Honesty - going the full circle

As with most of us, my parents brought me up reiterating that honesty (or rather, smart-honesty) was an important quality to have.

Into my teenage and early twenties, I started having doubts about this - looking around me, lying seemed to help achieve many things that honesty couldn't - from bunking school to catch a movie to hiding/faking past life/work experiences to fit-in with the 'norm'.

Then came early adult life. Life got more complex, and because of that, lying became too complex to keep track of. Lying didn't die, but diplomacy took over as the way-to-go.

Now, I am seeing that most hugely successful people are downright direct and in-your-face. The books that sell most are the ones that have a truly candid portrayal. The management that is most respected is the one that is frank and transparent. Products that do great in the market are the ones whose initial ideas faced a barrage of direct criticism. So maybe the way-to-go is a full circle back to smart-honesty after all. I am on my way travelling from diplomacy, trying to take-root in smart-honesty...