Building Trust

The less you think you need people, the more you need them. Pride comes before the fall. And sometimes, I feel like the Grim Reaper. I will not tolerate dishonest businesspeople. I have to burn bridges and cut them off from my own business and that of my friends. I know it’s popular for mediocre people to overlook things, turn a blind eye and compromise, but if you’re serious about success you should always remember that compromising with a rattlesnake usually results in a painful death. At any point in time, people are either building trust or destroying it, revealing who they really are by their actions.

This should be a no-brainer, common sense issue, but obviously not for many people. In business, smart people deal with you because they like you and trust you, not because you have a large database, large ego and supposedly large bank account. The only people who are impressed with that are sycophants, losers and desperate people. In honor of the fact that the average IQ on a bell curve is only 100 and that entrepreneurs are not exempt from that startling and sad reality, here is my little lesson in Building Trust 101.

This is how you break down trust and let others peak under your Eagle mask to see a gobbling turkey hiding in there:
Don’t return your calls promptly. Don’t reply to e mails within 9 hours. Put people on hold. Break your promises. Show up late. Deliver late. Make excuses. Don’t shave. Answer your cell phone in business meetings. Insist on meeting near public transport because you can’t afford a car. Be cheap. Be unreliable. Try to sell stuff without creating reciprocity. Offer a computer printed business card. Lie.

Recognize a few past acquaintances there? If it meows, it’s probably not a racehorse.

And now for something completely different, just to cheer you up after that bleak little reminder to set and maintain high standards. There are still some winners out there. Sure, it’s a small percentage and they’re not easy to find, but they’re out there and there is a way to find them! YES. You can build a WINNER MAGNET that will act like Eagle Bait, and this is how you attract those amazing people that restore your faith in mankind and bring them into your life like bees to the proverbial honey. And, before you balk at this radical approach, I can honestly tell you that it works very well for me. Do I have your rapt attention?

OK, enough waiting. Here’s how you can build trust and magnetize winners: BE a winner. Expect and demand the best of yourself and others. Deplore loser behavior. Mercilessly cut losers out of your life. Speak out. Offend the losers. Be politically incorrect. Rattle the cages of the herd. Frighten the socialists and the collectivists. Be more concerned about being respected than being liked. Warriors are not timid or concerned about the enemy’s feelings (and losers ARE your enemies in business) – they act boldly and confidently and they win battles. They are loyal and caring to their troops. You will attract what you are. The turkeys will attack you, but you won’t even notice them because you’ll be so busy working with Eagles.

Here’s a simple illustration of my point from the movie, “Patton”:

Cook: Up bright and early, General? Uh, breakfast?

Patton: Am I to understand that my officers have already finished eating?

Cook: Uh, well, we're open from six to eight. Most of the men are just coming in now. [Indicates two soldiers who enter the mess hall]

Patton: Please inform these men that the mess hall is closed.

Cook: But sir, it's only a quarter 'til eight.

Patton: From now on, you will open at six, and no man will be admitted after six-fifteen. Where are your leggings?

Cook: Leggings? Oh hell, General sir, I'm a cook.

Patton: You're a soldier. Twenty dollar fine.

[two more soldiers enter the mess hall. Patton looks them over]

Patton: Gentlemen, from this moment, any soldier without leggings, without a helmet, without a tie, any man with unshined shoes or a soiled uniform... is going to be skinned.

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Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com