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.

The joy of 'Crash' was that it was all about the work. It was my first real part. Before that, it was a line here and there, maybe a scene. 'Crash' was five scenes, a beautiful arc, a little vignette...

Quotes by Michael Pena

I feel lucky. I feel blessed. If you get blessed with some ability, I think you have to work hard at it. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he wasn't the best shooter, even though he had the...

Quotes by Michael Pena

I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.

Quotes by Michael Phelps

I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.

Quotes by Michael Phelps

I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it.

Quotes by Michael Phelps

Acting is really scary, but it's also challenging, fun, hard work. There's always an element of improvisation with every actor, even when something is really scripted.

Quotes by Michael Pitt

Every movie that I've picked, from my first film on, has been considered by everyone to be 'career suicide.' And I have an amazing life. I have an amazing career. I work with artists. But I'm not making 'Spider-Man.'

Quotes by Michael Pitt

My work has also motivated me to put a lot of time into seeking out good food and to spend more money on it.

Quotes by Michael Pollan

Towards the end it got really rough. I take my hat of to Alice, he's still doing it. This is probably more work than going on the road for 2-3 months. I wish I was 25 again!

Quotes by Michael Owen Bruce

Typically what happens is, somebody drags an idea from the past that worked in an old set of logics that they try to apply to the new one. And it doesn't work.

Quotes by Michael Nesmith

We have to overthrow the idea that it's a diversion from 'real' work when scientists conduct high-quality research in the open. Publicly funded science should be open science. Improving the way that science is done means speeding us along in...

Quotes by Michael Nielsen

Our political institutions work remarkably well. They are designed to clang against each other. The noise is democracy at work.

Quotes by Michael Novak

There's always a question of duration, there's a question of who the orchestra is. No one is free to write what you want - you collaborate on a film score, and one of the good things is that someone else's...

Quotes by Michael Nyman

Now I have a very good life and I am very proud of my work.

Quotes by Michael Nyqvist

Your brain - every brain - is a work in progress. It is 'plastic.' From the day we're born to the day we die, it continuously revises and remodels, improving or slowly declining, as a function of how we use...

Quotes by Michael Merzenich

I think that people who have played sports have an ability to relate to people because when you're playing you have to work on teams and with opposing players.

Quotes by Michael Michele

Some of my earliest work was in comics. I tend to think in pictures and always like to write scenes possessing the dynamic you find in comics.

Quotes by Michael Moorcock

I don't compromise my values and I don't compromise my work. That's why I've been kicked from one network to the next: I won't give in.

Quotes by Michael Moore

Yeah, I think of what I do as a work of journalism. It's more like the op-ed page, though. These are my opinions. My point of view. The opinions are mine and I let you make up your own mind.

Quotes by Michael Moore

I become my characters, and then try to allow events in the story to take their own course. I try not to play God, but to let them work out their own destiny.

Quotes by Michael Morpurgo

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.