“Too good to be true…” is a phrase that came up repeatedly as I was researching online opportunities. I ended up taking several hours digging a little deeper and thought I’d share my observations.
You may be asking: “Why is he wasting time on this?” My answer is MINDSET. It seems to be that we have been brainwashed into thinking that everything that seems Too Good To Be True should be avoided and anyone who doesn’t avoid opportunities is fair game for being labeled a fool. This cultural mindset is holding a lot of people back. They shy away from the very opportunities that could change their lives. They are looking for the Right-Time-Right-Place opportunities that look too good to be true. I believe the two terms are synonyms (with different biases), so the task of finding one that is not the other is impossible.
I do have a quote for those that would call us fools.
To be looked upon as a fool by an idiot is a true connoisseur’s delight.
Georges Corteline
The gamut of “too good to be true” quotes runs from the certainty that “Nothing is too good to be true”.” to the other extreme where anything that seems too good to be true is automatically a scam/con/fraud/impossibility.
While we can change our mindset, we need to remain aware of how others hear what we say. We haven’t changed their definitions.
Here is an extreme example of where we do NOT want to go. I started receiving emails from a program I was involved in that was based in England. Some of their emails came from the Propaganda Department. I explained to them that the phrase had a very negative connotation here in the U.S. Their response was that the dictionary definition of propaganda and how it was used where they lived did not carry negative connotations. All I could do was shake my head and not open those emails. It was two years before someone or their email open-rate finally got through to them.
I pulled together several samples and I see some patterns.
I believe that there are a few influences at play here that aren’t readily apparent.
- Peer pressure – fear of what your friends and family will think. There are a number of versions of YouTube videos where Will Smith talks about a time when his friends suggested they go skydiving, Will went, even though he was terrified and had been awake all night worrying about the jump. His point was that when he jumped, it was beautiful. All I could see was that as scared as he was of skydiving, he was more afraid of what his friends would think and say if he backed out of the jump.
- Sound bites – things you say these days need to be very short even if it distorts what you are trying to say. For example: “When something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is” might mean “When something seems too good to be true, check it out carefully, because it usually is a scam” or it might mean avoiding those things altogether. The short quote can be read either way.
- The subject matter makes a big difference when something is labeled “Too Good To Be True. Since I’ve grouped the quotes by subject matter, these will be easy to see. To me, it seems that when the phrase is applied to people or god, it is generally a positive thing. When it is applied to opportunities, it generally carries a negative connotation..
- An interesting aside is to look at the quotes based on which of our senses are used. Some people are visual and we SEE quotes that say: “If it LOOKS…” Other people are auditory learners and we HEAR quotes that say: “If it SOUNDS…” quotes. We even get the Tactile Learnerl quotes where the person says: “If it SEEMS…”
Here is a sample of “Too good to be true” quotes, roughly categorized, since it seems to make a difference:
As you go through the quotes, you may see the same thing I did. The quotes we hear the most often are the ones that focus on the negative.
If It Looks Too Good To Be True, Only a Fool Would Get Involved.
This attitude doesn’t leave any wiggle room at all. You end up being labeled a fool, even if you are just checking the opportunity out.
If it sounds too good, it always is.
— Ricky Jay
If it seems too good to be true… it probably is.
Melody Carlson
If it is too good to be tru,,,, it is probably a fraud.
Ron Wilson
If it sounds too good to be true, it is probbly a scam.
Many articles online talking about scams and how they work
…whenever something’s too good to be true, that’s because it’s a con.
Holly Black
When something looks too good to be true, it usually is.
– Emmy Rosum
Nothing is ever too good to be true
Michael Faraday
If It Looks Too Good To Be True, Doubt t
These quotes are a little less extreme than the first set. They do however acknowledge that things that look too good to be true are supposed to be scams.
When politicians offer you something for nothing, or somthing that sounds too good to be true, it;s always worth taking a caaeful second look. .
Malcolm Turnbull
It is good news, worthy of all acceptation; and yet not too good to be true.
Matthew Henry
If something seems too good to be true, it is hard to believe and so doubt that there may be something wrong.
Editorial Words
Really? It seems too good to be true. I don’t trust it. I don’t trust anyone.
Julie Anne Peters
Sometimes when you have something that seems too good to be true, you start waiting for it to crumble to pieces around you.
Aurora Rose Reynolds
Sometimes things seem too good to be true.
Keke Palmer
Well, you know how it feels if you begin hoping for something that you want desperately badly; you almost fight against the hope because it is too good to be true; you’ve been disappointed so often before.
C. S. Lewis
Nothing Is Too Good To Be True
It seemed too good to be true. That’s grace.
Judah Smith
What your heart desires is not too good to be true, it is good enough to be true.
– Alan Cohen
Children are certainly too good to be true.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Nothing is too good to be true.
– Ernest Holmes
All the higher forms of life have evolved from some one’s ideal of justice, liberty or beauty; and the belief that nothing is too good to be true.
Alice Hegan Rice
[D]on’t cling to your self-righteous suffering, let it go. . . . Nothing is too good to be true, let yourself be forgiven. To the degree you insist that you must suffer, you insist on the suffering of others as well. Stephen Levine
God never made a promise that was too good to be true.
Quotes About People
Dwight l. Moody
Back then I didn’t think a woman like that, or a relationship like that, could exist with complete freedom and no jealousy or possessiveness. I thought it sounded too good to be true and I was certainly convinced it wasn’t the life for me!
Sylvia Kristel
Why are the ones who are too good to be true always being true to someone else?
Jim Dodge
From my experience, honey, if he seems too good to be true—he probably is.
Candace Bushnell
Adrian sighed. “I knew you staying out of trouble was too good to be true.
Richelle Mead
Be wary of someone who has never failed, or seem to have no faults… Too good to be true usually is. Perfection hides something.
Henry Cloud
They say if it’s too good to be true, it usually is….. Unless it’s me.
Behdad Sami
At long last, love has arrived.
Frankie Valli
and I thank God I’m alive.
You’re just too good to be true,
can’t take my eyes off of you.
It’s always been hard to call myself a writer. I think a part of me still thinks it’s too good to be true.
Sarah Dessen
Quotes Involving God
All the controversialists who have become conscious of the real issue are already saying of our ideal exactly what used to be said of the Socialists’ ideal. They are saying that private property is too ideal not to be impossible. They are saying that private enterprise is too good to be true. They are saying that the idea of ordinary men owning ordinary possessions is against the laws of political economy and requires an alteration in human nature.n
Gilbert K. Chesterton
I always thought I had to earn God’s love and approval. I kept trying, but it never seemed like I could do it, and I thought, “Man, what’s wrong with me?” A friend of mine was like, “Man, you’re full of it. You’re trying to do what Christ has already done: You’re trying to earn your salvation and you can’t – it’s a free gift.” It sounded too good to be true. He said, “You need to start reading the Bible for yourself and stop taking everyone else’s word for it.” When I really started to do this, I realized God loved me no matter what.
Jay Bakker
We need never refrain from asking anything of God simply on the ground that we think it impossible. God specializes in “impossible” things that are too good to be true.
Carroll Eugene Simcox
God never made a promise that was too good to be true
Dwight l. Moody
The fact that we are loved and accepted and forgiven in spite of everything we have done is simply too good to be true.
Rob Bell
That’s how we often react when grace comes at us. It’s awkward. God offers us something that’s too good to be true—unearned, unmerited, total forgiveness—and we stand there, stiff and uncomfortable, waiting for the embrace to stop so we can get back to the business of earning our way into heaven. We need to embrace grace. We need to learn how to hug back.
Judah Smith
Nothing is too great or too good to be true. Do not believe that we can imagine things better than they are. In the long run, in the ultimate outlook, in the eye of the Creator, the possibilities of existence, the possibilities open to us, are beyond our imagination.
Joseph Wood Krutch
I want you to sense the Holy Spirit brooding over you. Is this too good to be true? You betcha, it’s the good news. Does He border on fantasy? You betcha, it’s the gospel. Glad tidings of great joy, heaven has come instead of hell, Jesus has come instead of the devil. You can have the life you always wanted, instead of the life you have always had – instead. That is possible because of the absolute, incredible, incomparable favor of God.
Graham Cooke
Contrary to what we conclude naturally, the gospel is not too good to be true. It is true! Its the truest truth in the entire universe. No strings attached! No fine print to read. No buts. No conditions. No qualifications. No footnotes. And especially, no need for balance.
Tullian Tchividjian
If You See An Opportunity That Looks Too Good To Be True, Chase It.
The old adage, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ isn’t always correct. In fact, the suspicion, cynicism, and doubt that are inherent in this belief can and does keep people from taking advantage of excellent opportunities.
–Richard Carlson
Today remind yourself that nothing is too good to be true. Your great hopes can be realized. Your most wonderful dreams can come true. All that you really need, you can have. An incredible goodness is operating on your behalf. If you are living a paltry life, resolve to stop it today. Expect great things to happen.
Norman Vincent Peale
My Observation on Patterns in the Quotes
The next sections are on the negative or positive connotations I see when I hear/see the phrase in different contexts.
Observations About These Quotes and People
‘Here the phrase is often seen as a compliment. We hear Rickie Valli singing about a woman:
Your too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you.” Certainly some carry some skepticism but in general phrases like “why are all the too good to be true women being torn to someone else” are high complements.
Observations About These Quotes and God
The phrase Too Good To Be True is almost always seen as a positive thing since according to the authors god Specializes in Too Good TO Be True.
Observations About “If It Looks/sounds/seems too good to be true” Quotes and Opportunities
In general when someone applies the label “Too Good To Be True to an opportunity it carries a negative connotation.
The similar phrase “Right Time, Right Plac has a positive connotation.
A lot of the negative feelings appear to stem from avoiding being conned or scammed. Having your friends and family know that you were interested in a “too Good To Be True” opportunity leaves you open to lots of “He or She is such a fool” comments.
While avoiding all opportunities that seem too good to be true does also avoid being scammed, it also eliminates the possibility of finding the “Right Time, Right Place” opportunity. Reading these quotes always reminds me of another saying about ships.
To have any chance of being at the right place at the right time, you are going to have to risk being conned. To continue the analogy, I’m not suggesting that we sail our ship blindly into the storms, but I do recognize that we have to leave the harbor.
To put it another way:
IMHO we need to do a mindset adjustment about Too Good To Be True opportunities. When we take them off the table, we are looking at hours for dollars or trivial money. The key is to research the opportunity you are considering, It is also advisable to leave your friends and family out of the conversations. You don’t want them to hold you back.
Here is a quote where people were discussing how to tell the difference between a “Too Good To Be True” opportunity and a “Right Time, Right Place” opportunity.
Sage
Sage at https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-know-when-an-opportunity-is-too-good-to-be-true-vs-you-are-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time
One way to determine if an opportunity is “too good to be true” is to do research and due diligence. Gather as much information as possible about the opportunity, the people involved, and the industry. Look for red flags such as unrealistic claims or promises, lack of transparency, or pressure to make a quick decision.Another useful approach is to seek the advice of experts or trusted professionals in the field. They can provide valuable insight and help you to make an informed decision.On the other hand, being in the “right place at the right time” can often be a combination of luck and preparation. It means that you have the skills, knowledge, and resources to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself. So, it’s important to stay informed, maintain a good network of contacts, and be ready to take action when the right opportunity arises.It’s important to remember that there is no surefire way to determine whether an opportunity is “too good to be true” or not, but by researching, seeking advice, and being prepared, you can make an informed decision and reduce your risk.
To wrap this up, I believe that you need to look for opportunities that appear “Too Good To Be True”, then research them, and if they pass jump in with both feet! (That does not mean that you don’t keep your eyes open for new information, but it does mean that you cannot “give it a shot” and expect to become a real success! You can reduce objections to the opportunity you feel is worth taking a risk on by talking about is as being in the right place at the right time. You can change your aversion to looking into opportunities that look too good to be true, but you are not going to change other people’s perceptions.
I started with this image and I agree with the author and so I’m going to end with it too.
