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.

My first ideas of human in vitro fertilization (IVF) arose with my Ph.D. in Edinburgh University in the early 1950s. Supervised by Alan Beatty, my research was based on his work on altering chromosomal complements in mouse embryos.

Quotes by Robert Edwards

I always wanted to play a monster, and I also wanted to work with Wes Craven.

Quotes by Robert Englund

I used to drive up from theatre in Michigan to Stratford, Ontario to watch every show. I idolized the actors from Stratford. I was very influenced by them because they would come down and work at my theatre and get...

Quotes by Robert Englund

I was trained to serve the writer and director as an actor before I serve myself. Not to say that's gotten in my way, but that's a different way of working than most American actors work.

Quotes by Robert Englund

The Nobel Prize in Economics is an incredible recognition for the work that my students, colleagues and I have done over the years. We all worked hard, but we were also lucky that the financial applications were so important.

Quotes by Robert F. Engle

I was looking at the work of the New York street artists and then discovering Basquiat and Haring after that and seeing how the contemporary art scene was, and then going back into Warhol and all that was happening in...

Quotes by Robert Del Naja

When you look at Banksy's work as a catalogue of ideas, it's undeniably brilliant. Going back to my days doing stencil work back in the 80s I knew that it wasn't exactly the most demanding work: it's like printing, but...

Quotes by Robert Del Naja

To have been able to do this for so long and to not have to work a regular job is a thrill.

Quotes by Robert Downey Sr.

Nonfiction filmmakers were afflicted by two problems: one technical, the other spiritual. Technically, they did not have the equipment to do the sort of work I had in mind. Spiritually, they didn't care about the work because they'd been mistrained.

Quotes by Robert Drew

I wouldn't mind starting to ride some more if I had a really good horse to just work a little bit with every day.

Quotes by Robert Duvall

I always thought of myself as a later bloomer, so I like some of my work more later than earlier.

Quotes by Robert Duvall

Sometimes directors will hire you and say, 'Oh, we love your work.' And then they start to tell you how to do it. I say, 'Hey, man, back off. You hired me to do it. Let me do it.'

Quotes by Robert Duvall

While we see the course of the final abolition of human slavery is onward, & we give it the aid of our prayers & all justifiable means in our power, we must leave the progress as well as the result...

Quotes by Robert E. Lee

When you work really hard for something for a long time it's almost impossible to believe that it's coming true.

Quotes by Robert Crippen

Everything that is strong in me has gone into my art work.

Quotes by Robert Crumb

The French hold onto their traditions. I was always so alienated in America. My work was this constant reaction to that.

Quotes by Robert Crumb

If you're trying to work the art game, if you're like Andy Warhol or something, then you're in with cake-eaters of society. You want to get in with them and please them and get their money.

Quotes by Robert Crumb

The work itself is what motivates me. I like my own stuff, you know? I like the way it looks. I do it to please myself first.

Quotes by Robert Crumb

I was very fortunate to be elected to the Society of Fellows at Harvard, which is, in effect, a small research center where you are given three years to do whatever work you want.

Quotes by Robert Darnton

My work has taken me from historical research to involvement in electronic publishing ventures to the directorship of the Harvard University Libraries.

Quotes by Robert Darnton

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.