My husband, Eric, is an armchair entrepreneur. He has ideated, seeded, started, funded, built, grown, and sold dozens of companies — 10 times over — all in his head.

His best friend, Marc, is a finance guru. A whiz-kid investor who's in it for the love of the game, not for the love of money. They are an unlikely pair: one a dreamer, the other the ultimate pragmatist.

Last week, Marc posed a simple yet profound question: "If you were a stock, would you bet on yourself?"

Eric's response was swift and resounding. "Yes, I'd buy myself on margin," he grinned. Because one day — one day — he was going to be a successful founder of [insert company name here].

Marc's question gave Eric the ultimate litmus test of self-confidence. Up until that point, my husband hemmed and hawed incessantly: "Am I capable? Am I good? Can I launch a successful business?" Thinking about whether he'd buy stock in Eric Co., versus buying shares in Apple or GE or Zynga, gave him a whole new way of thinking about the world.

It doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur, a general manager, a corporate lawyer, or a brand strategist. The question remains the same: Would you buy stock in yourself? Do you believe in your own potential so deeply and absolutely that you'd make that investment over any other?

If your immediate reaction is "yes," then you're in great shape. You know what you are worth. You see your future value and potential, and know that you are increasing in value every day. You believe that whoever employs, engages, partners with you is lucky to have you on their side.

If the question gives you pause, however, then you've got some work to do. If you wouldn't buy stock in yourself, why not? What's holding you back? Who or what could possibly be a better investment? Equally important, how can you improve your skill set, beef up your network, or make a lasting change to make your stock rise?