Years ago, I worked with a guy named Aaron.

He wasn’t the kind of person who talked a lot about values.

He just lived them.

He’d stay late, not because the boss asked, but because someone else needed help finishing.

He never missed a deadline.

Never showed up late.

Never took more than his share of credit.

Once, he caught an error in a deck I was presenting, and he fixed it quietly, before anyone saw.

He never mentioned it.

One day, I asked him:

“Why go to all that effort when no one notices?”

He looked at me and said:

“If you can’t be trusted with the small stuff, how can anyone trust you with the big stuff?”

That line stuck. But honestly, it also stung.

Because in that moment, I realized something uncomfortable: I wasn’t showing up that way.

Not at work.

And definitely not at home.

The truth is, Aaron wasn’t just a great teammate.

He was a mirror.

And I didn’t always love what it reflected.

So I made a quiet decision to treat the people closest to me with the same care I gave to clients and deadlines.

Follow through.

Be present.

Pay attention to the small stuff.

It didn’t happen overnight.

But slowly, it changed things.

Not just how others saw me.

But how I saw myself.

We don’t talk about trust enough.
But it’s underneath everything that works in life.

Your career, your leadership, your relationships they all rise and fall based on trust. 

If people can’t rely on you, they won’t follow you.
If they don’t trust you, they won’t confide in you, stay loyal to you, or bet on your vision.

And that’s true whether you’re leading a team, raising a family, or building a business.

Trust isn’t a soft skill.
It’s the skill.

The good news?

You don’t have to be perfect to earn it.
But you do have to be consistent, honest, and clear.

Let’s break that down.

Looking back, I used to think trust was something you either had or didn’t.
But Aaron showed me it’s something you practice.

And if you want to build it, forget the grand gestures.
Trust comes from three simple but powerful traits:

Together, these three form the Trust Pyramid.

But here’s the catch: it doesn’t work if even one layer is missing.

Because trust isn’t built in a single moment.

It’s earned through patterns.

Small ones. Repeated over time.

When you live out those three values, you become someone others can rely on.

Not because you made a speech about it, but because you proved it in the margins of your life.

So, how do you actually live this out?

Once you understand the Trust Pyramid (consistency, honesty, and transparency), it becomes easier to recognize where trust is gained or lost.

But understanding it isn’t enough. As Aaron taught me, you have to practice it.

That means showing up in the everyday moments with intention.
Not perfectly. Just consistently.

If that’s daunting, I get it. I felt the same way when I started tackling trust.

But here’s a great place to start:

Aaron left a legacy. I don’t remember every task we worked on.

But I’ll always remember how he moved through the world. Small actions, done with care.

In my career (and life), I’ve learned that the big moments are rare.

But small daily choices?
They’re everywhere.

And they shape who we become.

So, this week I want to leave you with something to reflect on:

What’s one small decision you made this week?
What did it say about your character?

Hit reply. I’d love to hear it.

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Stay Brilliant
Justin