Speak Truth
“Speak truth in humility to all people. Only then can you be a true man.”
An off schedule post
This is an off-schedule post. That means something different or interesting is going on that warrants paying attention to. So, my friends, read on to find out more!
Preamble
I want to say right up front that this was a difficult post to author, to try to say what I want to say and not offend anyone during the very emotional times we live in. As such, I’ve probably used too many words and this post is far longer than I would like it to be. That said, if, as I believe each of us wants to and as my book title states, “Achieve Your Dreams,” then we must build those dreams on a basis of truth. That’s all I’m trying to say, and I hope you can show me some grace if needed. Let’s dig in!
Principles by Ray Dalio
Last month, I authored a special post entitled “Ramble On. Lessons from Led Zeppelin.” In that post, I mentioned an excellent book I had read while on an extended vacation that included about 20 hours on an airplane. I’ve been reading a lot of excellent books in the past two years, and I’ve highlighted many of them in these posts and I’ve made statements such as “one of the best books I’ve read.” (Note: You can view and/or purchase any of these recommended books by clicking on the More tab at the top right of this page on the website and then viewing the Books & Resources tab below that). Those previous statements are all still true, but the book Principles by Ray Dalio (Note 1) has to be placed a bit above all of those. I’d like to tell you why that is and why I highly recommend spending the modest price for this book and investing your time in this exceptional read. Doing so will benefit you for a lifetime. First, a bit about Mr. Dalio, if you don’t know who he is, as quoted directly from his book:
“Ray Dalio started the investment company Bridgewater Associates when he was 26 in his New York apartment. Over the next 42 years, Bridgewater became the fifth most important private company in the US, as noted by Fortune Magazine. The reason Dalio gives for this achievement is that he created a unique culture at Bridgewater, one of meritocracy based upon truth, transparency, and believability, which he calls weighted decision making. Mr. Dalio believes most people and organizations can use these principles to better achieve their own goals. Along the way, Mr. Dalio became one of the 100 most influential and 100 wealthiest people in the world”. Now, this says this is a guy who knows what he is doing, and for our own benefit, we need to be paying attention to what he has to say.
While I make no claims to fame like Mr. Dalio, as I read the book, many of the principles outlined in his book mirror what we teach at Afterburner Success Partners. Because of that, I will be referring to some of the larger points in various posts over the next few months. The principle highlighted today is listed in the book under the major title of Work Culture: To Get The Culture Right…1) Trust in Radical Truth and Radical Transparency, and 1.1) Realize that you have nothing to fear from knowing the truth.
Combined with the quote from the beginning of this post, these principles, that of speaking truth, are what this post is based upon. While we all know that speaking truth is not always easy, and sometimes it feels like it may be better to remain silent. Having the wisdom and discretion to know when to employ each strategy is an excellent skill to possess.
It’s just true, and we all know it
Are you like me? Is your mind constantly going, never letting you rest? Do you wake up with your mind going to the point that you just have to get up and get your day going? Yeah, me too, because I’m one of those Type A personalities. Worse, I’m a Type A male. Is being a Type A personality a good thing or a bad thing? I guess the answer is who you ask or what you read. Let’s see:
Here is a positive spin on a Type A personality from WebMD (Note 2): Very driven to succeed, a hard worker, very competitive, able to work well under pressure, goal-oriented, organized. Yeah, that’s it, I like it!
Here’s a little different spin on it, also from WebMD (Note 2) and health.com (Note 3): Place a lot of pressure on yourself, feel a need to multitask, want to get things done quickly and done right, don’t like to waste time, make lists of thing to do (darn…), tend to see things in black and white, become impatient when things don’t go according to plan (double darn…), often under stress (double, double darn…), set high expectations for themselves and others, dissatisfied with their career. Ugh, I’m not so sure I like that definition…
Whether you are a Type A personality like me or something different, we are what we are, and that’s just the way it is. It’s the truth, whether we like it or not, whether it fits our narrative or not.
The setup
Let me tell you where this little conversation came from, and then I’ll tie it together for you and make my point for this post.
I developed the Afterburner Success Partners Course, Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life (Note 5) in 2019. I established the website and started posting the course content in July 2024. I published my cookbook on May 25, 2025, and the course book in September 2025. In May 2025, I began publishing off-schedule posts on topics I thought complemented the course and that I believed my readers would be interested in. I’ve learned a ton in the process, and I hope you have too. I hope you share these posts with family and friends, because the goal of all these efforts is to learn, so we can all become better. That’s why I write the things I do.
How do I think up the off-schedule topics to write about? They can come to me in any number of ways, but typically from something I’ve read, seen on TV (often news), or thought about as I was walking or mowing the lawn. Yes indeed, I do a lot of thinking while I walk and mow. There is so much going on in our modern world in 2025 that the topics are coming so fast that in August 2025, I started keeping a running list, an Excel spreadsheet, actually (uh, oh, there is that Type A thing again…) of things I want to write about so I could remember them all.
And what happened in this case is that I heard someone, a public figure speaking in front of a crowd and cameras on TV about a certain topic, and this person was telling the truth. According to the facts. The actual facts. Facts that can be proven by data. And people were screaming at him, calling him a liar and other names. You may or may not have seen this particular incident, but you know what I’m talking about in 2025, don’t you? OK, let’s hold up just a minute and talk about the different kinds of truth. Oh? You did not know there were various kinds of truth? You thought there was only one kind? Hmmm, well then…
The different kinds of truth (as I see it):
The actual truth proven by facts.
An inconvenient truth. This is the truth that does not fit our narrative, but is nonetheless true.
My or your truth. Either both or none of these may be the truth; it’s how you or I want to interpret something, and we speak it as if it is the truth. We may even believe it is the truth when it may not be.
You can’t handle the truth. Made famous by Jack Nicholson in the movie A Few Good Men. This essentially means that the truth is not what we want to hear. It differs from an inconvenient truth because the truth is perceived as something distasteful and may be hidden, rather than being revealed. See the link in Note 6 if you want to see a clip of this scene.
The “world according to Dave.” You’ve heard me speak about this tongue-in-cheek truth in the past. I start it out by saying, “This is how I see it; you may not see it this way.” This may or may not be the truth and could be similar to #3.
There may even be more kinds, but these came to me quite readily and are really just my opinion, and you are free to agree or disagree. However, you can see that stating something is true is no longer a simple matter.
The quote you see at the beginning of this post is said to be a proverb of the Native American Sioux Tribe. I absolutely love this quote as it has some of my favorite words in it: Truth, humility, and true. Simple and powerful. Another powerful quote comes from Cornel West. Cornel West is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an outspoken voice in left-wing politics in the United States (Note 4).
Here is where I’m going with this. The practical aspect of it all
Now, I may or may not agree with Mr. West, but I do agree with him regarding a quote attributed to him. I’ve modified his quote by adding a little addition to the end, making it my quote, in bold:
“There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price to pay for living a lie. There is also a price to pay for remaining silent.”-David Giustozzi
As we go about our day, we hear, see, and do certain things. At work, during social occasions, or with our family, we interact with others. Sometimes that interaction is in the form of verbal communication, as in we are hearing with our ears or speaking with our tongue. Sometimes it is in the form of visual communication, as in we see someone do something or they see us do something. Communication can also come in the form of smell and taste. Because I enjoy cooking, I use these forms of communication regularly, and I bet you do too - you may not realize it.
Let’s talk about the practicality of where I’m going with this. Let’s consider these examples we may experience daily:
We hear, see, or do something that is favorable and we know to be true. We enjoy a good meal at a restaurant and receive great service. Your favorite team wins against its rival. Your people work very hard, and your business meets its production goal. Your doctor successfully treats your illness. Your child does all their chores like you asked them to. How do you respond to these favorable events? You may tip your server well, but do you otherwise compliment these fine outcomes, or do you remain silent? Why or why not?
We hear, see, or do something that we know is untrue, or worse, unethical, that could cause damage to someone or something, or perhaps even could be illegal. This could be a story you hear someone telling another person. It could be your child or maybe your spouse making a poor decision that you know will result in a poor outcome. You witness things in your work that you know are unethical. You witness someone in a store stealing something. What do you do? The answer to this question is a bit more difficult, especially in today’s emotionally charged world. The fact is, the right thing to do is, in an appropriate manner and with good intentions, confront the issue to ensure that only the truth is spoken or actions are taken in a manner that is ethical and legal. Or, you could remain silent. Let me tell you right up front that I struggle mightily with this one, too. If you confront someone, it could turn ugly or even violent. If you say nothing, then there will be no confrontation except that the poor behavior is tacitly approved and likely to continue. It’s not easy, is it?
What are our options
No one likes confrontation, and I’m no different. What I try to do is minimize situations where I must be around untruth, unethical, potentially dangerous, or illegal situations. That way, I’m not put into a position of having to choose between telling the truth about a bad situation or remaining silent. I believe that lying is not an option to be considered, so there is only speaking truth or remaining silent. And remaining silent, as I mentioned in the above quote, could be problematic. Here are some examples:
What kind of people do we associate with? I think this is self-explanatory, so I won’t go into detail. If it’s not self-explanatory, well, then you probably need to figure out why.
What situations do you put yourself in? If you attend a demonstration, go to seedy bars at 2:00 am, or otherwise put yourself in a questionable setting, don’t be surprised if it does not work out well. That is, you are part of or see something that you later must suffer for. When my kids were teenagers, I used to tell them, “Don’t put yourself in a situation where there is a possibility of things going bad.” Does this make sense? I think it does and you know what I mean.
You work at an organization that does not conduct itself to the highest ethical and legal standards. Now, this one is a real test of our courage, especially if we have a family to support and need the job and money it provides. What do you think? Would you continue to work at a place like this? Is it even possible for you to continue to work at a place like this? How do you handle it?
The bottom line
Here’s where I’m going with all of this. The truth is always the truth, and we should always speak the truth. That does not mean we need to point out every little thing; sometimes silence is the best course of action. It’s called discretion, and I hope you know what that is. On the other hand, it does mean we don’t want to put ourselves in situations where we feel a need not to tell the truth or even remain silent to avoid conflict. And sometimes, if we work at a place where their moral or ethical behavior does not align with ours, then we have a decision to make.
Here’s what I believe. Most people, and especially those of you who read these posts hoping to improve yourselves, know the right thing to do and do it. I believe most people are good, kind, and want what's best. What I don’t want any of us to do is be in situations where anything besides the truth is expected or accepted. I believe that if we want to achieve our dreams and live our best lives, we must build them on the truth. I’m guessing we all get that, right?
That’s all for this week!
Speak Truth
Afterburner Success Partners
What’s in it for Me
We all want to be the best we can be. Afterburner Success Partners can help get you on the path to achieving your dreams and living your best life.
Call to Action
Visit the Afterburner Success Partners website today. Purchase the very modestly priced course. View the many resources listed under the More/Books & Resources tab. Forward this email to any family members or friends who may benefit from it.
Recommended Resources
Check out my recently published book, Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi. Available on Amazon or on my website. See Note 4.
Up Next
Back to regular posting schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Principles by Ray Dalio: https://amzn.to/3K540yV
What’s a Type A Personality? Web MD: https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-a-type-a-personality
What Does it Mean to Have a Type A Personality? Health.com: https://www.health.com/type-a-personality-7970924
Wikipedia, Cornel West: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy
A Few Good Men: You can’t handle the truth: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gvypKtPhRU0