Trust no man
But the one above
And the one in the mirror
Rely on yourself first. At the end of the day all you got is the man above (God/Higher Power) and the man in the mirror. Everyone else has to earn your trust. Even YOU have to earn your own trust, with action, by doing what you said you would do, by executing against your goals.
People will fail you. Not because they are being sinister, its just human nature. There is a lot going on at anytime, and its our nature to look after ourselves and ours first then reach out to others.
And of course I am being hyperbolic to make a point. We still have to trust. We can’t survive alone. To exist in the world, we have to trust each other. I trust you do your job, and you trust I do mine well. I trust whoever made the train to have done a good enough job to get me to my destination safe. I trust who ever made my phone to have done it well enough to function properly and get things done. There is always that layer of trust needed to function in the world.
But when the chips are down. You have to be able to rely on yourself first. Do not put yourself in the position where your destiny, your life is in the hands of another person. Don’t have your survival be dependent on the kindness of strangers. Take care of yourself, rely on your self.
Of course there would be times you absolutely have to trust others. You had to trust who ever cared for you when you were born. Sometimes things happen e.g. you get hurt and you have no choice but to rely on the kindness of others. It is great that we have the capacity for compassion and altruism as a species.
But as much as possible, understand that people will fail and things will go south. Have a contingency plans in place. Rely on yourself first, be the last line of defense in your life against life’s shit storms.
Self-reliance means taking responsibility for yourself and your life. Not outsourcing that to an institution, to a company, to a social group, or to a guru or pastor. It’s your hand on the steering wheel of your life’s experience. You need the ability to access your reality as clearly as possible and know what you need to do to get what you want in every situation.
Do clients or customers tend to take a while to pay? There are many ways to solve that problem in human behavior. You could take on as many jobs as you can take and so that those who do come through can tide you over while the others take their time to settle accounts. Or you could streamline your business and only target premium clientele. Or you get the money upfront or at least half of it. In every situation where things could go south because of the human condition, as much as possible, make alternative arrangements. Rely on yourself to solve the problem.
Even in life itself. Rely on your self, on your mind, on your reasoning capacity. Instead of blindly following every advice, test it against your experience and your make up. No one has the answers, and no one knows you like you. So take responsibility for your journey, seek our knowledge and wisdom, learn from others. But ultimately, the decisions are and must be yours.
Take care of yourself, rely on yourself, and you will be able to take care of others.
