Stephen Covey Quotes

I hope never to see the day that I cannot admit having made a mistake.

People who are most interested in telling the truth about others are generally the least interested in having the truth told about themselves.

Nobody likes to admit that they made a mistake, but if you do, you have to stand up and take responsibility and you have to say that you were wrong.

We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.

Calling oneself a hero after making mistakes shouldn't earn public trust.

The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wriggle and weasel out of one.

It is a true man's part not to err, but it is also noble of a man to perceive his error.

Always admit when you're wrong. You'll save thousands in therapy... and a few friendships too.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

It was my decision, and I blew it, but I’m not about to say that I blew it.

Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.

I always like to remind myself that the most honorable people of all are not those who never make mistakes, but those who admit to them when they do and then move on and do their best to right the wrongs they have made.

The public will forgive you almost anything if you're honest about it.

When it comes down to that moment, when it's me against you, you know in your head whether you worked hard enough. You can try to lie to yourself. You can try to tell yourself that you put in the time. But you know - and so do I.

I will always be the first to admit when I have done something wrong.

It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them.

It is one thing to make a mistake, and quite another thing not to admit it.

Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.

If I have something to apologize, I want to be the first one to step up and make that apology. I don't want anyone to broker it for me. I don't want anyone to take the hit for me. If I have anything to apologize for, I'm only human. I'm prone to making mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes. How a person deals with their mistakes is a mark of their character.

... the approach of admitting our errors, besides being most true to a gospel of grace, is also most effective at expressing who we are. Propaganda turns people off; humbly admitting mistakes disarms.

Dishonest people conceal their faults from themselves as well as others, honest people know and confess them.

We're all hypocrites. We all say one thing and do another. But why don't we try to do what we say more than what we don't?

My overall responsibility is to be truthful. If people pay money to come and see me, looking for something other than that, then they've made a mistake.

When you make a mistake, don't make a second one -- keeping it to yourself. Own up. The time to sort out rotten eggs is at the nest. The deeper you hide them in the case the longer they stay in circulation, and the worse impression they make when they finally come to the breakfast table.