I was looking for a knife sharpening place recently, and I came across a good looking website.

But NO, they are not open on weekends.

And NO, they do not sell online.

And NO, their knives are NOT dishwasher safe.

(No knives are really dishwasher safe, they cheerfully explain).

Saying No, builds authority, builds credibility, builds trust.

Sure, I was a little annoyed at the lack of convenience but I remembered their business above all the others in the search results.

The knife shop used NO to make a stronger relationship with me. It landed them in my brain.

We tend to think that getting our message across means saying Yes.

And it does.

Saying YES to the risk, to the vulnerability, to the boldness of trying to make a difference.

YES to standing for something.

But avoid the mistake of thinking that YES means having to be universal, convenient, accessible, flexible, inclusive. Means having to say yes to every client, every schedule request, every project.

If you only say yes, I get the feeling that you can’t be trusted. I worry that you won’t really be there for me.

Is trust the most scarce resource?

Trust might be the most scarce and precious resource these days.

Ever searched for reviews on something you needed and found your search results crammed with generic review sites?

Bestproductreviews, buyersreport etc

All claiming to give you the best possible advice for making your choice?

Compare and choose the best for you, they promise.

No matter what you search for these sites will come up. And that was true before AI content flooded the internet.

But their reviews are basically, in my view, utterly worthless.

If I have to see another table with check boxes on features, supposedly comparing products to help me decide, but providing nothing real…

Grrrrrrr.

These bestproductreview websites dominate google search results by brute force SEO (search engine optimization), by having universal coverage of pretty much every single product in the market, and (of course) with the financial power of sponsored links.

With frustration and by some small way of consumer resistance, I often find myself clicking through to the second, third and even (!) fourth pages of google search results.

Getting found is one thing.

Getting chosen is another.

It is an easy mistake to think that getting found means having to be universally available, ubiquitous, omnipresent.

It is true that a certain critical mass really helps because we trust things that stick around and that keep showing up over time.

But you get there with patience, persistence, reliability, and dependable quality, not with a tsunami of low value content everywhere.

Trust takes time, consistency, commitment.

If you want to make an impact, you have to build trust.

Build trust, and guard it with your life.

Because it is literally the vehicle of your life’s work.

Trust is not only better than nothing, it might be better than anything.

It is the most important element you need to make a difference.

So check out whether you are saying NO, enough.

Say YES to NO.

Say No with the firm confidence of knowing who you are and what you stand for.

You’ll build the trust you need to make a bigger impact.

And (as a happy side-effect) you are very likely to enjoy your work more.

You’ve got this.

And the world needs you.