Trust means being able to predict what other people will do and what situations

will occur. If we can surround ourselves with people we trust, then we can create a
safe present and an even better future.

Trust means making an exchange with someone when you do not have full knowledge
about them, their intent and the things they are offering to you.

Trust means giving something now with an expectation that it will be repaid,
possibly in some unspecified way at some unspecified time in the future.

Trust means enabling other people to take advantage of your vulnerabilities�but

expecting that they will not do this.

Trust is defined as "reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of

a person or thing; confidence."

Trust is both and emotional and logical act. Emotionally, it is where you expose
your vulnerabilities to people, but believing they will not take advantage of your
openness. Logically, it is where you have assessed the probabilities of gain and
loss, calculating expected utility based on hard performance data, and concluded
that the person in question will behave in a predictable manner. In practice, trust
is a bit of both. I trust you because I have experienced your trustworthiness and
because I have faith in human nature.

You can emotionally love someone, but not trust them. You can trust them, but not
emotionally love them. When you trust a person, you believe that they have your
best interest at heart. They wouldn't do something to hurt you for the fun of it,
or for selfish gain. You rely on them.

You earn a person's trust by consistently proving yourself to them. You show them
that you will not use them or take advantage of them. You will not abuse their
love or their generosity. You will think of them before acting.

Re-earning a person's trust is done in the same way, except it take a much longer
period of time. People are very different as to how easily they'll trust others --
some have been seriously hurt in the past and hesitate to trust again. Others are
very "trusting," even of those who don't deserve their trust. No matter the
individual, you earn and re-earn people's trusts through reliance on the integrity,
strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence consistency of
character -- you prove that you are trustworthy by your deeds.

There is no way to assure a person that you are trustworthy outside of your
actions. Broken trust can take years, even decades to repair. It's a very
sensitive, and even awkward, time for the two people involved.

Here's the key: If you are the person who has broken another's trust, you have no
right to expect anything from them, especially trust. You can only prove by your
actions, words, and kept-promises that you are now on the "straight and narrow" and
have no intention of straying again. You cannot hold it against them if they
search your life for flaws and wrongs -- you earned their distrust. Hard work,
patience, perseverence, and consistent proof is the only way to regain the trust
you don't deserve.

So learn about trust, how it works and how to build it. If you do it well, other
people will give you the earth. If you betray them, they will hunt you to the ends
of the earth.