--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first step to greatness is to be…" description: "\"The first step to greatness is to be honest.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png" --- # The first step to greatness is to be honest. ![“The first step to greatness is to be honest.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png) > “The first step to greatness is to be honest.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Greatness begins with personal honesty, which builds trust and integrity. **In simple terms:** Being honest is the first step to greatness. Key Takeaway Cultivate honesty daily. Themes integrity self-improvement leadership Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - team leadership - public speaking - relationship building Key Concepts moral philosophy personal development Questions to Reflect On - How does honesty affect your long‑term goals? - What obstacles hinder your honesty? A Different Perspective Honesty alone may not guarantee success without skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The first step toward greatness is to be honest, says the proverb; but the proverb fails to state the case strong enough. Honesty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-first-step-toward-greatness-is-to-be-honest-says-the-proverb-but/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. 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/) > [When you know what you're against you have taken the first step to discovering what you're for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-you-know-what-you-re-against-you-have-taken-the-first-step-to/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Confusion is the first step toward clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/confusion-is-the-first-step-toward-clarity/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [Each step you take reveals a new horizon. You have taken the first step today. Now, I challenge you to take another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-poynter/each-step-you-take-reveals-a-new-horizon-you-have-taken-the-first/) [Dan Poynter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-poynter/) > [A runner is real when she takes the first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/a-runner-is-real-when-she-takes-the-first-step/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [The first step of a journey is always the longest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/the-first-step-of-a-journey-is-always-the-longest/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [The launch of phase 1 Ebola vaccine studies is a first step in developing a vaccine that could be licensed and used in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-launch-of-phase-1-ebola-vaccine-studies-is-a-first-step-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Saying I am the greatest of my kind is actually the first step to greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/saying-i-am-the-greatest-of-my-kind-is-actually-the-first-step-to/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [Honesty is not only the first step toward greatness, it is greatness itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/honesty-is-not-only-the-first-step-toward-greatness-it-is-greatness/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [“the first step towards greatness is taking the first step”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wright/the-first-step-towards-greatness-is-taking-the-first-step/) [Michael Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wright/) > [“To step into your greatness is to acknowledge your innate thirst for adventure, growth, knowledge and wisdom and commit to doing the required actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-jeton-selimi/to-step-into-your-greatness-is-to-acknowledge-your-innate-thirst-for/) Tony Jeton Selimi > [The first step to greatness is humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-umeh/the-first-step-to-greatness-is-humility/) DANIEL UMEH > [The world won't step into its greatness until we step into ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-world-won-t-step-into-its-greatness-until-we-step-into-ours/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. 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/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) Maynard Ferguson > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [ The opening for solid waste is very small \[in the space ship\]. It's not toilet-bowl size. And aim is critical. To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [We live in a world in which the only utopian visions arrive in commercial breaks: magical visions of an impossibly hospitable world, peopled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-the-only-utopian-visions-arrive-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 1,333 Being honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first step to greatness is to be honest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-honest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-honest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/samuel-johnson-50_being-honest_the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-hon_672434.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first step to greatness is to be honest.” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The first step to greatness is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-honest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-first-step-to-greatness-is-to-be-honest/#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 } } ] } ```