Work quotes
2.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside work — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Six is a number perfect in itself, and not because God created the world in six days; rather the contrary is true. God created the world in six days because this number is perfect, and it would remain perfect, even if the work of the six days did not exist."
"God will not have his work made manifest by cowards"
"On bravely through the sunshine and the showers! Time hath his work to do, and we have ours."
"Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want."
"Let us work without theorizing, tis the only way to make life endurable."
"I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man."
"There is a perennial nobleness, and even sacredness, in work. Were he never so benighted, forgetful of his high calling, there is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in idleness alone there is perpetual despair."
"A man perfects himself by working. Foul jungles are cleared away, fair seed-fields rise instead, and stately cities; and with the man himself first ceases to be a jungle, and foul unwholesome desert thereby. The man is now a man."
"The modern majesty consists in work. What a man can do is his greatest ornament, and he always consults his dignity by doing it."
"There is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in Idleness alone is there perpetual despair."
"Genuine Work alone, what thou workest faithfully, that is eternal, as the Almighty Founder and World-Builder himself."
"It is while we are young that the habit of industry is formed. If not then, it never is afterwards. The fortune of our lives therefore depends on employing well the short period of our youth."
"Fun things happen when you earn dollars, live on pesos, and compensate in rupees."
"Learn to ask, "If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?""
"I've seen the promised land, and there is good news. You can have it all."
"Work can only be universal if it is rooted in a part of its creator which is most privately and particularly himself."
"I was amplifying the negative at the expense of the positive, not to serve any useful function, not to make my writing better, but to destroy it. The lizard brain, so attuned to people laughing behind our backs, was on high alert for this sort of criticism and would do anything it could to stop me from writing again. I haven't sought out and read a review or a tweet since."
"Courage doesn't always involve physical heroism in the face of death. It doesn't always require giant leaps worthy of celebration. Sometimes, courage is the willingness to speak the truth about what you see and to own what you say."
"You know, there has never been a 24-hour period in five years when I have not responded to e-mail at Facebook. I am not saying it's easy. I work long hours."
"Everyone knows that marriage is the biggest personal decision you make, but it's the biggest career decision you can make."
