Do people Trust You?

They say that people do business with people they Know, Like and Trust. So, I have a question for you:

Do people Know, Like and Trust you?

If you want others truly to Know who you are, you have to become transparent. That does not mean to go out of your way to show others your faults. It does mean, however, that you are relaxed (and yourself) enough to let the real you show through. Hey, no one is perfect, and the people with whom you want to spend the rest of your life realize that, and will accept you as you are.

How Likeable are you? Some of you have heard my teaching about the Five Variables of Success in Sales. One of the variables is exactly this question. People want to be around people who are fun, encouraging and positive. They avoid being around people who are just the opposite. I find it interesting that in my entire life, whenever I have heard someone describe themselves as "Realistic", I knew them to be Pessimistic. Have you ever heard people describe themselves as Pessimists? I doubt it. If you are one of those "Realists", I have a suggestion for you: become an Optimist! Choose to start seeing the good in life, in others - and in yourself. I do not mean to have a Pollyanna attitude. (I discuss this concept further in my book.) I do mean to let the negative things in life that you have no control over happen without comment. Everyone knows the bad is out there. They just do not want to hear you talk about it all the time. To have people Like you, start today to find the good that is everywhere - if you choose to look for it.

Ah, and now the main subject of this chat: do people Trust you? Well, let's start with a deeper, more important question: do YOU Trust you? How many times have you told yourself one of the following things:

- I am really going to lose weight this time.

- This is the month that I truly go build my part-time business.

- I will never again be late for an appointment.

You see, when you constantly tell yourself that you are going to do things - and then fail to do them - after a while you start to see yourself as not being worthy of Trust. I mean, after all, if you don't Trust you, why should someone else?

That is a problem.

When you see yourself that way, other people pick up on it. Maybe not at first, but at some point during your relationship with others, they will stop Trusting you. How can you fix that? Decide today that you will NEVER AGAIN allow yourself an "Out." When you tell yourself that you are going to do something, look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you are going to follow through and succeed at it - no matter what it takes! Involve an Accountability Partner if you need to. Just make sure that going forward you do what you say you will do. After you have done this consistently for a while, people will start to Trust you, both more quickly, and more deeply. More importantly,

YOU will start to Trust you, too.