Mr. Achievement - Stanley F. Bronstein - Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

Law #93

Position Yourself To Be Truthful

Quote #1 - There is no religion greater than truth and a truthful person knows no fear. (The Rig Veda)

Quote #2 - Perhaps nobody yet has been truthful enough about what “truthfulness” is. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Quote #3 - To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful. (Edward R. Murrow)

Quote #1 - Definitions

Religion - A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Greater - Larger in size or quantity than others of the same kind. Superior in quality or character.

Truth - Conformity with fact or reality. A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like.

Truthful - One who conforms to truth. One who conforms with fact or reality. One who tells the truth.

Person - The actual self or individual personality of a human being.

Knows - To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty. To regard as true beyond doubt. To have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in.

No Fear - An absence of emotions aroused by impending danger,evil, pain, etc.. An absence of being afraid.

Source: Dictionary.com

Quote #1 - What Does It Mean?

Nothing, absolutely nothing is more powerful than the truth. Truth should be the foundation of all our beliefs. No matter what you believe; no matter whether you are religious or not; truth is a universal foundation that can work in ALL situations.

And, if you let truth be your foundation, you will have no fear.

There is a saying I love. If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said . . .

Think about it . . .

Quote #2 - Definitions

Perhaps - Maybe; possibly.

Nobody - No person; not anyone; no one.

Yet - Up to a particular time; thus far.

Truthful - One who conforms to truth. One who conforms with fact or reality. One who tells the truth.

Enough - Adequate for the want or need; sufficient for the purpose or to satisfy desire.

Source: Dictionary.com

Quote #2 - What Does It Mean?

The quote suggests that nobody in the history of mankind has been truthful ENOUGH about truth.

In other words, he is suggesting that we all have a tendency to bend the truth; to stretch the truth, when it serves our interests.

While it is very common, if we are truly going to be truthful, we cannot do that. We must conform to reality. We must comport ourselves accordingly.

It’s not easy and perhaps we’ll never get there, BUT WE SHOULD TRY. Don’t beat yourself up; don’t get upset; just try to be truthful, as much as you can, as often as you can.

Quote #3 - Definitions

Persuasive - To be able to induce others to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convincing. Able, fitted, or intended to persuade. See Law #74 - Position Yourself To Be Persuasive.

Believable - Capable of eliciting belief or trust. Capable of convincing others to have confidence in one’s assertions. See Law #6 - Position Yourself To Be A Believer.

Credible - Capable of being believed; believable.

Truthful - One who conforms to truth. One who conforms with fact or reality. One who tells the truth.

Source: Dictionary.com

Quote #3 - What Does It Mean?

This quote is simple, yet so elegant. It lists the 4 cornerstones necessary in order to get people to like us and to want to be around us.

Persuasiveness - We are able to convince them that we are sincere and our way of doing things is a good one.

Believability - They believe us. And, even more importantly, we believe in ourselves.

Credibility - We are thought of as credible. Our words and actions do NOT discredit us.

Truthful - If we are persuasive; if we are believable; if we are credible, then we will be thought of as truthful.

So Why Is It Important To Be Truthful

There are 2 main reasons why it is important to be truthful:

• It affects how others perceive us; and

• It affects how we perceive ourselves.

The funny thing is, I’m not certain which is more important.  If others don’t think we’re telling them the truth, we have no credibility; we have no believability and we won’t be able to get anything done.

If we lie to ourselves; if we are dishonest to ourselves, that might even be worse.  Think about it, if we can’t trust ourselves; if we don’t believe ourselves; if we have no credibility of our own, how can we even function in this world.  The answer is:  not very well.