So before I start this off, I'd like to say that I do not condone the actions described below, however I do take them from personal experience.
We've all told lies before. We lie to our friends, our families, the girls at the bar you're trying to impress, the person at your job interview, we even lie to ourselves. But there are some people who are bad liars. These are the people who twitch or laugh or sweat when they lie. I have been lying to people since the day I could vocalize. I have known for a long time that a little lie can go a long way, and the most well-crafted lies can lead to great gains.
So why DO we lie? Is it because we aren't satisfied with the truth? Do we wish our lives to be more interesting so we tell others lies about ourselves so that we seem more interesting? Or are we only lying so that we can remove ourselves from tough situations? People will lie for the stupidest reasons, even when telling the truth is the right (and in most cases, smarter) thing to do.
Personally, I've lied for all these reasons. I know that I'm a liar and I know that people will believe my lies because I lie to them so easily. Honestly if you want to be a good liar, learn how to act in theatre (you're dressing up and literally trying to convince a crowd of people that you are only who you appear to be). There, you learn to be shameless in your lies and you start finding it so easy and painless to do. Nobody knows the horrible sad truth, nobody gets hurt. Easy, breezy, beautiful, liar.
So what makes lying art? Personally, I believe that the best liars are the people who know exactly when NOT to lie, as well as when the best time is to finally reveal the truth. I believe this to be true of the grounds that life is actually quite terrible, everybody needs their escape from it, and some find comfort in the lies told by others and themselves to create a brighter looking world. One needs to know exactly what lies can be told to others that are believable enough to be considered the truth.
As an example of how far a good lie can go, here's a story from a few years back. In senior year of high school, I was hanging out at a local gaming store with some friends (I didn't know it at the time, but these guys were all thieves that regularly stole from Target and other stores). We were playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and one of my friends noticed how the front counter of the store (behind which, several unopened boxes full of packs sat) was completely unattended by the owner and how easy it would be to steal from it. Realizing how easy it actually would be (and was) I concurred with my friend but sat back down at the table where card games were occurring and pretended not to notice my friend now hopping over the counter. My friend grabs 3 boxes of cards, runs outside with his other friend, and I grab my bag and chase after them. We all bolt into a Subway restaurant and open the boxes. I get handed some cards as a way of keeping my mouth shut. (skipping ahead a little) I tell nobody about the incident for a bit, then decide that I could actually get caught and I tell my older brother. We go tell the owner of the store, but I lie about my involvement so that I can keep the cards I was given. I realize that keeping that payment was a crime and come fully clean with the owner. I don't even have to show up for court when my friends get slammed with having to pay a few thousand in reparations or serve jail time.
I could have avoided the situation entirely by not getting involved, but for some reason I felt like I needed to chase after my friend after he stole the cards. Regardless of hindsight being 20-20, I still was able to craft my lie well enough that even when the lie had to end, I still didn't get hit with any bit of trouble. It was like crafting a get out of jail free card for myself.
Without elaborating on them anymore (because we'd be here awhile) I'll just say that several situations in my life I have gotten out of completely unscathed by lying or otherwise bending the truth in my favor. Am I proud that I HAD to lie to get out of trouble? Not entirely. I am proud though that most people can't tell that I'm lying to them.
Lying is an art. It's a dangerous art though. Practice getting good at lying at your own risk.
We've all told lies before. We lie to our friends, our families, the girls at the bar you're trying to impress, the person at your job interview, we even lie to ourselves. But there are some people who are bad liars. These are the people who twitch or laugh or sweat when they lie. I have been lying to people since the day I could vocalize. I have known for a long time that a little lie can go a long way, and the most well-crafted lies can lead to great gains.
So why DO we lie? Is it because we aren't satisfied with the truth? Do we wish our lives to be more interesting so we tell others lies about ourselves so that we seem more interesting? Or are we only lying so that we can remove ourselves from tough situations? People will lie for the stupidest reasons, even when telling the truth is the right (and in most cases, smarter) thing to do.
Personally, I've lied for all these reasons. I know that I'm a liar and I know that people will believe my lies because I lie to them so easily. Honestly if you want to be a good liar, learn how to act in theatre (you're dressing up and literally trying to convince a crowd of people that you are only who you appear to be). There, you learn to be shameless in your lies and you start finding it so easy and painless to do. Nobody knows the horrible sad truth, nobody gets hurt. Easy, breezy, beautiful, liar.
So what makes lying art? Personally, I believe that the best liars are the people who know exactly when NOT to lie, as well as when the best time is to finally reveal the truth. I believe this to be true of the grounds that life is actually quite terrible, everybody needs their escape from it, and some find comfort in the lies told by others and themselves to create a brighter looking world. One needs to know exactly what lies can be told to others that are believable enough to be considered the truth.
As an example of how far a good lie can go, here's a story from a few years back. In senior year of high school, I was hanging out at a local gaming store with some friends (I didn't know it at the time, but these guys were all thieves that regularly stole from Target and other stores). We were playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG and one of my friends noticed how the front counter of the store (behind which, several unopened boxes full of packs sat) was completely unattended by the owner and how easy it would be to steal from it. Realizing how easy it actually would be (and was) I concurred with my friend but sat back down at the table where card games were occurring and pretended not to notice my friend now hopping over the counter. My friend grabs 3 boxes of cards, runs outside with his other friend, and I grab my bag and chase after them. We all bolt into a Subway restaurant and open the boxes. I get handed some cards as a way of keeping my mouth shut. (skipping ahead a little) I tell nobody about the incident for a bit, then decide that I could actually get caught and I tell my older brother. We go tell the owner of the store, but I lie about my involvement so that I can keep the cards I was given. I realize that keeping that payment was a crime and come fully clean with the owner. I don't even have to show up for court when my friends get slammed with having to pay a few thousand in reparations or serve jail time.
I could have avoided the situation entirely by not getting involved, but for some reason I felt like I needed to chase after my friend after he stole the cards. Regardless of hindsight being 20-20, I still was able to craft my lie well enough that even when the lie had to end, I still didn't get hit with any bit of trouble. It was like crafting a get out of jail free card for myself.
Without elaborating on them anymore (because we'd be here awhile) I'll just say that several situations in my life I have gotten out of completely unscathed by lying or otherwise bending the truth in my favor. Am I proud that I HAD to lie to get out of trouble? Not entirely. I am proud though that most people can't tell that I'm lying to them.
Lying is an art. It's a dangerous art though. Practice getting good at lying at your own risk.
