--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice…" description: "\"Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.\" — Steve Forbes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg" --- # Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often… ![“Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.” quote by Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg) > “Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.” [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nice people often succeed or stay close to success despite clichés. **In simple terms:** Nice people often win. Key Takeaway Treat others well. Themes kindness success social dynamics Mood optimistic reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - teamwork - leadership - personal relationships Key Concepts reciprocity reputation social capital Questions to Reflect On - How does kindness affect long‑term outcomes? - Can kindness replace competence? A Different Perspective Success also depends on skill and opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) [Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) [Finish Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-near-5249573/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Genuinely Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuinely-nice-1471491/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guys/) [Guys Finish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guys-finish-1337585/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Nice guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-guy/) [Nice guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-guys/) ## Related quotes > [Basically, nice guys can finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-meriwether/basically-nice-guys-can-finish-last/) [Lee Meriwether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-meriwether/) > [Nice guys do not finish last. Last place is for the cowards and those too full of fear to take action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/nice-guys-do-not-finish-last-last-place-is-for-the-cowards-and-those/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [It is decidedly not true that 'nice guys finish last'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/it-is-decidedly-not-true-that-nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [Nice guys finish first. If you don't know that, then you don't know where the finish line is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-shandling/nice-guys-finish-first-if-you-don-t-know-that-then-you-don-t-know/) [Garry Shandling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-shandling/) > [Win any way as long as you can get away with it. Nice guys finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/win-any-way-as-long-as-you-can-get-away-with-it-nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [Nice guys finish lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nice-guys-finish-lunch/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Who said nice guys finish last? Nice guys finish before the race even gets started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run-2/who-said-nice-guys-finish-last-nice-guys-finish-before-the-race-even/) [Rev Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run-2/) > [It is not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game even starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-true-that-nice-guys-finish-last-nice-guys-are-winners/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nice guys finish last, no fuck who ever made you feel that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/nice-guys-finish-last-no-fuck-who-ever-made-you-feel-that-way/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Nice guys finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [“Nice guys finish last, but in the race of life who wants to get to the finish line?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-wimmer/nice-guys-finish-last-but-in-the-race-of-life-who-wants-to-get-to-the/) [Brian J. Wimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-wimmer/) > [Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/nice-guys-finish-last-but-we-get-to-sleep-in/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [If nice guys finish last, then great guys come in right after them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dyer/if-nice-guys-finish-last-then-great-guys-come-in-right-after-them/) [Edward Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dyer/) > [“The only reason nice guys finish last is because they think they’ll finish last. You don’t win the race by walking around the starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-rowland/the-only-reason-nice-guys-finish-last-is-because-they-think-they-ll/) [Mitch Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-rowland/) ## More by Steve Forbes > [The Declaration of Independence, the words that launched our nation -- 1,300 words. The Bible, the word of God -- 773,000 words. The Tax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/the-declaration-of-independence-the-words-that-launched-our-nation-1/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [You don't change minds in Washington with sweet reason. You do it to the white light of public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/you-don-t-change-minds-in-washington-with-sweet-reason-you-do-it-to/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [Our failure to properly deal with Germany and Japan early cost the world dearly later on. We dare not make the same mistake with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/our-failure-to-properly-deal-with-germany-and-japan-early-cost-the/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [As more money flowed through Washington and as Washington's power to regulate our lives grew, opportunities and temptations for graft, influence peddling and cutting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/as-more-money-flowed-through-washington-and-as-washington-s-power-to/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [The words, 'penalty,' 'restrict' and 'violate' appeared more times in President Clinton's health care reform bill than in his crime bill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/the-words-penalty-restrict-and-violate-appeared-more-times-in/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [You make more money selling advice than following it. It's one of the things we count on in the magazine business -- along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/you-make-more-money-selling-advice-than-following-it-it-s-one-of-the/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [I think the idea of trying to demonize Governor Romney's going to backfire. Their attempts so far have failed pretty outstandingly and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/i-think-the-idea-of-trying-to-demonize-governor-romney-s-going-to/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [No more turning a blind eye to Chinese spies in our nuclear labs. No more keeping silent about Chinese slave labor camps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/no-more-turning-a-blind-eye-to-chinese-spies-in-our-nuclear-labs-no/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [The phenomenon of home schooling is a wonderful example of the American can-do attitude. Growing numbers of parents have become disenchanted with government-run public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/the-phenomenon-of-home-schooling-is-a-wonderful-example-of-the/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [We must guard against the overreaching hand of big government trying to take away our freedom. And we must always protect the environment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/we-must-guard-against-the-overreaching-hand-of-big-government-trying/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [Start by scrapping the tax code. Don't fiddle with it. Junk it. Throw it out. Bury it. Replace it with a pro-growth, pro-family tax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/start-by-scrapping-the-tax-code-don-t-fiddle-with-it-junk-it-throw-it/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [As our federal government has grown too large and too powerful, the real loss has been the freedom of people to govern their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/as-our-federal-government-has-grown-too-large-and-too-powerful-the/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [The Chinese government is quickly losing its ideological legitimacy, maintain its rule with force, but cannot draw strength from the ideology of Marx and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/the-chinese-government-is-quickly-losing-its-ideological-legitimacy/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [A promise made should be a promise kept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/a-promise-made-should-be-a-promise-kept/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [Mr. Greenspan did a very good job in the early 1990's. But recently he's fallen prey to this crazy theory that prosperity causes inflation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/mr-greenspan-did-a-very-good-job-in-the-early-1990-s-but-recently-he/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) [Explore all 38 Steve Forbes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) ## More Cliche quotes > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [It's a bit cliche, but you can't go wrong by writing what you know. Even if you're a horrible writer, your own knowledge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/it-s-a-bit-cliche-but-you-can-t-go-wrong-by-writing-what-you-know/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [“As an opener, I'd like to state that elves are certainly NOT cliché. It doesn't matter if they all have pointy ears, or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fanney/as-an-opener-i-d-like-to-state-that-elves-are-certainly-not-clich-it/) [Robert Fanney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fanney/) > [“NormnAl, "Like, Share, Follow and subscribe" - The typical cliche drill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/normnal-like-share-follow-and-subscribe-the-typical-cliche-drill/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [To move past fear is a cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/to-move-past-fear-is-a-cliche/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-twohy/there-are-trappings-of-science-fiction-which-i-kind-of-embrace-but/) [David Twohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-twohy/) > [Audiences are hungry for something different. With binge-watching, they're hungry for interesting content they haven't seen before, and they want to be entertained. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-millar/audiences-are-hungry-for-something-different-with-binge-watching-they/) [Miles Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-millar/) > [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-think-the-french-have-a-romantic-cliche-that-englishmen-have-great/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/last-but-not-least-avoid-cliches-like-the-plague/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [“The more you know, the less you understand. That's so cliche'. Wanna know the scary version? The more you know, the more fuckups you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-more-you-know-the-less-you-understand-that-s-so-cliche-wanna-know/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [You can't do anything if a person says no. In such a case, there's nothing you can do - unlike the popular cliche that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/you-can-t-do-anything-if-a-person-says-no-in-such-a-case-there-s/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [“Sometimes people overlooked how useful a cliché was. It got everyone thinking about things in the same sort of way, and that could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leese/sometimes-people-overlooked-how-useful-a-clich-was-it-got-everyone/) [Michael Leese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leese/) > [When academics claim a topic is obsolete, they mean merely they are tired of flogging it with their cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/when-academics-claim-a-topic-is-obsolete-they-mean-merely-they-are/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) [Browse all 601 Cliche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Forbes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-guys-most-often-finish-first-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cliche" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-guys-most-often-finish-first-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/steve-forbes-17158_cliche_contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-gu_1456296.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.” — Steve Forbes", "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": "Steve Forbes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-guys-most-often-finish-first-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-guys-most-often-finish-first-or/#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 } } ] } ```