Logo - Feel The Words

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.

I'm interested in reaching the masses with my work. It's one of my goals.

Quotes by Ryan McGinley

All my work, really, is based on my brothers and sisters. I had so many adventures with them and a big part of the work is to recreate those. It's easy for me to be around a lot of people,...

Quotes by Ryan McGinley

I can work with shyness, but for the most part I want people to feel comfortable with me. It's really more about the photographer feeing comfortable right when they walk in that makes the subject feel comfortable.

Quotes by Ryan McGinley

I think that's an important lesson for young people who want to be artists: You have to find someone who believes in you and who will help you find that time where you don't have to think about a job...

Quotes by Ryan McGinley

It's all about doing work, being creative and staying true to who you are and having fun. That's what us actors are all about.

Quotes by Ryan Merriman

I started off in this business in 1998, and I didn't fit in. There was no place for me, and I always felt like an oddball. Nobody really understood my work or what I wanted to do in my references.

Quotes by Ryan Murphy

I think when you take the big swings - and I've done plenty of big swings that I was told were never going to work - those are always the things that break through.

Quotes by Ryan Murphy

It's interesting when women direct. The work is better. They ask more people to participate.

Quotes by Ryan Murphy

With all of my work, it always takes a while for people to get it.

Quotes by Ryan Murphy

I feel every day that everything I create - everything I do - I want it to be a risk. I think when you take the big swings - and I've done plenty of big swings that I was told...

Quotes by Ryan Murphy

I've always found it funny when people call 'Romeo and Juliet' 'the greatest love story ever told' because - man - it does not work out well for those kids, you know? I'd like to think the greatest love story...

Quotes by Ryan North

I used to worry that I had a finite supply of ideas, that I should hold on to each of them in case it was the last. But then I talked to other cartoonists, and I realized ideas are cheap;...

Quotes by Ryan North

Being online works really well for any creative work, but especially comics.

Quotes by Ryan North

I know how hard authors work on their books and how far out of their element many are when it comes to doing the sales and marketing. So when I see someone doing it wrong and giving bad advice, I...

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

When work impedes on sleep, poor planning is to blame - not superior will power.

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

We only have so much energy for our work, for our relationships, for ourselves. A smart person understands this and guards it carefully. Meanwhile, idiots focus on marginal productivity hacks and gains while they leak out energy each passing day.

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

The greats - they protect their sleep because it's where the best work comes from. They say no to things. They turn in when they hit their limits. They don't let the creep of sleep deprivation undermine their judgment.

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

In 2007, I went to work in Beverly Hills as an intern at The Collective, a talent management agency. I'd been scouted for the job because of a blog I'd started in college and because the blogger-turned-author I worked for,...

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

Work hard, take it seriously, embrace your ambition. And when you're not doing that, do something - whatever it happens to be - that taps into the part of you that makes you forget about all the rest of it.

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

If you need to fudge the facts a little bit to make your narrative work, there is nothing anyone can do to stop you.

Quotes by Ryan Holiday

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.