Except time, maybe the next most valuable thing we can give to a person is our trust. Here are 25 trust quotes to help you build stronger relationships.

The most valuable thing we can give to a person, apart from time, is our trust. However, if we ever get betrayed, trusting someone becomes harder and harder.

Sometimes it takes years to build trust and that massive work can be torn down in a matter of seconds. A lie, a rumor or doubt can destroy an individual’s ability to rely on another person again. Betrayal hurts, so instead of giving the next person the benefit of doubt and simply trust them, we become extremely cautious around them.

Being cautious about someone’s real intentions is certainly helpful and wise, and learning from our mistakes is the best thing we can do for ourselves. But how much skepticism is just enough to protect us from future betrayal and, at the same time, not push away someone that actually means well?

That’s one question that will probably never be answered. All we can do is accept the fact that some people will deceive us. But not everyone’s the same — there are still a few people worthy of your trust out there, you just have to pay attention.

Learn to trust yourself and your instincts first and you’ll become better at selecting your tribe.

Here are 25 trust quotes that will help you build strong relationships:

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY (more Ernest Hemingway quotes)

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (more Friedrich Nietzsche quotes)

The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.

STEPHEN KING

Trust is not the same as faith. A friend is someone you trust. Putting faith in anyone is a mistake.

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

When mistrust comes in, loves goes out.

IRISH PROVERB

Wise men put their trust in ideas and not in circumstances.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.

ROBERT E. LEE

Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.

STEPHEN R. COVEY

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (more William Shakespeare quotes)

Trust is not simply a matter of truthfulness, or even constancy. It is also a matter of amity and goodwill. We trust those who have our best interests at heart, and mistrust those who seem deaf to our concerns.

GARY HAMEL

You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don’t trust enough.

FRANK CRANE

People follow leaders by choice. Without trust, at best you get compliance.

JESSE LYN STONER

There’s ways you can trust an enemy you can’t always trust a friend. An enemy’s never going to betray your trust.

DANIEL ABRAHAM

It takes two to do the trust tango–the one who risks (the trustor) and the one who is trustworthy (the trustee); each must play their role.

CHARLES H. GREEN

Loving someone is giving them the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to.

JULIANNE MOORE

Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him.

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

NEVER TRUST ANYTHING THAT CAN THINK FOR ITSELF IF YOU CAN’T SEE WHERE IT KEEPS ITS BRAIN.

J. K. ROWLING (more J. K. Rowling quotes)

Trust your hunches. They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.

JOYCE BROTHERS

Trust each other again and again. When the trust level gets high enough, people transcend apparent limits, discovering new and awesome abilities of which they were previously unaware.

DAVID ARMISTEAD

I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice in giving a failure another chance.

JAMES CASH PENNEY

The glue that holds all relationships together — including the relationship between the leader and the led — is trust, and trust is based on integrity.

BRIAN TRACY

Better to trust the man who is frequently in error than the one who is never in doubt.

ERIC SEVAREID

Trust is like blood pressure. It’s silent, vital to good health, and if abused it can be deadly.

FRANK SONNENBERG

Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE (more Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe quotes)