In a former life, I sometimes counseled small business owners who were going through difficult times in their businesses. The circumstances would be so desperate and the prognosis so dire that the person on whom the business’s buck stopped would be close to being unable to function.
Having experienced such a state of despair myself in the past, and calling upon what I’ve learned about perspective and what really matters in life, I would begin the visit with, “How are your children?”
“What?!” they always asked, incredulously.
When I repeated the question, they would invariably respond, “They’re fine. I’m about to lose my business. Why are you asking me about my family?”
To which I would reply, “Does anything else REALLY matter?”