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 171 - Stop Chasing The Carrot; Your Groceries Are Already Covered
What if your basics are already covered—and the real test is whether you’ll sacrifice comfort to do what’s right? We pause to distil a big chapter into plain guidance on trust, provision, and purpose. The conversation starts with a bold claim: the more you choose principle over pressure, the more life aligns in your favour. Not because effort doesn’t matter, but because effort without trust becomes anxiety; effort with trust becomes peace.
We break down three of seven life-gifts to show how this works on the ground. First, health and basic sustenance: act like it depends on you, rest like it doesn’t. You work, maintain your wellbeing, and then surrender outcomes. That surrender isn’t quitting—it’s clarity about what you control and what you don’t. Next, additional income: do your craft well, but stop chasing endless “more.” Extra money often arrives with a purpose beyond you. Share it wisely or watch it leave in ways that sting. This reframes generosity as strategy and stewardship, not just sentiment.
Finally, relationships: if you carry family responsibility, meet it with joy and humility. Provision is a sacred duty, not a tool for control. If you don’t have dependents, treat your capacity as a gift—time and focus to build, learn, and serve. Across every path, the pattern holds: demonstrate your will through action, then yield the scoreboard. You’ll find less fear, deeper gratitude, and a steadier approach to work and wealth. Ready to reset how you measure success? Listen now, share this with someone who’s chasing the carrot, and leave a review to tell us what sacrifice you’re willing to make for a truer reward.
Until next time, have a spectacular day!
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Trust Factor, the podcast that guarantees success when you implement its divine age old teachings. Happy Monday. We are done with chapter four. We're gonna finish it off today, right now. We're gonna start to summarize it. It was a huge, huge chapter. So summary may take a couple of days, but it's important because we just covered off a truckload of information, so much so that it's very much worth repeating. Even though as we go through we repeat our previous days' learning, we're gonna give it a thorough summary. Bottom line, what I've taken away from this and what Khovot Halevovot has been trying to tell us for nearly half of a book here is quite simple and it all boils down to this. Those people in this world, those of us who are willing to sacrifice more in order to do the right thing, those of us who are willing to not become enslaved by the world around us and to be able to see through it to understand what is really important and what is really not, and as a result are willing to sacrifice more than others, those people stand to gain more than others. Bottom line, easy equation. The more I'm willing to sacrifice from this life to do the things that God asks me to do, and not what government asks me to do, and not what the media asks me to do, and not what social media asks me to do, and not what some randoms in the street or who I think are important tell me what to do. The more I sacrifice to do God's work in this world, the greater my reward. The more I'm willing to go against nature in order to do his will, the more he will turn nature towards me, the more he will make things work out in my benefit. That's it. That's how he summarizes this book. Let's get into the formal summary. He says there are seven categories of things that God bestows on people, and each has its own application in Bitachon and trust. What are they? We've got seven of them. So number one is health and basic sustenance. What does that mean? A person's basic needs are guaranteed for him as long as he is assigned life. As long as you are you hear this, guys? Most people walk through this life so confused that they think that even their basic needs they are responsible for. In other words, food, water, shelter, the basic things that you need to survive in this world is guaranteed for you. As long as he who gave you the life keeps you alive. It's very simple. He takes on that responsibility. The same way you and I, as parents, take on that commitment when we bring a child or children into this world. We commit to providing for their needs the same way he does. It's very simple. Shouldn't come as a shock. It says, but he is required to invest some effort in maintaining his health and earning his livelihood. Nevertheless, he should realize that the effort will enable him to attain only what Hashem has decided is best for him. And he should surrender to his decision. You know, that paragraph that I just read there, we could stop this entire podcast and just focus on that for the rest of your life. And understand what that means. Because if you get that, then you automatically get a life of peace and tranquility and understanding and respect and all of the good traits that we were promised at the beginning of this podcast. This is where it comes from. If you just understood what is being said over here. First of all, he says that we need to make an effort. God only helps those people who help themselves. You have to demonstrate your will to live and to thrive, and then he will step up. And in other words, the opposite is true. If God forbid you do not demonstrate that to him, that you value this life and that you want to live and that you want to thrive and that you want to succeed, then he gets the message. And that's it. He can't help you. You have to help yourself. And it's the same by us, guys. Anyone here of any age above, I would say 40 knows that if you've had people in your life who've been depressed, who have been anxious, who have made a series of wrong decisions, who have other emotional health conditions like OCD or ADHD, all these different things. If people don't want to make the change for themselves, there's nothing that anybody can do on planet Earth. It does not matter. If you don't want to go seek treatment, we can't make you. If you don't want to take medication, we can't make you. If we don't want to do the right actions and the right deeds in the mitzvah, we can't help you. You have to have a burning desire to grow and to thrive. And the higher that desire, aka, the more you're willing to sacrifice, like I just said, the more he's going to make it come to fruition. And then he finishes that paragraph by saying, nevertheless, you should realize that it doesn't matter how much effort you put out, it doesn't matter. You're going to be limited or unlimited based on what Hashem determines is going to come to you that year. Number two, additional income. One should work at his regular vocation for the sake of earning a basic livelihood. Okay, you know what you do for a living? Go do it. Earn a living. And not invest extra effort in trying to become rich. Whoa, are you kidding me? Like, can anything fly more in the face of humanity in this day and age? Do not waste your time going after the dream, the carrots that are being dangled over our heads every day by government and media and social media and Hollywood and telling you that if you only get the newest iPhone, if you only get the newest fashion, if you only have the newest design in the house, if you only have the newest furniture, if you just be able to renovate and change the look of your house every 15 minutes or find another room to change, or if you just need a better car or a bigger car or a nicer job or a better bus. Whatever that's standing in the way between you and richness, he says stop doing that. Obviously, it is a barrier. It is something that is holding you back. It is not only holding you back from growth, but it's holding you back from enjoying the things that you already have. He should trust that if Hashem wants to send extra income, he will do so without one's effort. That's the excess you remember we said it seems like so long ago. That's the excess. The basic minimums he has to provide for you, long as you give a minimal effort. But if you take it to the next level, if you do the things he's telling you to do, if you live a life of godliness and goodness, if you live a life of altruism where you're living for other people in society and doing the right things with your money, simple. Then he will send more for you to continue to do the right thing with. He will do so without one's effort. And if he does not want to send anything extra, no amount of effort will make it happen. Period. End of sentence. Think about that. Understand that, my friends. You can try, it's like pushing water uphill. Nothing happens. You cannot achieve greatness if God does not ordain it for you. The extra income that a person receives is often earmarked for others. And it is thus wise to share it with the needy, otherwise, it may go lost in a distressing way. You either give it to the right causes and from the right place, coming from your heart, coming from the Torah, coming from your desire to connect back to Hashem and do the right thing, or it will be taken from you in a way that will leave you feeling very upset. You won't understand why you just lost thousands of dollars. You won't understand why you ended up getting sued. You won't understand why you're getting the knock at the door that God forbid you've been fearing your whole life. You won't understand it. Why everybody's coming at you all of a sudden? What's going on? It's been so quiet for so long. Things have been great. And now everybody wants a piece of me? Everybody's coming at me. I can't make enough money to pay everybody. If you don't do it of your own volition and for the right reasons because you want to live a proper life and give back to this world, then God will take it from you and you will not feel happy about it. Think about it. What do you prefer? To feel content and enjoy and see the fruits of your labor by giving and helping other people and growing this world and seeing the goodness that you can do? Or having to part with the very same amount of money, if not more, and not be able to have that and instead be s be upset and be miserable and not understand why. Number three, relationships with others. And we'll finish with this one. It's a long one. If one has no family, he should take company in Hashem. Hashem is your father, Hashem is your mother, Hashem is your brother, Hashem is your sister, Hashem is everything for you. You live that kind of a life, you've got your head on straight. And appreciate not being burdened with extra responsibilities. If you don't have a family, you don't have mouths to feed, you don't have tuitions to pay, you don't have clothes to buy, you don't have all the expenses that come with other individuals that you're responsible for. So understand that God determined you don't need that in this life. Focus your energies elsewhere. If one has family who depend on him, which is the opposite scenario, he should do his best to willingly and joyfully meet their needs. Remember, God gave them to you. He put you in that scenario. There is no coincidence. They are your children, they are your spouses, and they are your obligation, and that becomes priority number one. Bearing in mind that this is his sacred duty and not a means of gaining authority over them. If you're running around like a tyrant thinking that you're working for this money, therefore you're earning this money, therefore they have no right to it, therefore it's all yours, and you're gonna you're gonna dole it out only as you see fit, when you see fit, and you're gonna put everybody on a tight budget, even though you know that you can afford to do much more than that, you don't realize that this money that's coming to you is specifically because you have those people to take care of. And if you're holding on to it again, it's going to be taken away from you in a way that will be very upsetting. And he should rely on Hashem to enable him to fulfill this responsibility. What a blessing it is to be able to have a uh a spouse and children and family. What a blessing. Think about the people who roam alone for 50, 70, 80, 100 years alone. They don't have the people to confide in, they don't have the amazing uh experiences of seeing other people's joy, you're the those who are closest to you and enjoying it with them. They don't have these things, you know, and it's sad, it's really sad, but they have so much more with to do with their time to make a dent in this world. If they're not making that dent, my friends, I mean, then it's a double whammy. Then they've lost out on the joy of family, but at the same time, they've lost out on the opportunity to fulfill their purpose in this world. My friends, let's not let that be us. Have an amazing day. We're still summarizing this. We've got a few more to go, four more to go. We'll continue tomorrow. Have an unbelievable day.
