[kbenson]

> But I "believed in" them enough to know they were doing things I found interesting and could afford to pay me.

I think "I found interesting" might be not be quite right for most people either. If it's serving a need for the people that pay for it, or you think it can be serving a need if it continues in the direction it's going, I think that's the important part in "believing in it".

I've done work for companies where I was able to convince myself of this for short periods, but eventually had to accept the harm was greater than the good (payday loan companies. Used appropriately they aren't horrible, but they do everything in their power to make sure they aren't used appropriately), and that's when even though the work was interesting it became hard to stomach, for me at least.

Ultimately, if the service or product you're working to support is one people appreciate and come away appreciating afterwards, I think most people won't have a problem "believing in it". It might not be interesting though, so it's entirely possible believing in it isn't sufficient to keep people working there in itself.