The first step toward greatness is to be honest.

Source: Christian Nestell Bovee, reported in Louis Klopsch, Many Thoughts of Many Minds (1896), page: 133. Complete Sentence: The first step toward greatness is to be honest, says the proverb; but the proverb fails to state the case strong enough. Honesty is not only “the first step toward greatness,” — it is greatness itself.