I have always believed that the truth naturally rewards you with self-confidence, and telling lies naturally brings on insecurity, self-doubt and poor self-esteem, and so with that, I have chosen to be exceptionally honest in my life. As I matured into adulthood, however, I was stunned to find many people, even experts, don’t believe you can or should be honest. They believe lies are essential–a required element in life.
This has always perplexed me, and I can tell you few people see it like I do. So when I was reading online the other day and I opened up a link–I was pleasantly surprised at what I read. I found someone who is only mentioned by his first name, Peter, because he is an angel investor, but what he said was so beautiful to read!
Peter was quoted by Rebekah, who wrote the article, and shared her conversation with Peter about the secret to success.
Rebekah expected Peter to say all the things most people tell you about achieving success–“never give up” to the old cliche slogans on t-shirts, but he didn’t.
What did Peter say was the secret to success?
He said it “…is to never, ever, ever tell a lie”!
Imagine that?
He then went on to say…
“Complete honesty is the access to ultimate power.”
Think about it.
It’s true.
I have always lived by the principle of honesty in my life and it truly has rewarded me over and over again. I honestly can’t think of one negative that has come from being honest. Not one.
I just love how Peter said it!
Complete honesty does give you power for many reasons. Not aggressive negative power, but positive power. It fills your sails–it propels you forward with self-confidence. Furthermore, you are upfront with yourself because you have to own up to your failures. You can’t hide them or run from them–sweeping them up or ignore them because you are honest and you will talk about them and acknowledge them.
Instead, by facing your failures–you make changes. You grow and learn, and move on to new and better experiences. And that gives you more self-confidence. You begin to believe in yourself more and more, because you are building everything on honesty and integrity.
You also learn that when you admit your failures, people don’t actually judge you nearly as harshly as you thought! Most people understand we all make mistakes! It’s when people don’t admit to their mistakes that people judge harshly.
Furthermore, when you tell the truth, you aren’t overloaded with managing your lies, and you can focus on what is truly important. You also won’t contradict yourself down the line, or say things that are inconsistent. So many people are inconsistent on a daily basis and have no clue–because they aren’t honest with themselves, let alone other people.
People do catch on to lies–no matter how subtle, and they take notice and just one lie caught can cause people to distrust you. And those lies do hurt you in business and in your personal life.
There really isn’t one positive element to lying.
When you lie, you come across as insincere, fake and not genuine. Who wants to be seen like that?
So next time you talk to someone–pay attention. Are you about to tell a lie?
Do you really have to lie? Or can you say something else?
I believe you can always be honest, polite and never rude or offending. The key is to focus on what is true and positive, and take honesty step-by-step.
Give it a try and tell me how it goes. It truly is a beautiful feeling to always be honest, and in the end, it may help you achieve the success you’ve always dreamed about!
