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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.

I believe that work is essential to human well-being.

Quotes by Moshe Vardi

Our real work is prayer. What good is the cold iron of our frantic little efforts unless first we heat it in the furnace of our prayer? Only heat will diffuse heat.

Quotes by Mother Maribel

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

Mother Teresa

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ,...

Mother Teresa

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

Mother Teresa

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

Mother Teresa

Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.

Mother Teresa

Work is toil: what one does only to earn a living. If it gives pleasure, it is leisure.

Quotes by Mortimer Adler

Americans cannot maintain their essential faith in government if there are two Americas, in which the private sector's work subsidizes the disproportionate benefits of this new public sector elite.

Quotes by Mortimer Zuckerman

I'm trying to get low. People's personalities can get in the way of their own work.

Quotes by Mos Def

I've been able to do pretty well. I don't work as many consecutive nights as I used to, but I'm still working over 100 nights a year, so that's good for me.

Quotes by Mose Allison

Pizza Express has been a real godsend for me. I've been working there for several years, six weeks a year. You can go to work every night and play. It's a nice little club. It's just about the right size...

Quotes by Mose Allison

After four or five different wars, I grew weary of that work, partly because in an open war, open to coverage, as Vietnam was, it's not that difficult, really.

Quotes by Morley Safer

Our supporters can send the message that it's wrong for politically connected corporations to make millions while people doing an honest day's work are being cheated out of an honest day's pay.

Quotes by Morris Dees

Again, both literature and philosophy work by appealing to certain reigning idols.

Quotes by Morris Raphael Cohen

Women work as much as men now, if not more. There's a resurgence of dads in the home and moms working.

Quotes by Morena Baccarin

I think, in the past, you could buy a flat and live comfortably on theatre and touring theatre, but you can't do that anymore, which means that you have to have a certain amount of celebrity and profile to, therefore,...

Quotes by Morfydd Clark

I think the biggest lesson I have learned is not to get too anxious about your work.

Quotes by Morfydd Clark

My mother had been a country and western singer but when she moved out to Hollywood found it very difficult to get work so when I was born they put me into dance classes and singing classes as soon as...

Quotes by Morgan Brittany

At the time I was growing up in the business I was very well established within the industry as a child actor and as I grew up and turned into a teenager there was less and less work.

Quotes by Morgan Brittany

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.