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 183 - When You Trust In God, People Relax Around You
If your presence made people instantly relax, how would your work, family, and community change? We dig into a bold claim: a person who truly trusts in God becomes easy to be around, even loved across different groups, because their conduct signals safety. Not safety as a brand, but safety as daily proof—clear boundaries, honest dealings, and the courage to do right when it costs.
We start with a preview of our upcoming guest, Rabbi Elisha Mandel, then move straight into the sixth distinction of a trusting person. Clothes and cues are cheap; integrity is expensive. We talk about the difference between looking religious and living it: safeguarding others’ money and dignity, resisting shortcuts, and acting as if the unseen world is real. That posture changes how people feel around you. They sense you will not harm them to help yourself, and their guard drops. Trust becomes visible in a thousand small choices: what you touch, what you say, what you leave alone.
From there, we map trust onto sales and leadership. Desperation repels; calm attracts. When you stop treating prospects as providers and remember that provision comes from God, you become honest about fit, patient with timing, and firm on ethics. Counterintuitively, deals close more smoothly because pressure fades. We contrast the frantic pitch with the steady advisor and show why clients prefer the person who does not need their yes to survive. The same logic reframes competition: when a store burns down, rivals help rebuild, because scarcity thinking loosens its grip. That is what faith looks like in public—quiet, practical, generous.
Finally, we explore the inner effects: less anxiety, less resentment, more clarity. When harm and benefit don’t live in human hands alone, you can pursue justice without bitterness and work hard without fear. Confidence rises, patience deepens, and your presence becomes a refuge for others. If you’re ready to trade grasping for groundedness and pressure for peace, this conversation offers a way forward. If it resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who could use some calm, and leave a review to help others find the show.
Until next time, have a spectacular day!
Good morning everybody, welcome to the Trust Factor, the podcast that guarantees your success when you implement its divine age old teachings. This coming week, this coming Friday, the third of our interview series is going to be none other than Rabbi Elisha Mandel, another good friend and individual I've known for many, many years. Elisha's family has been involved and continues to be involved in the Thornhill community for many, many years. They all have a part in strengthening Toronto's Jewry. And we're gonna have exclusive access to Rabbi Alicia Mandel and his thoughts on having a relationship based on trust with your creator. That's coming up this Friday. Something to look forward to, my friends. I'm particularly fond of the sixth distinction that we're about to discuss with regards to an individual who has trust in his creator versus one who does not. And the sixth difference that we're about to discuss is that one who trusts in God is loved by all classes of people. That's a big, big statement, my friends. To say universally that that individual is loved by all classes of people, you know, I'd like to think once upon a time that was more true than it is today. Unfortunately, today, the further we get away from the giving of the Torah of Mount Sinai, and the more we are tempted by our surroundings, and the more that we are impacted and influenced by the secular world, there seems to be in a lot of places and from a lot of different people, a contempt for religious people, a contempt for religiosity in general and for God. I don't know what's caused that, but that's where we find ourselves in this generation. There are many people, especially unfortunately in the state of Israel, who have so much animosity and hatred towards the religious, and I don't know why, maybe it's justified in certain scenarios in their behavior, maybe it isn't, I don't know. But certainly once upon a time there was a reverence. And still today, my friends, still today there are good people in the world who understand that when they see an individual who holds himself out as being religious and conducts himself in that way, I think that is the differentiator, is that somebody can wear a keeper on their head. A keepah's very cheap. You can buy one for a few dollars. To grow a beard doesn't cost any money, it's free of charge. To put on a black suit and a white shirt, again, everybody owns a suit and a white shirt. It's not difficult to look the part. That's just for optics. What really matters most is does the individual conduct themselves in a way that they represent their creator, that people who are looking in see that this person is really making an effort. They really are trying to become the best version of themselves. When you see that, then for sure you will find a special place in your heart for that individual. You will recognize that this individual is working hard to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. And that will find favor in your eyes. And I'll go back to the statement that I made a long time ago on one of the early podcasts that when you're sitting on an airplane and you're about to embark on a very long flight, and you're nervous. A lot of people are nervous, especially those who don't fly a lot. But you're about to fly transatlantic and you're sitting on an airplane and you're nervous, and on walks religious person after religious person after religious person. And really, in the back of your minds, you know that with everyone that comes onto the plane, you feel more and more at ease, more and more comfortable. Why? Because you're thinking to yourself, Hashem, God is walking with these people. These people are walking with him, and he is reciprocating, and you know that. So you know that while you may not merit it, these people have a lot more merit, and you're more than willing to ride their coattails. This is the reality of a religious individual. Somebody who goes the extra mile to be able to live a godly life, is respected and honored by so many people around them. That's just the reality. He says, and they are comfortable in his company because they feel secure that he will not harm them. They know that this individual is working on himself, that he's holding himself to a very high standard. So this person, the last thing he's gonna do is try and hurt me. They know this, and therefore they're at ease with these individuals. Their hearts are confident regarding him, for they know that they have nothing to fear from him in regard to their wives and possessions. Interesting that they should say wives and possessions, I guess back then that was a thing, but really they're not concerned that they would leave their wife in a room with this individual if it was possible to leave their wife in a room or their daughters in a room with an individual like this, even if the door is accessible and it's not locked, they don't have any fear because they understand that they can leave their wallets, they can leave their most prized possessions, they can leave their loved ones in these people's company and have full confidence that they are going to do their best to make sure that they are cared for, since he would try not to seize anything of theirs. By the same token, he also feels secure from them, because he knows that his benefit and harm are not in the hands of any human being or within their power, but are ordained by Hashem. At the end of the day, this individual knows that you aren't responsible for anything good or bad that comes to him. He knows that. Even if you did something to harm him, he understands that it wasn't you and that you were just a tool in the hands of the creator. So he holds no animosity towards you. He knows, like I know and like you should know by now, that God keeps people in this world in order to do his work, good and seemingly bad. And so at the end of the day, if this person is going to harm this individual, this religious person, the religious person who's holding on a higher level knows that it is not the fault of the individual. They are simply a tool that God signs off on everything that happens to us, and he uses individuals in this world to be able to impact whatever decree he has, good or seemingly bad. So just like Mark had said, we had Mark Alpern on last week. He was talking about a sales guy. You know, nobody likes an aggressive, pushy salesperson. And who's the aggressive, pushy salesperson? Is the guy who lacks confidence and doesn't know where his next meal is coming from, has no idea or no faith or trust that God runs this world. He thinks that it's really the individual. And if he really just impresses upon the individual how great he is and how important it is that they invest with him or that they buy from him, then he will be successful. These people are so convinced that it is the other individual sitting across the table from them that will determine whether or not they get their next meal or they can afford to make their mortgage payment or they can afford to pay the tuition for the kids. And so they sweat and they're concerned and they're anxious. That's what Mark was saying. They're leaning in all the time, they're trying really hard. And don't think that the person on the other side of the table doesn't sense that. Of course they do. And what happens? The guards go up. Uh-oh, I got a salesman. Uh-oh, this guy's a little bit slimy, right? Uh-oh, this guy's your typical snake oil salesman. Uh-oh, I gotta be careful here, right? So the defenses go up. All of a sudden, this salesman is actually doing himself harm. He's pushing people away from him because of his sheer desperation. The customer sees the desperation in this individual and is withdrawn. Whereas somebody who knows that this customer is only going to invest if God decides it, that this customer is only going to buy if God decrees it. And if he doesn't decree it, there's nothing I can do to make this person buy from me or utilize me. Nothing's going to happen. So at the end of the day, my friends, that individual, the religious person, is at ease. He goes into a meeting and he instills confidence in his clients because his clients recognize that he recognizes where his meals are coming from. So everybody is at ease in this person's presence. He therefore does not fear that they will harm him, just as he does not hope to receive any benefit from them. It goes the other way also. This religious individual is not terrified that this person is going to take away from him. He's not worried about his competitor. He's not worried about the guy who opens up the store across the street. He's not worried about these things because he understands that God runs the world and he knows that God has been feeding him for decades and it's not about to change. On the contrary, we've seen within our community situations where unfortunately Jewish businesses are attacked or burnt to the ground, God forbid, or looted, just because they're Jewish businesses. And we see that the competitors come to help them out. They come, and I can show you story after story. One that stands out in my mind, I think it was in Montreal or in France, I can't remember, where a grocery store was burnt down in a Jewish neighborhood. It was a relatively new grocery store. And the people who came to get him back up on his feet were his very same competitors just a few doors over. Just down the block. They came over, they raised funds, they brought food, they paid distributors and vendors to come in and restock this individual shelves. Why? Because they know who runs the world. You know, it changes everything, my friends. It really is a game changer. When we know who runs the show, we are at ease. Anxiety and depression are not a thing. They don't exist. They go out the window. We know and we're confident. And it's a perfect relationship. The more confident we are, the more we have eyes to see, the less anxious, the less nervous, and the more at ease we are. That wraps it up for today, my friends. We'll chat again tomorrow. Have a great day.
