Why I Happily Woke Up At 3am Last Sunday...National Interview

 I love sleep. I need sleep. Very few things can get me to happily wake up at 3:00am, especially on a Sunday morning. The only one I can think of right now is going to the hospital to have a baby. But last week, I added another reason I'd sacrifice my precious sleep---the invitation to interview live on the national Fox News Channel.

Last Wednesday I received an email from Fox and Friends Weekend inviting me to interview live on Sunday morning at 7:20am to give tips on how to stop whining. They'd seen my interview in The Wall Street Journal a week ago in the article "A Nation of Whining: Therapists Try Tough Love." I called the show booker to discuss the interview details and confirm my availability.

I quickly realized that the 7:20am interview was Eastern Time, and would be 5:20am Mountain Time, and that I would need to arrive at 4:50am. That meant I'd need to leave my home at 4:15. So, I set my clock for 3:00am to give me plenty of time to get ready. Unfortunately, I didn't get to fly to New York City for the interview, but I they did send a car to transport me to and from my house to a local studio in Salt Lake City.

After working out the logistics, I talked with the show producer about the content. I offered a few talking points and followed up with an email listing four practical tips to help viewers stop whining.

While I've done many news interviews locally, they've all been done sitting next to the interviewer. This was the first remote interview I've done. Basically, it's like a conference call while looking into a camera and responding...on live national television. It was odd to not be able to see the faces and body language of the anchors who are interviewing me. While it was out of my comfort zone, it was definitely an opportunity I didn't want to pass up!

I watched the segment when I got home on the DVR and I didn't totally cringe. It went pretty well...and I napped all afternoon.