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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.

Sometimes I'll hear a phrase or a word and write it down in my little black notebook (a writer's best mate), then come back to it and work a plot around it.

Quotes by Paul Kane

One does not lash hat lies at a distance. The foibles that we ridicule must at least be a little bit our own. Only then will the work be a part of our own flesh. The garden must be weeded.

Quotes by Paul Klee

When looking at any significant work of art, remember that a more significant one probably has had to be sacrificed.

Quotes by Paul Klee

But Wall Street people are in fact very smart; they're funny, they're not company men who work their way up the chain.

Quotes by Paul Krugman

Catherine Tate was a proven comedy actress from a comedy background with great taste. I knew her work, and was an incredible fan.

Quotes by Paul Lieberstein

I have always had a certain rhythmic approach to my work.

Quotes by Paul Hirsch

The magic was in the Marshall Plan itself. It provided an opportunity for appealing and constructive work. In a sense, the mission chiefs were given the opportunity to help act as architects for the new Europe that was envisioned.

Quotes by Paul Hoffman

I only work every couple of years. I go into retirement between films.

Quotes by Paul Hogan

I don't believe in diets. They don't necessarily work. What they do is scrub your weight down, but as soon as you finish, you naturally go back up. I keep everything in my diet - gluten and sugar - I...

Quotes by Paul Hollywood

The sugar tax is fine. I agree with that. But I think it probably doesn't go too far. But then, I work on 'The Great British Bake Off.' We make cakes with sugar and butter. I can't be too critical....

Quotes by Paul Hollywood

Jazz is a way of life, and you have to learn about it on the street, so to speak. But the training comes in by giving you the tools to work with.

Quotes by Paul Horn

People want to be part of something that's bigger than themselves. It's motivating. It helps all of us to work harder.

Quotes by Paul Jacobs

It's a tragedy for society to spend decades training people and then depriving them of work at some arbitrary age.

Quotes by Paul Greengard

The fact is all of the most highly successful scientists I know work practically all the time.

Quotes by Paul Greengard

Science is not the glamour that's portrayed in films. It's a lot of drudgery work, along with the wonderfully exciting periods when you discover something.

Quotes by Paul Greengard

It isn't always hard work that does the job.

Quotes by Paul Guilfoyle

I just asked myself, what piece of that man's soul did he just chew off and swallow to get next week's assignment? You know, just to live, just to work as an artist, or to feed the family?

Quotes by Paul Haggis

I moved to Hollywood when I was 22. I was married. I had a kid right away. And I had worked as a furniture mover amongst various other jobs, and I'd work eight, ten hours a day to support my...

Quotes by Paul Haggis

For me, the most interesting people are ones who often work against their best interests. Bad choices. They go in directions where you go, 'No no no nooo!' You push away someone who is trying to love you, you hurt...

Quotes by Paul Haggis

All my work is partly biographical. I mean, 'Crash' was absolutely that, absolutely. But you just wouldn't recognize me in most of those characters. But I was in every single one of those characters in 'Crash,' because those were all...

Quotes by Paul Haggis

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.