Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Trust is what solidifies a relationship, and without trust, it is nonexistent. Whether it is building a solid relationship, creating a great culture, making a sale, or trusting your instincts, they all require trust.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, in his great book, Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos, puts it this way:

THE WAY YOU earn trust, the way you develop a reputation is by doing hard things well over and over and over. The reason, for example, that the US military, in all polls, has such high credibility and reputation is because, over and over again, decade after decade, it has done hard things well.

It really is that simple. It’s also that complicated. It’s not easy to do hard things well, but that’s how you earn trust. And trust, of course, is an overloaded word. It means so many different things. It’s integrity, but it’s also competence. It’s doing what you said you were going to do—and delivering.

Here are some great quotes on Trust: