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 interest in words and literature is always changing. And every day of work is different, and it doesn't feel laborious in the way that, say, washing dishes did. I'm quite happy to be doing what I'm doing, and I...

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

Some deeper part of me wants to write comical dialogue; I'd be foolish to not follow that impulse. Now I recognize that if there's energy to a section of work, you go where the energy is. It's a living thing,...

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

The nice thing about writing at home is that it's almost as though I'm doing it already. I get out of bed thinking of my work, and I don't have to go anywhere to do it.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

Humorous writing is often thought of as substandard in comparison to work with a more dramatic or tragic intent. I don't know what to say to this except that I disagree wholeheartedly.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

Many's the dead author whose body of work has been marred by overzealous publishers or family members. If this happens to me, I vow to seek out the responsible parties and haunt them to the point of death.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

The idea is this: It's important to upset one's work habits, to topple the cart for each project.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

If I were to continue to work in an established mode, it stands to reason the work would be limited by this - that it would never surpass the prior work in quality.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

Every industry has slack times, and everyone has bad days at work.

Quotes by Patrick deWitt

Good luck happens to people who work hard for it. Sometimes people just fall into the honey pot, but I've consistently strived to create whatever good fortune I can get in my life - and consistently strive just as hard...

Quotes by Patrick Duffy

Dancers are a work of art - they are the canvas on which their work is painted.

Quotes by Patrick Duffy

I come from an alcoholic Irish background - I know where I was going! But I met my wife and started to practise Buddhism, which is a levelling experience for me, and there hasn't been a day I've missed in...

Quotes by Patrick Duffy

Too much negotiating and not enough work on the court - that's what happened to me during the lockout. Too much talking and not enough training. I couldn't put in my usual offseason work routine. I think that all caught...

Quotes by Patrick Ewing

If you think you're going to work with Cameron Crowe and not get into his music, you're crazy. But he doesn't force it on you. He doesn't force anything on you, which really makes things easier.

Quotes by Patrick Fugit

I don't know if my work is a concerted effort to make kids sad!

Quotes by Patricia Polacco

Instead of yelling and spanking, which don't work anyway, I believe in finding creative ways to keep their attention - turning things into a game, for instance. And, when they do something good, positive reinforcement and praise.

Quotes by Patricia Richardson

Directors only have instinct to work out of, because there is no formula. Formulas don't work. Actually, if you follow a formula, you will probably end up with a bad movie.

Quotes by Patricia Riggen

Traditional copyright has been that you can't make a full copy of somebody's work without their permission.

Quotes by Patricia Schroeder

If I started something, I had to finish. Like with violin. I started when I was seven only because my best mate wanted to. I hated it and wanted to quit, but Dad made me continue, and I got to...

Quotes by Patrick Bamford

People are not perfect... very often the relationships that are strongest are those where people have worked through big crises, but they've had to work through them. So the challenge to us is to work through that.

Quotes by Patricia Hewitt

And some of what we're doing in Government even now, some of the welfare reform programs that are helping lone mothers come into work are based on things that were very new under the Labour Government in the eighties.

Quotes by Patricia Hewitt

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.