--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first step toward telling the truth…" description: "\"The first step toward telling the truth is to tell the whole lie.\" — Robert Breault" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/robert-breault-304_first-step_the-first-step-toward-telling-the-truth_1755764.png" --- # The first step toward telling the truth is to tell the… ![“The first step toward telling the truth is to tell the whole lie.” quote by Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/robert-breault-304_first-step_the-first-step-toward-telling-the-truth_1755764.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/robert-breault-304_first-step_the-first-step-toward-telling-the-truth_1755764.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef7/robert-breault-304_first-step_the-first-step-toward-telling-the-truth_1755764.png) > “The first step toward telling the truth is to tell the whole lie.” [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging a falsehood fully is the first move toward honesty. **In simple terms:** Tell the whole lie first to begin truth. Key Takeaway Start with full honesty. Themes honesty truth self-awareness Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal confession - legal testimony - media correction - relationship repair Key Concepts integrity cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - What partial truth have you avoided? - How can full admission change your situation? A Different Perspective If the lie is too large, confronting it can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [To stretch the truth is to tell a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-stretch-the-truth-is-to-tell-a-lie/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“These white folk have newspapers, magazines, radios, spokesmen to get their ideas across. If they want to tell the world a lie, they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/these-white-folk-have-newspapers-magazines-radios-spokesmen-to-get/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-tell-a-lie/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“But what do you say if you're asked a direct question and you can't tell the truth and you can't tell a lie?' 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I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [There is in art the notion of less is more, which is to say, you don't torture a painting that has already confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-in-art-the-notion-of-less-is-more-which-is-to-say-you-don-t/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-cultivate-my-garden-and-my-garden-cultivates-me/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [In the end you regret less the things you believed that weren't true than the things that never came true because you didn't believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/in-the-end-you-regret-less-the-things-you-believed-that-weren-t-true/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The trick to getting ahead is to give it the same effort you give to getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-getting-ahead-is-to-give-it-the-same-effort-you-give-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Man will have replicated his own intelligence not when he teaches a computer to reason but when he teaches a computer to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/man-will-have-replicated-his-own-intelligence-not-when-he-teaches-a/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [To hurt someone you know will forgive you is the unkindiest thing of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-hurt-someone-you-know-will-forgive-you-is-the-unkindiest-thing-of/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a means to success, determination has this advantage over talent - that it does not have to be recognized by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-means-to-success-determination-has-this-advantage-over-talent/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a gardener, I wonder if flowers really can't speak or just exercise unfailing good judgment in the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-gardener-i-wonder-if-flowers-really-can-t-speak-or-just-exercise/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Genius is a plodding intellect, incapable of dreaming up the obstacles that stop the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/genius-is-a-plodding-intellect-incapable-of-dreaming-up-the-obstacles/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) [Explore all 710 Robert Breault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More First step quotes > [Peace is an ongoing process. 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The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [“Women create an idealized, hopeful vision for the future to inspire other women. Fiction and fantasy are the crucial first steps to changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rodale/women-create-an-idealized-hopeful-vision-for-the-future-to-inspire/) [Maya Rodale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rodale/) > [“What liberty we find when we trade self-esteem for God-esteem, relying on what God’s Word says about us rather than looking solely to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-gallier/what-liberty-we-find-when-we-trade-self-esteem-for-god-esteem-relying/) [Laura Gallier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-gallier/) > [How do you turn the invisible into the visible? 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