“Trust is the basis, the foundation, of any relationship.” – Bob

Kate: Bob, if a young person, or one of your grandchildren, came to you and asked you, what are the most important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your life, what advice would you give?



Bob:

Patience and trust. If you can’t learn those or manage those, it’s very difficult to have a good relationship with anyone.

I don’t care who the person is, I give them the first shot. Anyone I meet, I give them benefit of the doubt, and trust that they’re a good person with good intentions. But if the first shot is no good, then that’s the end of it, the end of the relationship for me.

And this was absolutely true in my relationship with Margaret, and also with my kids.

And if you can’t trust someone, then there’s really nothing there. You have to have trust. Trust is the basis, the foundation, of any relationship as far as I’m concerned.

I remember one year I got a greeting card from Margaret — I got a greeting card from her every Valentine’s day — and that year she wrote: I trust you. That was so important to me. Even right now, it still means so much to me.

Another year she wrote: I’m proud to be your wife. And I’m proud to have you as my husband. That meant so much to me and that’s the way it was. We were very fortunate.

Further Reading

• You can read the full interview we did with our beloved Bob here: “Wisdom from Our Elders | An Interview with Bob Cogan”
• Why Do We Call Them the Greatest Generation? (from Legacy Senior Living) “They say it’s the hardships of life that form our true character. If that’s true, then Americans who were born between the two World Wars have certainly earned their character badges. For this, we call them the Greatest Generation.“
• Coral Tree Life Lesson # 1: Wisdom from Our Friend Doris Felman