Integrity Quotes to Keep You Upright

These integrity quotes will help you strive for integrity and value it in others.

Integrity is a term people throw around often these days, but what does it really mean?

A person with integrity is honest, upright, and accountable for their actions. They adhere to a code of morals and ethics that are incorruptible, even when no one is looking.

Integrity is even a broader term used to describe “soundness” or “completeness.” As such, integrity is a crucial part of our character and is the source of honesty, trust, and respect.

These quotes show how to act and live with integrity and the benefits of doing so.

Top 10 Integrity Quotes

Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails.

Earl Nightingale

Integrity means that you are the same in public as you are in private.

Joyce Meyer
Les Brown quote "Honor your commitments with integrity"
“Honor your commitments with integrity.” – Les Brown

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

C.S. Lewis

Image is what people think we are. Integrity is what we really are.

John C. Maxwell

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.

Bob Marley

It takes courage to create a meaningful life of integrity. It also requires good company. And practice.

Shelley Francis
Albert Camus quote "Integrity has no need of rules"
“Integrity has no need of rules.” – Albert Camus

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.

Alan K. Simpson

There is no higher value in our society than integrity.

Arlen Specter

Quotes about Integrity

Integrity isn’t just a buzz word. When it’s real, it should be an integral part of our characters and form our reputations.

These thoughts on integrity show how powerful it is and how to adhere to it.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Samuel Johnson

Integrity is your destiny – it is the light that guides your way.

Plato

People of integrity and honesty not only practice what they preach, they are what they preach.

David A. Bednar
Buckminster Fuller quote "Integrity is the essence of everything successful"
“Integrity is the essence of everything successful.” – Buckminster Fuller

Develop your character so that you are a person of integrity.

Peter Cain

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.

Baltasar Gracian

Integrity is congruence between what you know, what you profess, and what you do.

Nathaniel Branden

Integrity lies in doing what one speaks; speaking what one does.

M.K. Soni

Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.

Nelson Mandela

You can’t, in sound morals, condemn a man for taking care of his own integrity. It is his clear duty.

Joseph Conrad

Make living your life with absolute integrity and kindness your first priority.

Richard Carlson,
Don’t Worry, Make Money

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.

Billy Graham

Integrity is making sure that the things you say and the things you do are in alignment.

Katrina Mayer
Laura Schlessinger quote "Integrity is its own reward"
“Integrity is its own reward.” – Laura Schlessinger

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters… that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules… and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.

Michelle Obama

The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions.

Junius

No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them.

William Godwin

The most precious reputation is the one you have with yourself.

Johnny Uzan

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.

Douglas Adams

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is true that integrity alone won’t make you a leader, but without integrity you will never be one.

Zig Ziglar
"Any nation that does not emphasize integrity will always fail"
“Any nation that does not emphasize integrity will always fail.” – Yemi Osinbajo

The more someone is saying that they’re moral, ethical, and high integrity, the less likely they are to be that way.

Naval Ravikant

When it comes to our own behavior, we sometimes display an integrity gap between what we believe and how we behave.

Bob Stone,
The Ethics Challenge

Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.

St. Augustine

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.

Aristotle

Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.

Brian Tracy

Honesty and integrity are by far the most important assets of an entrepreneur.

Zig Ziglar

Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody’s watching, and doing as you say you would do.

Roy T. Bennett

What Integrity Is

People with integrity have strong moral and ethical principles that govern their actions, and keep them accountable to themselves and others.

Integrity is a function not only of honesty, but also of accountability and reliability. Most important, it’s about consistency. You can’t have integrity sometimes – it has to be who you are.

Integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences.

Joseph B. Wirthlin

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Everyone makes mistakes, but only a person with integrity owns up to them.

Nicole Guillaume

Integrity is the ingredient that will enable you to forge rapidly ahead on the highway that leads to success. It advertises you as being an individual who will always come through. Whatever you say you will do, do it even if you have to move heaven and earth.

Mary Kay
Ayn Rand quote "Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea"
“Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea.” – Ayn Rand

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather.

John D. MacDonald

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.

Spencer Johnson

If you don’t have integrity, you have nothing. You can’t buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing.

Hennry Kravis

The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.

Zig Ziglar

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

Albert Einstein

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.

Frederick Douglass

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

Oprah Winfrey

Integrity is when what you think and what you say and what you do are one.

Naval Ravikant

The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Thomas B. Macaulay

In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.

Warren Buffett
"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity"
“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.” – Tom Peters

Supporting the truth, even when it is unpopular, shows the capacity for honesty and integrity.

Steve Brunkhorst

With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.

Zig Ziglar

Power really is a test of character. In the hands of a person of integrity, it is of tremendous benefit; in the hands of a tyrant, it causes terrible destruction.

John C. Maxwell

Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity, than straightforward and simple integrity in another.

Charles Caleb Colton

The art of acting morally is behaving as if everything we do matters.

Gloria Steinem

We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.

Jimmy Carter

Calamity and prosperity are the touchstones of integrity.

Benjamin Franklin

Integrity is honesty carried through the fibres of the being and the whole mind, into thought as well as action so that the person is complete in honesty.

Pearl S. Buck

Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Don Miguel Ruiz

Low integrity moves are much more visible than high integrity moves.

James Pierce
"The soul that is within me no man can degrade"
“The soul that is within me no man can degrade.” – Frederick Douglass

Integrity isn’t a destination. It is a way of life. It is an internal guidance system that will never guide you astray!

Kelley Kosow,
The Integrity Advantage

The virtuous worry about their integrity, lesser humans about their reputation.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Benefits of Having Integrity

It may seem like having integrity can be challenging, but it also comes with clear benefits.

Your word will mean something when you give it. Your friends will trust you and your loved ones will look up to you when they know you can be counted on, even in tough times.

See the other benefits of integrity below!

When you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity – regardless of what others may do – you are destined for greatness.

Napoleon Hill

Integrity gives you real freedom because you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide.

Zig Ziglar

Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.

Stephen Covey

A life lived with integrity – even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come.

Denis Waitley

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

Confucius

It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will.

Oliver Cromwell

If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless.

Moliere
Elise Wiesel quote "One person of integrity can make a difference"
“One person of integrity can make a difference.” – Elie Wiesel

It’s easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold them 98 percent of the time.

Clayton Christensen

Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity.

Dr. William Menninger

The glue that holds all relationships together … is trust, and trust is based on integrity.

Brian Tracy

There can be no friendship without confidence and no confidence without integrity.

Samuel Johnson

People with integrity expect to be believed. If not, they let time prove them right.

Ann Landers

A little integrity is better than any career.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Integrity is the thing that binds together all that is good within us as a means of overcoming all that is bad around us.

Craig D. Lounsbrough

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

Proverbs 10:9, ESV

People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.

Lewis Cass

Conduct reveals character, and we best understand integrity when we see it lived out in a person’s life.

Charles H. Dyer,
Character Counts

If you can maintain your standards and your integrity and you fail, it’s OK. It’s when you sell out and you fail that you feel pretty sick inside.

Bonnnie Hunt
"Integrity is the only path where you will never get lost"
“Integrity is the only path where you will never get lost.” – Mike Maples, Jr.

Admitting one’s own faults is the first step to changing them, and it is a demonstration of true bravery and integrity.

Philip Johnson

Your level of integrity, ethical behavior and sense of fairness will contribute to your success – or lack of it – over the long term.

Ross Wilson,
The Happy Agent

Remember that reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets – and can be lost in a heartbeat.

Charlie Munger

Authenticity is the gap between your thoughts and your actions. The smaller the gap, the more genuine the lifestyle.

James Clear

Living with Integrity

It takes work to live with integrity, and there are always pressures not to.

Yet being steadfast and true to yourself is the key to personal power, the road to honor, and the key to intentional living.

See how to live with integrity and remain true to your principles for good.

Living with integrity means behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values.

Barbara De Angelis

Living a life of integrity pays off, but it takes a very long time.

Naval Ravikant

Living a life of integrity is one of the greatest missions we can undertake.

Greg Anderson

Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

Will Rogers

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.

W. Clement Stone

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Openness, respect, integrity – these are principles that need to underpin pretty much every other decision that you make

Justin Trudeau
Shane Parrish quote "Don’t trade integrity for money"
“Don’t trade integrity for money.” – Shane Parrish

You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside.

Alan Cohen

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare

Don’t worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.

Laura Schlessinger

When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

Lao Tzu

Leading with integrity and empathy requires vision and a connection to your deepest self.

Karla McLaren

It’s easy to have principles when you’re rich. The important thing is to have principles when you’re poor.

Ray Kroc

The more you live with integrity the higher your self-esteem.

Dan Go

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Isaac Asimov

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

Marcus Aurelius

In the end you should always do the right thing even if it’s hard.

Nicholas Sparks

If you value your integrity, then be prepared to take a beating from those who have none.

Lars Lau Thygesen

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Mark Twain

If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is our duty to try to prevent it and damn the consequences.

Klord Milner
"You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do"
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” – Carl Jung

Never do anything that you can’t admit doing because if you are that ashamed of whatever it is, it’s probably wrong.

Ashly Lorenzana

Sometimes the cost of integrity is the loss of a friend.

Jack McDevitt

One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.

Chinua Achebe

Hypocrisy is when your actions fail to live up to your words. Integrity is when your actions guide your choice of words.

Adam Grant

Don’t quest for popularity at the expense of morality and ethics and honesty.

Howard Cosell

Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.

Lou Holz

You should not lead one life in private and another in public.

Publilius Syrus

We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose.

Desmond Tutu

Saying ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ when we mean no, cheapens our word, diminishes our sense of self-respect, and compromises our integrity.

Paolo Coelho

When you make a commitment to yourself, do so with the clear understanding that you’re pledging your integrity.

Stephen Covey

If you are ever tempted to look for outside approval, realize that you have compromised your integrity. If you need a witness, be your own.

Epictetus

Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth – always – even if it leads to your death.

Liam Neeson,
Kingdom of Heaven

Hopefully these integrity quotes help you see how to be more dedicated to your principles and values.

Being a person of integrity is not without its challenges, but also brings rewards. There is tremendous power in knowing the right thing and doing it without hesitation.

Integrity is the virtue that provides a foundation for all others. If living with more integrity has improved your life, let us know how in the comments below!