To start off this column I wanted a nice positive quote about ‘trust’. Jumping on Google I thought this would be easy; that the perfect quote would pop off the screen. Instead I scrolled, and I scrolled, and I scrolled through quotes that, yes, were about ‘trust’ but not positive and in no way representative of the experience I am about to share.

It was a hot Thursday when my plane touched down in Houston, Texas. Adjusting my watch to local time and grabbing my bag from the carousel, I then made my way to the taxi rank where a tall dude greeted me. This guy had a smile so big that it connected his ears together and, as we drove into this city, which was new to me, we shared stories of dreams and life – because, why not! Quickly our differences were united through our similarities and I really liked this guy. The next day I arranged for the same guy to pick me up to return me to the airport for my connecting flight onto Orlando, Florida.

As I popped up the handle to wheel the suitcase he asked, “When will you be back Cam?" "Can I pick you up on your stopover going home?” "Sure thing, that would be awesome!" By this point I was left thinking there’s no other form of transport for me in this city, even if an Uber was cheaper, this guy had the ‘Awesome Factor’ and I was committed. A week passed and, as promised, the taxi driver was there to pick me up from the airport. As he’s driving me to my hotel he tells me of his financial pressures and asks me if I can prepay the next day's return fare to the airport. At this point I cringe; it’s a fair bit of money, I’ve spent little time in the back of this guy's car, I really barely know him.

However, as a keynote speaker, I barely know any of my audiences but, with a desire to communicate, form connection and build rapport, comes a mutual trust. This allows me to take them on a journey and when they ask favours of me I do what I can to serve. Maybe my driver is just like someone from the audience, maybe here I trust his journey, trust the communication, connection and rapport… and that’s what I did… was it the right thing to do? You bet! There he was the next day, bang on time and I have a new friend, his name is Ladi.

In this world, we can look to build trust slowly or make friendships quickly. We can leave our professional tools in our jobs to make money or we can embrace them in personal lives to make memories. We can miss the familiar or embrace the unknown and while, yes, it can most often be gamble, a win is a win, and sometimes they make a world of difference.