What was it Margaret Thatcher said? “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” (Aside: I worked with a clever woman once who modified this saying to be, “If you have to tell people you’re classy, you’re not.” and that never failed to totally crack me up.) Anyhow, where was I? It goes something like this: what/who you are is very clear from the way you behave and the things you say. No matter what lip service you offer, your genuine self can never be hidden behind false professions. I hear you out there: yet again, here she comes preaching her mantra of being honest, genuine and natural. Borrrrrring. I know. Bear with me.

I know this woman who likes to use the phrase, “No word of a lie” an awful lot. As it turns out, pretty much everything she says is, in fact, a lie. And the funny thing about saying, “Trust me” is that more often than not, saying that follows (or leads up to) saying something totally preposterous. Have you ever really felt comfortable with a person who constantly tries to convince you to trust them? Yeah, me neither. If you have to tell people to trust you, or swear that you’re being honest, chances are you and I both know you’re not trustworthy. And where does that get us in the end? Those ripples aren’t the kind I want to ride.