Trust Everyone to Be Themselves

One of DMX's most famous pieces of wisdom is: "Always trust everyone to be themselves, but trust in the fact that you can see them well."

Trust a snake to bite you. Trust a liar to lie to you. Trust a thief to steal from you. Trust them to be them, but know them when you see them.

The late rapper shared this philosophy during an interview on the Drink Champs podcast, explaining that it takes too much energy to constantly doubt people. Instead, he suggested observing their nature so you are never surprised by their actions.

Key elements of the quote

• Energy conservation. DMX argued that it takes too much energy to not trust someone. By accepting who they are, you free yourself from the burden of constant suspicion.
• Predictability. He famously used animal analogies to illustrate his point: trust a snake to bite you, trust a liar to lie to you, trust a thief to steal from you.
• Stay two steps ahead. Rather than being a victim, he believed that if you truly see someone for who they are, you only need to stay two steps ahead of them to protect yourself.
• Nature, not betrayal. This perspective shifts the focus from being betrayed to simply recognizing a person's nature. If you know a thief steals, it is not a surprise when they do so.

Where the philosophy came from

DMX's concept of trusting everyone to be themselves was rooted in a combination of street-earned survival instincts and a grandfather's early lesson on discernment. His outlook drew from family wisdom, the "nature of the beast" philosophy, careful energy management, and his own experiences with personal betrayal.

The grandfather's lesson: the snake

DMX often recounted a specific story about his grandfather that taught him how to identify the nature of a threat. He explained that you don't need to wait for someone to harm you to know who they are. His grandfather told him that if something looks, moves, and acts like a snake, it is a snake. The lesson was that you don't have to get bit to realize it's a snake. DMX applied this to people: if you see a person's true nature, whether a liar or a thief, you shouldn't be mad when they lie or steal. You should simply stay two steps ahead, because they are just being themselves.

Animal metaphors and human nature

DMX used animals to illustrate that betrayal is often just nature misunderstood by the victim:

• The snake. Trust a snake to bite you. It isn't a betrayal when it bites; it is simply fulfilling its nature.
• The lion. Trust a lion to be a lion. You don't expect a lion to be anything other than a predator.
• The dog versus the human. DMX famously said he trusts dogs more than he trusts humans, because dogs show their true colors immediately.

Why dogs

His bond with dogs shaped much of this outlook. A dog will protect you even if you have disciplined it, whereas a human might hold a grudge and fail to defend you in a moment of need. To DMX, a dog will let you know it's a dog from the jump, while humans can hide their true intentions for years. He ultimately believed that the nature of the beast was the only thing you could truly rely on, and his goal was to be sharp enough to read it so he was never caught off guard.

There's something quietly therapeutic here: much of our hurt comes not from what people do, but from expecting them to be someone they've already shown us they are not. Seeing people clearly, and adjusting our own boundaries accordingly, can protect our peace.

With deep gratitude and respect, DMX was an amazing person and artist. A great philosopher of our time, beyond his time and lost too soon.