--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself…" description: "\"Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed.\" — Isaac Asimov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg" --- # Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly… ![“Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg) > “Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A successful lie must be bold enough to hide its shame; otherwise it fails. **In simple terms:** Bold lies succeed, shy ones fail. Key Takeaway Beware of overconfidence. Themes deception ethics confidence Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political rhetoric - personal relationships - marketing claims Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What makes a lie believable? - How does shame affect credibility? A Different Perspective It may glorify dishonesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Well, he used to say that only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed. He also said that nothing had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/well-he-used-to-say-that-only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I can't promise you will succeed if you stick with your start-up. What I can promise is that if you give up, you won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-kan/i-can-t-promise-you-will-succeed-if-you-stick-with-your-start-up-what/) [Justin Kan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-kan/) > [I used to wear heels because I wanted to show people I wasn't ashamed of being tall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-macpherson/i-used-to-wear-heels-because-i-wanted-to-show-people-i-wasn-t-ashamed-2/) [Elle Macpherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-macpherson/) > [“I shrugged uncomfortably, leaning my head against hers, almost forgetting Mr. Gardner’s presence as Mo and I fell into that sort of exclusionary, near-telepathic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-c-gormley/i-shrugged-uncomfortably-leaning-my-head-against-hers-almost/) [Amelia C. Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-c-gormley/) > [“And I didn't stop hating my name until many years later, when I realized that it wasn't a name to be ashamed of, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reyna-grande/and-i-didn-t-stop-hating-my-name-until-many-years-later-when-i/) [Reyna Grande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reyna-grande/) > [Imagine the people who believe such things and who are not ashamed to ignore, totally, all the patient findings of thinking minds through all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/imagine-the-people-who-believe-such-things-and-who-are-not-ashamed-to/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [If we used to be poor don't be ashamed coz if you want to be rich,try and try until you succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherinee27/if-we-used-to-be-poor-don-t-be-ashamed-coz-if-you-want-to-be-rich-try/) Katherinee27 > [If you tell your husband or boyfriend for his whole life that he needn't worry about his clothes, that he couldn't possibly understand them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-smith/if-you-tell-your-husband-or-boyfriend-for-his-whole-life-that-he/) [Russell Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-smith/) > [I think I've always been ambitious. It just looks different on me. You know, I have friends who are actresses who go to every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pare/i-think-i-ve-always-been-ambitious-it-just-looks-different-on-me-you/) [Jessica Pare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-pare/) > [I went through a mod and goth-phase when I decided that I wouldn't ever be the bronzed beach-bunny. I started going as pale as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-went-through-a-mod-and-goth-phase-when-i-decided-that-i-wouldn-t/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“Who am I? Or possibly, who AM I? Make it who I WAS, because once I was somebody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-baker/who-am-i-or-possibly-who-am-i-make-it-who-i-was-because-once-i-was/) Dorothy Baker > [It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/it-is-important-for-investors-to-understand-what-they-do-and-don-t/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Part of my plan was not only to introduce all useful animals that I possibly could into this part of Australia, but also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grey/part-of-my-plan-was-not-only-to-introduce-all-useful-animals-that-i/) [George Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grey/) > [Why is Caterpillar bad if we create a new job in India or China to receive U.S. exports? It makes no sense to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/why-is-caterpillar-bad-if-we-create-a-new-job-in-india-or-china-to/) [Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/) > [“What person who has enjoyed life could possibly think one is enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/what-person-who-has-enjoyed-life-could-possibly-think-one-is-enough/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Ashamed quotes > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/) Robert Preston > [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“with her own life. And I was ashamed.” Humiliated. Broken. Miserable. If Wilcher had stood by Jaymee, if her father hadn’t berated her, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-green/with-her-own-life-and-i-was-ashamed-humiliated-broken-miserable-if/) Stacy Green > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) Vernon Johns > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/) [Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/) [Browse all 1,607 Ashamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Asimov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself-could-possibly-succeed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashamed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself-could-possibly-succeed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/isaac-asimov-309_ashamed_only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself_2895617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a lie that wasn't ashamed of itself could possibly succeed.” — Isaac Asimov", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Isaac Asimov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only a lie that wasn't ashamed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself-could-possibly-succeed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/only-a-lie-that-wasn-t-ashamed-of-itself-could-possibly-succeed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```