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Work Quotes

Quotes on the meaning of work.

Several quotes here describe work as a solitary process, one that takes real effort to protect from distraction, while others connect a person's politics directly to the character of their work. Related reading includes Growth Quotes.

Glenn Close is a living icon. You look at the work, and I think it's wild, because she thinks some of her best work was in Dangerous Liaisons and that's what I believe as well.

Quotes by Anthony Anderson

All the hard work starts in the gym.

Quotes by Anthony Bennett

If you get an opportunity to work with David Simon, anybody with good taste would.

Quotes by Anthony Bourdain

I'm sure that at no point in my life could I ever have shown the kind of focus and discipline and commitment necessary to work a station at elBulli or Le Bernardin. No. That ain't me.

Quotes by Anthony Bourdain

My work has been marginalized as far as the jazz-business complex is concerned, or the contemporary-music complex.

Quotes by Anthony Braxton

Having a memoir and a retrospective of your work running almost simultaneously when you're still alive does feel a bit posthumous.

Quotes by Anthony Browne

I've always felt that I was a bit of an outsider to the British children's-book illustration scene, because I don't work in line and wash.

Quotes by Anthony Browne

Although I have two good Anglepoise lights, I much prefer to work by daylight.

Quotes by Anthony Browne

Most of the day I work standing up, as I once read somewhere that it's the best position for the back.

Quotes by Anthony Browne

These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness.

Quotes by Anthony de Mello

It wasn't until I was 26 or 25 when I started sending work out to magazines.

Quotes by Anthony Doerr

For me it was perfect, because it wasn't a very competitive environment, and it was a studio program. They basically send you off, and say, bring us some work, and we'll help you improve it. It really rewarded self-discipline.

Quotes by Anthony Doerr

Supposedly, some writers work in rowdy coffee shops or compose whole novels to Megadeth, but when I write, I wear a pair of chainsaw operator's earmuffs.

Quotes by Anthony Doerr

In my students, I'm always dispelling the notion that characters come like a light bulb over the head in cartoons. For me, it's like a shapeless big lump of clay. You just build it into something, and then you step...

Quotes by Anthony Doerr

I think public service is a calling and you do it as long as the things that brought you into the office can continue getting you up in the morning and as long as there's still work to get done.

Quotes by Anthony Foxx

You come to Washington, there's a rail bill, there's a highway bill, there's a aviation bill. But when you go home, there's an airport, there's a highway, there's a rail, there's transit. It all has to work together.

Quotes by Anthony Foxx

I don't watch a lot of my work. I'm not really interested in seeing it after I do it. Because I came from theater, where, you know, it's impossible to actually review your work, so why would I bother under...

Quotes by Annie Potts

I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance and word play of the short story.

Quotes by Annie Proulx

I definitely love to work, and I'm loving being a mommy, so I'd like to try to balance both.

Quotes by Annie Wersching

The top end are still making bucket loads while maintaining the illusion of the American dream: that if you work hard enough, you can make a fortune. Meanwhile, the working and middle classes have been hollowed out of the system.

Quotes by Anohni

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quotes are on the "Work" page?
These lean toward the thoughtful side of work — the idea that "intellectual work is essentially a lonely process," the belief that one's politics and "the character of his particular work are inseparable," and an image of people unwinding after work all over the world talking about life's bigger questions.
Is there a spiritual angle to any of these?
While these particular quotes are secular, if you're looking for a spiritual perspective on work, see Prayers for that theme.
Do these quotes connect work to personal identity?
Yes, one of the strongest lines here argues that your politics and "the character of his particular work are inseparable" — the idea that what you do reflects who you are. If that resonates, Growth quotes explore a similar idea of work shaping the person.
Is there anything here about effort or persistence?
These specific quotes focus more on the nature and meaning of work than on effort itself, but Effort quotes cover that ground directly.
What about setting goals through work?
For that angle, Goal quotes is the better fit — the "Work" page here is more about the character and process of working itself.

There's also a lighter side - people unwinding after work to talk through life's bigger questions over drinks. See Effort Quotes and Goal Quotes for more on getting things done.