The Trust Factor
A daily lesson that focuses on achieving unparalleled success in life using ancient wisdom in modern times.
We will be discussing critical concepts as they are laid out in the book Sha'ar Habitachon - The Gate of Trust. Written 1000 years ago, the author reminds us of the values and wisdom that have allowed humanity to thrive throughout history.
The concept of trusting in a higher power that exists purely for our benefit, puts us in the drivers seat with absolute confidence to achieve greatness.
Eliminate: Fear, Hatred, Anxiety, Depression, Jealousy, Greed...forever!
* Note that some terminology will be in the original Hebrew or Aramaic which I will always follow with the English translation.
The Trust Factor
Episode 29 - Why Are We All Medicated in the Age of Abundance?
How did we arrive at a moment in history where we possess more creature comforts than kings of old, yet suffer unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression? The answer lies at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern excess.
In this milestone episode, we celebrate our journey through the introduction to the gate of trust—a thousand-year-old framework that has sustained humanity through persecution and hardship. We examine how the industrial and technological revolutions have created obscene wealth, from Hollywood actors making hundreds of millions per film to athletes earning more in a season than generations could spend in lifetimes. This excess, coupled with diminished responsibility, breeds corruption, distorted thinking, and social decay.
The contrast couldn't be starker: we drive cars with amenities that would astonish royalty from two centuries ago, yet can't take enough medication to calm our minds. Rabbeinu Bachya's ancient teachings offer a profound solution through ten benefits of trusting God—five spiritual and five material. These include attaining true peace of mind, freedom from flattery and obsessive thinking, contentment with one's portion, liberation from constant desire, and the ability to maintain equanimity during business setbacks.
As we prepare to dive deeper into seven chapters of "gold and pearls and diamonds," consider this invitation to rediscover wisdom that allowed humanity to thrive for millennia. The secret to happiness isn't found in accumulation or achievement, but in recognizing where true security comes from. Join us for this transformative journey and discover how ancient principles can free you from modern anxiety.
Congratulations everybody. We have reached a milestone, a very important milestone. It may not seem like a large one, but I can assure you it is massive. We've gone through the introduction to the gate of trust. That introduction could have been cranked off in one episode, maybe two. Yeah, it's not a lot of content, but we've taken almost 30 days to go through this content. Why? Because we've discussed many real life situations. We've brought a thousand year old history into the year 2025. We've taken ancient wisdom and applied it to modern times.
Speaker 1:Goal of this program to be able to get you to recognize that once upon a time, humanity lived in a much more clean, focused, conservative and godly way, in a way that allowed them to succeed and to thrive and to last. Throughout generations, throughout persecution, throughout all kinds of difficulties. We've managed to last, not because of crazy, woke ideas that we find ourselves surrounded by today, not because of the fickle environment of people who are thin-skinned and who are so terrified that you're going to offend somebody and that people don't know whether they're male or female. They don't know how to identify, they don't understand basic biology. They're looking to argue just for the sake of argument. That's not what we grew up with. That's not what humanity grew up with. Humanity thrived in an environment where we all understood basic principles that allowed us to zero in on what's really important and not the ridiculousness that comes when you've achieved success, and that's the reality. We've achieved so much success in this world. We've made so much money since the industrial revolution and the technological revolution. It just goes on and on and on the amount of money that we've made. And if you look just look at Hollywood, look at Hollywood actors making hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars just on one film, yeah, just look at professional sports, look at these guys. And just look at soccer, look at European football. I mean, come on, guys, it's obscene how much money these people are making In one season. They make more than they need for their entire lifetime, then their children, their grandchildren more money than all these people need for their entire lifetimes. They make in one season. It's unbelievable. Ceos, big companies, fortune 500s look at the amount of money that these people are making. It's shocking.
Speaker 1:That does not end well. I can assure you that all that does is it breeds corruption, it breeds hatred, it breeds inequality, it gives people ample time to do nothing, and there is nothing more dangerous than an idle mind, somebody who has access to all the money in the world certainly much more than they could ever use in this lifetime and not have any obligations, not have any commitments. That's usually what comes with it. If I'm worth $500 million, I don't need to work. I don't need to answer to anybody. Nobody tells me what to do today and I can afford to put an entourage around me of individuals who will tell me how wonderful I am. They'll tell me how great I am every day, even though I'm corrupt, even though I'm broken, even though I have a backwards thought process and the things that I like are wrong and may even be illegal. These people are paid to tell me how great my ideas are. That's what comes with all of this success.
Speaker 1:With an abundance of money and wealth and not enough responsibility and commitment and hard work that is usually required to generate a living, you're left to your own mindset. You're left to a corrupt mindset that has nothing but time to think about the most corrupt. Why do you think, by the way, all of the corruption that happens in this world, the social and ethical corruption that comes out of this world, where does it come from? It comes from Hollywood. Hollywood is the epicenter of corruption. All the broken ideologies, all the warped thinking, all the uncertainty about how I identify and who I am, and what's right and what's wrong, all of that corrupt thought process comes out of Hollywood, where all the money is Meanwhile. Here's the beautiful part it's one of the poor states. It's always on the verge of bankruptcy. Why? Because it's so corrupt. My friends, again congratulations. What we're doing in this program is we're revisiting ancient wisdom, the same wisdom that allowed humanity to thrive and to be good and kind and generous and make sure that we build a world that everybody can enjoy from. That's God's world, and so that's what we're continuing with today. We've hit that milestone.
Speaker 1:What I'm going to do for the next few minutes is I'm just going to recap, a quick recap. It's very important, guys. Remember we said repetition is key. If you want something to be ingrained in your psyche, then you need to learn it over and over and over again. Yeah, that's how it gets ingrained into your mind. That's how it becomes a part of the fabric of your being. So Rabbeinu Bachi, a thousand years ago, tells us why it's so important to have trust in God. He gives us five spiritual reasons. And he gives us five material reasons. And there is so much overlap here because, at the end of the day, how many dimensions are there really to our lives? Right, but if they're nuanced. So if you look at each of these examples, they're nuanced and you have to understand them in context. They're nuanced and you have to understand them in context. So he says the first spiritual benefit is that you attain peace of mind, in a sense of reliance upon God, the way that a servant relies upon a master, the way that a child relies on a parent.
Speaker 1:You don't have to think too much, guys. This gives you the ability to shut off your brain. It's not to say you shouldn't think and walk around like a zombie. Of course not. You have to make your effort. But it's the overthinking, it's the obsessiveness. That's why today we have an illness called OCD obsessive compulsive disorder. Right, people today obsess. They think they're in charge, so they overthink everything because they think they're the ones who are going to decide the outcome. You do away with that when you recognize who really decides outcomes.
Speaker 1:One does not feel subservient to another person. He's not burdened with flattering those who do wrong. Think about it Brown nosing. We've talked about this. We've seen it from grade school all the way up into the workforce. Everybody's running around kissing up and trying to cozy up and make friends with their bosses and with the owner of the company and with their friends in the community who have made a lot of money and been very successful, cozying up to them and telling them all these wonderful things, being part of their entourage and stroking their ego all day long, denigrating yourself in order to lift up another flesh and blood who happened to have a bigger test than you, because God gave him money no more.
Speaker 1:Number three one is calm and serene, so he's able to focus on God's service In his calmness. He has 10 advantages over the alchemist Remember we said the alchemist is the crook. He's the guy who doesn't realize where his money comes from. So he'll resort to anything to be able to make an income, even if it means thievery, even if it means being a scam artist. You don't have to scam people to make a living. My friends, you could be a great person and God could give you tremendous amounts of wealth. I've seen it. I have people in my circles and my surroundings who are very wealthy and they're phenomenal individuals.
Speaker 1:Number four one is happy with whatever portion Hashem gives him and he's comfortable giving charity and spending on other mitzvahs and commandments. Being happy with your portion, your lot in life, guys, we talked about how important that is right. That's not to say that you don't strive for more. Of course you do. That's why we pray, that's why we come to work, that's why we do the things that we do. But we understand the outcome that if we have X, it's because we need X and not Y and not Z. Whatever it is that we have, that's perfect for us and we're content with that. And it doesn't stop us from giving charity Even if we know we don't have much. We still give because we know where it's coming from. Number five one always maintains his attachment to God and a proper attitude towards his fellow. Attaining wealth does not detract from his reliance on God, and losing the wealth does not make him envious of others.
Speaker 1:Again, similar idea you know where you stand. Tomorrow I win the lottery, I don't change who I am. Tomorrow I make $10 million, I don't change who I am. The first thing I do is not to run out and buy a big, big house and mortgage it, mortgage it, even though I'm renting a tiny apartment tomorrow I run $1, $10 million. So you know what? I'll put $5 million down and I'll mortgage the rest. Why? Because I don't need a $10 million home. I need $20 million.
Speaker 1:Think about how corrupt that thought process is. If you're somebody you trust in Hashem, you understand. Today I have money, tomorrow I don't. Today I don't have money. Tomorrow I may. The fabric of who you are, the being, who you are as an individual, does not change because you know where it comes from. Those are the five of the spiritual benefits of having trust in God. What's the five worldly benefits? One is free from the stresses associated with attaining one's desires. Relax, don't worry about things. If you're in business, give it over to the big boss, let him run the show. Believe me, it works out so much better. Every single time you want something. That's great. If you get it, wonderful. If you don't get it wonderful, why? Because you know where it's coming from.
Speaker 1:Number two one is free from traveling long distances in search of income. You know, we talked about this a couple of times. I don't care how many people tell you oh, I love traveling. Are you kidding me? It's fantastic. You know, I'm used to the plane, I'm used to the ride, I'm used to being away. It's baloney, it's not true. It takes a toll. Maybe for the first month it's fun, or the first few months it's fun, but after that it wears you down. It takes a toll on you emotionally, physically, on your family life. We say it's a blessing to have your income sourced locally, not to have to travel for it. When your faith is in God, there's no need to travel. Your income is at your feet.
Speaker 1:Number three one is free from seeking employment that is stressful, physically taxing and potentially harmful. Again, similar concept you get to pick and choose. Why? Because you know who runs the world. You talk to God and you say God, listen, why do I need to go and risk my life to make a few dollars? It's ridiculous. You don't need me to risk my life and I don't need you. My family doesn't need me to risk my life. I know where my money comes from. You provide me with an income and I'll do it in a safe environment. That's somebody who has trust in God.
Speaker 1:Number four one is relaxed about his business matters, even if he suffers setback. Whoa, does that ever apply today? We're living in a really, really slow economy. We're living in a time where things are upside down tariff talks and Trump's making all kinds of changes, and it's affecting everybody in business. I can tell you personally everybody's on the fence. But you know what, when you've got trust in God, it's just another beautiful day. That's all it is. It's another spectacular day.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I made money. Today I won't. Tomorrow I'll make money. It's all part of this plan. It's all part of the process of being in this world. He's waiting to see. Do you recognize it or not? Are you going to be in this world for 60 years and still think that it can change and be out of your control, and suddenly things are going to fall apart and he's not going to step up? Have you gone through so many challenges in your life and you still don't have the faith? It's a test. Once you pass that test, my friends, you win. Things become easier. I guarantee it. I've seen it with my own eyes.
Speaker 1:Number five and the final of the worldly benefits is one is able to be happy in any situation. My friends, I promised you at the beginning of this program that I'm going to give you the secret to happiness. I'm going to give you the secrets to get rid of your anxiety, your stresses, your stresses, your worries, all of the things that make us crazy, that everybody's medicated for today, nobody, almost nobody, is not medicated for some form of depression or anxiety or OCD or all kinds of different things. Today, if you're not medicated and you don't have a therapist, there's something wrong with you. That's the generation we're living in.
Speaker 1:Think about this, friends. More creature comforts than ever before in human history, with all the money and success that we've made. And yet today we've never seen bigger numbers. There have never been more people on drugs, on medication, for all of the stresses that can come with life. It doesn't make sense If it was positively correlated the amount of money you make and the stresses that can come with life. It doesn't make sense If it was positively correlated the amount of money you make and the lifestyle that you have brings you happiness and success. Well, it's been busted Busted just by virtue of the fact that people can't figure out.
Speaker 1:From one day to the next, everybody's medicated and in therapy and yet we've got. If you're driving the biggest piece of junk car today, you're driving a 10 or 20-year-old vehicle. You are riding around in the lap of luxury compared to what royalty kings and queens rode around in 200 years ago just 200 years ago with air conditioning and suspension and power windows and door locks and sunroofs and leather interior and all that 20-year-old vehicle. Yet you can't take enough medication to calm your mind. There is something wrong, my friends, and guess what? We're gonna fix it. We just got through the introduction and I know you've benefited already tremendously. Wait, we've got seven chapters of gold and pearls and diamonds, precious gems. We're about to get into them. Fasten your seatbelts, my friends. Have a great day.
