In any relationship or transaction, what you actually deal in is trust.
It is less about ice-cream, clothes, consulting, or law services than it is about trust.
The same goes for your lover, your marriage, your kids, your friends. Same for your presidential candidate. Same for the vaccine to end this pandemic… Anything.
What you expect – and what you offer –  is TRUST.

Back to our question. Are you trustworthy?
My guess is we know when we are, and we know when we are not.

Notice that I haven’t said “IF” but “WHEN”.

Using “IF” would imply that there are only 2 categories: those who are trustworthy and those who are not. I don’t believe in this binary; There is no such thing as Manichaeism when it comes to humans. The grey area, and its thousands of nuances represents the majority.
Besides, we are all evolving and changing constantly in real life.

Using “when” is indeed a sweet reminder that...

There are certain people who reveal themselves ONLY in demanding situations.
Surprisingly enough, you sometimes find them occupying safe and sustainable positions, in a slow-paced company for years – sometimes decades –  taking the path of security.
I would know, I work regularly with some of them.

The problem is that they are not frequently challenged. They are not flirting with the “edge of the cliff,” and over the years they end up appreciating the softness of that “self-killing-comfort”.
After years of leading successful and smooth professional journeys, they end up calling on me, intent on soul-searching, without a clue as to what could be wrong with them. They are looking for that missing piece, and for their true fulfillment.

I call them “Sleeping Beauties”.
Sleeping Beauties are:

1. Doing OKAY… They sometimes feel bored, but they believe it’s normal.
   
   
2. Not using their full potential. (Don’t start with the...