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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.

When I was painting portraits and - shall we say? - rather allegorical heads, which is the figurative work which immediately preceded the direction I have since gone, these images were always of a very fixed, rigid quality, and, of...

Quotes by Robert Indiana

When I was a kid, my mother used to drive my father to work in Indianapolis, and I would see, practically every day of my young life, a huge Phillips 66 sign. So it is the red and green of...

Quotes by Robert Indiana

When you first get into television it is a big deal, then you realize you are no better than anyone else, we just have a platform to use, to help other people. I use that platform for the work I...

Quotes by Robert Irvine

If you wanted to watch me work, it would be totally boring. It would look like a Warhol film where nothing happens. I sit for 24 hours, then I scratch myself.

Quotes by Robert Irwin

You can't work across party lines when there aren't many of them. So I'm going to work across Republican Party lines because there are a lot of divisions in the Republican Party.

Quotes by Robert J. Bentley

We will face the challenges head on. We will work with both parties, across the aisle, to make our state better.

Quotes by Robert J. Bentley

If things don't work in education, we need change.

Quotes by Robert J. Bentley

Spending time on the floor is really important. It's great to work out of an office, but working the store gives you contact with the customer.

Quotes by Robert J. Fisher

Princeton was really hard. I had learned how to write well at boarding school, and I knew if I majored in English and I just did the work, I could get B's.

Quotes by Robert J. Fisher

It's when you've stopped writing and are doing other things, especially when you're asleep, that the real work is done.

Quotes by Robert Harris

Cut your manuscript ruthlessly but never throw anything away: it's amazing how often a discarded scene or description, which wouldn't fit in one place, will work perfectly later.

Quotes by Robert Harris

Take the time to write. You can do your life's work in half an hour a day.

Quotes by Robert Hass

The market doesn't make communities. Markets make networks of self-interested individuals, and they work as long as there's more than enough to go around.

Quotes by Robert Hass

I learned how difficult it is to be an artist. There are always compromises. The record company wants you to do this, your fans want you to do this, your family - you can't concentrate on your work.

Quotes by Robert Hilburn

As soon as I started working at the 'Los Angeles Times,' people warned me not to get too close to artists because it could make it difficult to review their work, and you can never really tell if the 'friendship'...

Quotes by Robert Hilburn

Like David Bowie, Madonna visualizes music so that her best work seems equally designed with the stage or screen in mind - not just the jukebox.

Quotes by Robert Hilburn

In 1980, after 10 years at 'The Times,' I was at a crossroads in my personal life. I loved my family, but I was also so obsessive about my work that I found myself devoting more and more time to...

Quotes by Robert Hilburn

Not only has this subject been long associated with the ideas of thinking men over the ages but its practical importance is attested to by the huge resources of men and material thrown into this type of work.

Quotes by Robert Hofstadter

Corporate conglomerates run without regulation do not work in the service of society, and run reckless and unchecked whenever possible.

Quotes by Robert Greenwald

For me, you don't ever want to be defined by the color of your skin. You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person that you are, your character, your personality. That's what I've tried to go out...

Quotes by Robert Griffin III

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.