Last night when chatting with a friend online, he posed this question to me: 

“What keeps you up at night?” 

It’s a great question that cuts to the heart of any business owner, salesperson, or parent.  What stresses you?  What scares you?  It’s a great question because it makes you be real.  If you are honest, this question can create real dialogue and allow you to dig deeper. 

The problem is, in my experience, business owners, salespeople, parents, etc. spend way too much time worrying about the thing that keeps them up.  It’s constantly around us.  We are constantly thinking about cashflow, or teenage drivers, or employees, or sales quotas.  And although we need to have these on our mind, because they are obviously important, they can become all-consuming. 

When I find myself being bogged down or overwhelmed by stress, I like to ask a different question.

“What gets me up in the morning?”

What project am I working on that gets me fired up?  Who inspires me to do more?  What am I excited to do today?

This question can also get to the heart of a person.  And it can also start your day with a totally different tone.

P.S.  One of the projects I am really excited about is the new web show Delivering Marketing Joy!  If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can do that by heading to Youtube.  Here is the latest episode (new every week) as of this post.