was still developing her presentation and making it uniquely her own.

During the breaks, I’d sit behind our little merchandise table selling those stapled Personality Profiles. Eventually we added cassette tapes. Later came CDs. As my mother wrote more books and the Personality Profile evolved, our merchandise table grew right along with it.

But every so often my mother would look toward the back of the room and say,

“Marita, come tell the ladies about…”

Not knowing that public speaking was considered one of America’s greatest fears, I’d walk to the front of the room and tell whatever story she wanted me to share.

Looking back, I suppose that’s where my speaking career began.

As the years passed, another interesting thing happened.

While my mother visited with people after the seminars, others began coming to me with their questions. At first, I simply tried to help. But over time I realized those conversations were shaping the way I thought about The Personalities.

Without realizing it, I was developing my own perspective.

For my mother, understanding The Personalities was life changing because she finally understood that being different from my father didn’t make her wrong.

My experience was different.

I grew up with The Personalities. I never questioned my own Personality type. I knew this material almost as long as I could remember.

The real revelation came when I went to work.

Think about it.

Going to work is the first time most of us have to get along with people we may not even like. As children, if we don’t like someone, we simply don’t play with them. We don’t go to their house, and we don’t invite them to ours.

But at work?

We’re stuck with them.

For me, that first workplace was a fast-food restaurant when I was fifteen years old.

That’s where everything changed.

Suddenly I wasn’t just studying personalities. I was working alongside people whose personalities were very different from mine. Without even realizing what I was doing, I found myself observing people, identifying their Personality types, adjusting my expectations, and changing the way I communicated with them.

That’s when The Personalities stopped being merely interesting and became incredibly practical.

Those experiences shaped the direction my work would eventually take.

As the years passed, I noticed another pattern.

People would stand in front of our book table looking at Personality Plus, Personality Plus for Couples, Personality Plus for Parents, Personality Plus at Work, Put Power in Your Personality, and the many other books my mother eventually wrote. Then they’d ask a very practical question.

“Do I have to buy all of these books?”

That question stayed with me.

When I eventually wrote Wired That Way, I wanted to create one comprehensive resource that brought together the questions people had been asking me for years.

Yes, it explains the four Personality types.

But it also explores how to recognize personalities through visible clues, understand the emotional needs that drive people, improve communication, strengthen marriages and families, appreciate coworkers, and learn to focus on living from our strengths instead of our weaknesses.

In many ways, the book grew directly out of thousands of conversations with people who simply wanted to understand the people they loved a little better.

Looking back now, I can see that my mother and I each emphasized a slightly different aspect of The Personalities.

Personality Plus helped millions of people better understand themselves.

Wired That Way grew out of my desire to help people better understand the people they live and work with.

Neither is complete without the other.

Today, those two stapled mimeographed pages have become an instant-scoring online Personality Profile, a growing library of digital resources, books, podcasts, Personality Coaching, and a Certified Personality Trainer Program with instructors serving people in many countries.

One of the greatest joys for me has been watching The Personalities continue to grow. Some people simply want to better understand themselves and the people they love. Others discover a passion for sharing these principles with their own families, churches, businesses, or organizations. Today, Personality Coaching and the Certified Personality Trainer Program offer opportunities to continue learning and applying The Personalities.

Looking back, I realize something I couldn’t have understood as a teenager sitting behind that little merchandise table.

What began as a seminar ministry centered around two mimeographed pages stapled together has been thoughtfully developed by the next generation into a much broader educational platform.

I don’t say that with pride so much as gratitude.

My parents laid an extraordinary foundation. My privilege has been to build on that foundation, respond to the questions people have asked over the years, and make these timeless principles available in ways we couldn’t have imagined decades ago.

Sometimes people ask me if I ever imagined all of this when I was selling those first Personality Profiles from the back of the room.

Of course not.

But I’m deeply grateful.

Grateful for a father who created a simple Personality Profile.

Grateful for a mother who devoted her life to teaching it—and who gave me the freedom to take this topic into entirely new realms.

And grateful for the thousands of people whose questions challenged me to keep learning, keep teaching, and keep writing.

After all these years, I still believe what I’ve come to embrace over a lifetime of studying The Personalities:

One of the greatest gifts we can give the people we love is the gift of understanding.

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I’d love to hear your story.

Has understanding The Personalities made a difference in one of your relationships, your family, your workplace, or your own life? Please share your story in the comments below . I’d love to hear how the gift of understanding has made a difference for you.

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Marita Littauer has been part of The Personalities journey since she was nine years old, when her father created the original Personality Profile and her mother, Florence Littauer, began teaching its life-changing principles. Today, Marita continues that legacy as the author of Wired That Way, speaker, trainer, and developer of the Wired That Way Online Personality Profile and Certified Personality Trainer Program. Her passion is helping people give one another the gift of understanding.