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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.

What is the role of a public intellectual in the age of Twitter and soundbites? Is it to share your thoughts for the public good, or is it to curate the heaps of hate emails, tweets, and right-wing articles that...

Quotes by Anthea Butler

I wouldn't say that I was a born performer, because I work very hard at it.

Quotes by Anneliese van der Pol

I didn't do a movie until I was almost 30. I'm grateful for that because it gave me a chance to be an adult in the world and do work in the regional theater that very few people cared about....

Quotes by Annette Bening

It's hard to make a living in this business. Unions aren't as strong as they used to be. For a journeyman actor - someone who doesn't have a famous name but has consistent work in theater or film or TV...

Quotes by Annette Bening

I feel really lucky that I'm able to pursue the work that I love. I want my children to see that. I want them to have that for themselves, something that they love, that they do, that they pursue in...

Quotes by Annette Bening

Having a life outside of movies is like pure oxygen. It makes the work more precious and informed.

Quotes by Annette Bening

I think in the past, around the time that method acting became so prevalent, it used to be that American actors were thought to be the kind that would work more from the inside out, and that the English actors...

Quotes by Annette Bening

What really motivates you to try to work things out as an actor is in large part fear, because you want to get into that narrative and bring the audience along.

Quotes by Annette Bening

I'm terrible at speaking extemporaneously about my work - I get completely tongue-tied and consumed with fear.

Quotes by Annie Baker

As a life's work, I would remember everything - everything, against loss. I would go through life like a plankton net.

Quotes by Annie Dillard

Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair.

Quotes by Annie Dillard

I'm proud - or really more thankful than anything - for all the work that I've gotten.

Quotes by Annie Ilonzeh

The CIA teamed up with Army, Air Force and Naval Intelligence to run one of the most nefarious, classified, enhanced interrogation programs of the Cold War. The work took place inside a clandestine facility in the American zone of occupied...

Quotes by Annie Jacobsen

I feel very proud of the work from the '80s because it is very bright and colorful.

Quotes by Annie Leibovitz

Money is a good thing and it's obviously useful, but to work only for money or fame would never interest me.

Quotes by Annie Lennox

Churches, depending on their policy, can do fantastic work with people in the community.

Quotes by Annie Lennox

I'm not intensely private - I talk a great deal about my life and my work - I just don't play the game to excess.

Quotes by Annie Lennox

'Clybourne Park' was my first job after the birth of my son, who was 11 weeks old when we started rehearsals. And while that was truly harder than anything I've ever done, I was grateful every day to be going...

Quotes by Annie Parisse

I don't do so much acting work now, as there aren't the parts except for 'Tango'. So if I didn't have the cabaret work, I don't know what I would be doing.

Quotes by Anne Reid

I did go to public school, but that's only because my parents were abroad. As a matter of fact, I think that's helped my work. I can go from Victoria Wood's 'Dinnerladies' to playing Barbara Cartland, from 'Coronation Street' to...

Quotes by Anne Reid

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.