Honesty Quotes on Life, Love and Success

Honesty is one of the most important things in life, and these honesty quotes will prove it.

Honesty means doing things that are morally right.

Share your thoughts on these thought-provoking quotes in the comments below.

You may also enjoy our article on:

• Truth quotes
• Integrity quotes
• Transparency quotes

In a survey conducted by the Center for Ethics at Loyola Marymount University, 93% of respondents said that being honest in relationships is important to them.

This underscores the importance of honesty in building strong and meaningful connections with others.

What are the benefits of reading honesty quotes?

Honesty is one of the most important attributes in life.

It gives you peace of mind where you’re not troubled by the lies you tell.

By being honest, people will always trust and respect you.

When one is honest, it means they’re:

• truthful
• trustworthy
• sincere
• loyal
• fair

Besides, honesty strengthens bonds and creates more meaningful connections in relationships.

If you want to be a more honest person, the first step is to be yourself.

One reason people are always dishonest is that they try to be somebody they’re not.

Be honest with yourself.

You cannot be honest with others if you’re dishonest with yourself.

Changing the things that make you lie is another step toward being a more honest person.

If, for example, you lie about drinking and smoking, change the habit.

You’ll then have no reason to be dishonest about it.

Honesty is a gift that many people don’t seem to possess.

Hopefully, the honesty quotes below will help you understand the importance and value of truthfulness.

Don’t forget to check out these karma quotes about what goes around & comes around in our life.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Honesty quotes on life, love, and success

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who are honest are generally perceived as more trustworthy, likable, and socially skilled than those who lie.

This highlights the importance of honesty in creating a positive impression on others.

1. “Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure.” – James Altucher

You will also enjoy our article on trust no one quotes.

2. “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson

You will also enjoy our article on respect quotes.

3. I believe fundamental honesty is the keystone of business. – Harvey S. Firestone

You will also enjoy our article on loyalty quotes.

4. “The first step is, to be honest, and then to be noble.” – Winston Churchill

You will also enjoy our article on humble quotes.

5. “Truth never damages a cause that is just.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

You will also enjoy our article on integrity quotes.

6. “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.” – Mother Teresa

You will also enjoy our article on good man quotes.

7. The foundation stones for balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty. – Zig Ziglar

You will also enjoy our article on authenticity quotes.

8. Honesty is of God and dishonesty of the devil; the devil was a liar from the beginning. – Joseph B. Wirthlin

You will also enjoy our article on commitment quotes.

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of devil quotes that will help you triumph against evil.

9. The elegance of honesty needs no adornment. – Mary Browne

You will also enjoy our article on letting go quotes.

10. “Honesty is a very expensive gift, Don’t expect it from cheap people.” ― Warren Buffett

You will also enjoy our article on acceptance quotes about life.

Honesty quotes to remind of the importance of this virtue

According to a study by the University of Notre Dame, people who are honest tend to have better physical health and sleep better than those who lie.

This suggests that honesty is not only good for our emotional well-being but also for our physical health.

11. “Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.” – John Lennon

You will also enjoy our article on fake friends quotes.

12. “If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” ― Virginia Woolf

You will also enjoy our article on respect quotes sayings.

13. Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. ― Albert Einstein

You will also enjoy our article on accountability quotes.

14. Honesty is the rarest wealth anyone can possess, and yet all the honesty in the world ain’t lawful tender for a loaf of bread. – Josh Billings

You will also enjoy our article on life transformation quotes.

15. True honesty is hard. Throughout my career, I’ve faced moments where I’ve needed to take an honest look at myself and face some very uncomfortable realities.  – Les Brown

You will also enjoy our article on liar quotes.

16. “I admire honesty more than any other trait.”  – Jerry Reinsdorf

You will also enjoy our article on Trust Issues quotes.

17. “Honesty and loyalty are key.” – Taylor Lautner

You will also enjoy our article on be real quotes.

18. Simple honesty of purpose in a man goes a long way in life if founded on a just estimate of himself and a steady obedience to the rule he knows and feels to be right.  – Samuel Smiles

You will also enjoy our article on toxic people quotes.

19. “It takes strength and courage to admit the truth.” ― Rick Riordan

You will also enjoy our article on Ace Ventura quotes.

20. “Honest people don’t hide their deeds.” ― Emily Brontë

You will also enjoy our article on trust quotes.

Honesty quotes about relationships

According to a study by the University of Notre Dame, people who were instructed to be honest with themselves and others for just one week reported feeling happier and more satisfied with their lives compared to those who were not given this instruction.

This finding supports the idea that honesty can lead to greater happiness and overall life satisfaction.

21. The establishment of any relationship, both individual and expert, is honesty. – Alexander Mejia

You will also enjoy our article on massage quotes.

22. “Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” ― Spencer Johnson

You will also enjoy our article on Taylor Swift quotes.

23. “Friends are honest with each other. Even if the truth hurts.-Maggie” ― Sarah Dessen

24. Honesty is one of the most important parts of any marriage. – Amanda Thompson

25. “It’s difficult to honest with others when you continue lying to yourself.”― Carlos Wallace

26. “We have no relationship without honesty. – by Claude”― Emily Giffin

27. One honest relationship can be more productive than fistfuls of business cards. – Susan Cain

28. I’d never managed anyone before, so I don’t have a lot of experience. But I’m lucky – I have a lot of team members who have a really honest relationship with me. – Ben Silbermann

29. Honesty doesn’t always pay, but dishonesty always costs. ~Michael Josephson

30. Our lives improve only when we take chances – and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.― Walter Anderson

You might also like these inspirational perception quotes about truth and reality.

Inspiring quotes about being honest

A study by the University of California, San Francisco found that people who were more honest about their emotions experienced less physical pain compared to those who suppressed their emotions.

This suggests that being honest with ourselves and expressing our emotions can have positive effects on both our physical and mental health.

31. “It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” ― Noël Coward

32. All I’m ever looking for in my work in general is honesty and truth and people being real to themselves. – O Tillett Wright

33. Honesty pays, but it don’t seem to pay enough to suit some people.  – Frank McKinney

34. If you tell the truth, you don’t need a long memory. – Jesse Ventura

35. Honest hearts produce honest actions. – Brigham Young

36. Always tell the truth. That way you don’t have to remember what you said. – Mark Twain

37. Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world. ~Thomas Carlyle

38. Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it. ~Mark Twain

39. “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” ― William Shakespeare

40. To be persuasive, we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.― Edward R. Murrow

Honesty quotes to inspire and teach

A survey by the American Psychological Association found that 70% of respondents believed that honesty was very important in their personal relationships, while 84% believed that honesty was very important in their professional relationships.

These statistics highlight the widespread recognition of honesty as a crucial component of healthy and successful relationships.

41. “To tell the truth is very difficult, and young people are rarely capable of it.”― Leo Tolstoy

42. Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children. ~ Oliver Wendell

43. To make your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education.― John Ruskin

44. The truth needs so little rehearsal. ~Barbara Kingsolver

45. It is better to suffer for truth than to prosper by falsehood. – Danish

46. “You don’t always have to chop with the sword of truth. You can point with it too.” ― Anne Lamott

47. “Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance.” ― William Shakespeare

48. Be true to your work, your word, and your friend. – Henry David Thoreau

49. An honest man is believed without an oath, for his reputation swears for him. – ELIZA COOK

50. “You cannot con an honest man.” ― Ally Carter

If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll also love these deep quotes that will change how you see the world.

Honesty quotes to elevate your mind

51. “You can fool people some of the time, but you can’t fool them all of the time.” – Aesop

52. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

53. “The best thing about telling the truth is…you don’t have to remember what you said!” – Unknown

54. “Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.” – Kent M. Keith

55. “Pay what you owe and what you’re worth you’ll know.” – Benjamin Franklin

56. “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

57. “No legacy is as rich as honesty.” – Unknown

58. “Living with integrity means: Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension.” – Barbara De Angelis

59. “Honesty is the best policy.” – Aesop

60. “Don’t ever regret being honest. Period.” – Taylor Swift

You might also like these grace quotes to feed your soul.

Honesty quotes that will change your perspective

61. “There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.” – Charles Dickens

62. “People all over the nation are starved for honesty and common sense.” – Ben Carson

63. “Brutal, inner honesty… The three scariest words on the planet, and yet, at the same time, the very KEY that unlocks all the doors.” – Ken Dahl

64. “Just be honest with yourself. That opens the door.” – Vernon Howard

65. “It is difficult, but not impossible, to conduct strictly honest business.” – Mahatma Gandhi

66. “Honesty prospers in every condition of life.” – Friedrich Schiller

67. “An honest man in politics shines more there than he would elsewhere.” – Mark Twain

68. “Honesty has a power that very few people can handle.” – Steven Aitchison

69. “If you’re not honest with yourself, how can you be truly honest with anyone else?” – Paul Williams

70. “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth-telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” – James E. Faust

More honesty quotes and sayings

71. “You can’t lie to your soul.” – Irvine Welsh

72. “Hiding how you really feel and trying to make everyone happy doesn’t make you nice, it just makes you a liar.” – Jenny O’Connell

73. “Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky

74. “To conceal anything from those to whom I am attached, is not in my nature. I can never close my lips where I have opened my heart.” – Charles Dickens

75. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” – Abraham Lincoln

76. “Better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.” – Khaled Hosseini

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of lies quotes for healing and moving on.

77. “You should not honor men more than truth.” – Plato

78. “Can you honestly love a dishonest thing?” – John Steinbeck

79. “Love is honesty. Love is a mutual respect for one another.” – Simone Elkeles

80. “When you walk a life of honesty, you live a life of truth.” – Therese Benedict

81. “The main trouble with being an honest man was that it lost you all your illusions.” –
James Jones

82. “If you are honest with yourself, your life will be so much more pleasant.” –
Jessica Zafra

83. “Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.” – Thomas Carlyle

84. “The truth cuts like the sharpest knife I’ve ever known.” – Tomi Adeyemi

85. “Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Thought-provoking honesty quotes

86. “Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully.” – Maya Angelou

87. “We are franker towards others than towards ourselves.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

88. “I think people respect honesty rather than hiding it.” – Jack Whitehall

89. “What clients are really interested in is honesty, plus a baseline of competence.” – Patrick Lencioni

90. “Honesty is often very hard. The truth is often painful. But the freedom it can bring is worth the trying.” – Fred Rogers

91. “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” – Marcus Aurelius

92. “Honesty will never break you.” – Kate Hudson

93. “Honesty is something you can’t wear out.” – Waylon Jennings

94. “Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” – Sigmund Freud

95. “To live a life of honesty and integrity is a responsibility of every decent person.” – Noam Chomsky

96. “Speak with honesty. Think with sincerity. Act with integrity.” – Unknown

Honesty quotes that express varying opinions on being truthful

97. “Honesty is the best policy.” — Benjamin Franklin

98. “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” — William Shakespeare

99. “Honesty is for the most part less profitable than dishonesty.” — Plato

100. “Honesty is the best policy—when there is money in it.” — Mark Twain

101. “The greatest truth is honesty, and the greatest falsehood is dishonesty.” — Abu Bakr

102. “Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully.” — Richard Bach

103. “Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times.” — John Gerzema

104. “If two people can be honest with each other about everything, that’s probably the biggest key to success.” — Taylor Lautner

105. “All men profess honesty as long as they can. To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse.” — John Quincy Adams

106. “Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Important honesty quotes

107. “Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like.” -Dennis Prager

108. “There’s just some magic in truth and honesty and openness.” -Frank Ocean

109. “Honesty starts with being ourselves, authentic and true to who we are and what we believe in, and that may not always be popular, but it will always let you follow your dreams and your heart.” -Tabatha Coffey

110. “When you do something with a lot of honesty, appetite and commitment, the input reflects in the output.” -A.R. Rahman

111. “Relationships feed on credibility, honesty, and consistency.” -Scott Borchetta

112. “The high road is always respected. Honesty and integrity are always rewarded.” -Scott Hamilton

113. “The true measure of life is not length, but honesty.” -John Lyly

114. “Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition.” -Freeman Thomas

115. “Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.” -Mary Kay Ash

116. “Loyalty and honesty, those are important.” -Willian

Honesty Quotes To Improve Our Relationships

117. “Be honest in your life, it creates positive energy, stopping all unfairness through life.” ― Fathima Bibi Joosab

118. “Honesty is perhaps just as important a factor in one’s communication skills as trust.” ― Ross Elkins

119. “It still takes a serious commitment and honest effort for your goals to come to fruition.” ― Alex Altman

120. “And if you learn to have those difficult conversations in a loving, honest, and responsible way, your relationships can become better than you ever thought they could.” ― Henry Cloud

121. “Confidence grows from being honest with myself because I know my strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and I am realistic and honest about what I can do.” ― Patricia A Gilpin-Hudson

122. “Healthy relationships of all kinds are usually composed of honesty, trust, and respect.” ― Ace McCloud

123. “Just like showing trust is essential in a marriage, it is also of vital significance to be completely honest with each other.” ― Christian Olsen

124. “You have to be able to understand what your insecurities are if you want to change them. In order to do this, you are going to have to be very honest with yourself.” ― Jennifer N Smith

125. “Honesty, truth and decency all link together- by loving all of these, we can improve our families, communities and our society.” ― Estella Eliot

126. “Working through conflict, we maintain and build a strong but flexible, honest but loving connection in our relationship.” ― Aaron F. Steinberg

Honesty Quotes To Build Meaningful Relationships

127. “We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.” ― Michelle Obama

128. “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” ― Groucho Marx

129. “Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.” ― Salvador Dali

130. “With people of limited ability, modesty is merely honesty. But with those who possess great talent, it is hypocrisy.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer

131. “Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.” ― Andrew Carnegie

132. “The best measure of a man’s honesty isn’t his income tax return. It’s the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.” ― Arthur C. Clarke

133. “My parents taught me about the importance of qualities like kindness, respect, and honesty, and I realize how central values like these have been to me throughout my life.” ― Kate Middleton

134. “The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.” ― Billy Graham

135. “Honesty is never seen sitting astride the fence.” ― Lemuel K. Washburn

136. “Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, and treating people with respect.” ― Stephen Covey

Honesty Quotes To Establish Trust

137. “Confidence in others’ honesty is no light testimony of one’s own integrity.” ― Michel de Montaigne

138. “An honest man is one who knows that he can’t consume more than he has produced.” ― Ayn Rand

139. “Honesty needs no disguise nor ornament; be plain.” ― Thomas Otway

140. “Compliments win friends, honesty loses them.” ― Rabindranath Tagore

141. “How is it that society professes to embrace the value of honesty when so few are found of it?” ― Wes Fesler

142. “It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” ― Noel Coward

143. “[Islam] inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality.” ― George W. Bush

144. “The critics who love are the severe ones . . . we know our relationship must be based on honesty.” ― Judith Crist

145. “Commend a fool for his wit, or a rogue for his honesty and he will receive you into his favour.” ― Henry Fielding

146. “Honesty is as rare as a man without self-pity.” ― Stephen Vincent Benet

Honesty Quotes on the Power of Truth

147. “Honesty leads to peace.” ― Veronica Roth

148. “Asking in faith requires honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence.” ― David A. Bednar

149. “Life demands honesty, the ability to face, admit, and express oneself.” ― Starhawk

150. “I’d rather have cancer than a dishonest heart. Which isn’t being pious. Just practical. Cancer may cool you, but the other’s sure to.” ― Truman Capote

151. “So everything lets us down, including curiosity and honesty and what we love best. Yes, said the voice, but cheer up, it’s fun in the end.” ― Roberto Bolano

152. “I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness.” ― Audre Lorde

153. “Honesty will be found on every experiment, to be the best and only true policy; let us then as a Nation be just.” ― George Washington

154. “You learn how to do good work by being honest with yourself.” ― Rodney Crowell

155. “Honest plain words best pierce the ear of grief.” ― William Shakespeare

156. “Honesty is the key to a relationship. If you can fake that, you’re in.” ― Courteney Cox

Which are your favorite honesty quotes?

Honesty is one of the most important values in life.

It brings trust, respect, and peace of mind.

Besides, it also helps create deeper and more meaningful connections in relationships of all kinds.

Although honesty has been regarded as one of the greatest moral attributes since ancient times, few people seem to possess this gift.

Hopefully, the honesty quotes above have inspired you to be honest with yourself and the people around you.

Did you enjoy these honesty quotes?

Which of the quotes was your favorite?

We would love to hear all about it in the comment section below. 

Share them on social media too!