Trust must be earned and re-earned

Trust is not given lightly. It is earned through hard work and consistency. but often people take for granted people’s trust in them.

Trust cannot be taken for granted. Once you have earned somebody’s trust, it is incumbent on you to maintain that trust, and re-earn it as often as possible. Trust is not necessarily about success. It is about transparency, and people’s belief that you will try as hard as possible.

Will you always win?

No.

Sometimes you will fail, and that sucks, but that does not mean people will lose faith in you. They will lose their trust if they do not believe you did everything you could to be successful, and that you aren’t doing everything in your power to correct your mistakes.

I’ve had a lot of mistakes in my career, and every time I’ve tries to be open and honest about what happened, and how I will fix it for next time. This is not only how trust is earned, but how it is re-earned over and over again. Every time you re-earn somebody’s trust their bond with you becomes stronger.

However, that bond will always be tenuous and fragile. Never take it for granted. It is the best resource you have available to you. If you can accumulate trust at scale and keep that trust with every project, then you will never go hungry.