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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 love my work. I've had three successful series, and I want to find out if I can make a fourth.

Quotes by Michael Landon

It's not being disrespectful, but the less you know an opponent, the more work you have to do.

Quotes by Michael Laudrup

As good as 'Twin Peaks' was, and I mean, it's a superb work that's way ahead of its time, and we've never caught up, and we never will... I mean, we will never catch up to 'Twin Peaks.'

Quotes by Michael J. Anderson

I didn't want o do metal work and get my hands all nicked up and be around guys. So I took drama because there were a lot of girls.

Quotes by Michael J. Fox

My odyssey to become an astronaut kind of started in grad school, and I was working, up at MIT, in space robotics-related work; human and robot working together.

Quotes by Michael J. Massimino

For me, the Earth had always been a kind of a safe haven, you know, where I could go to work or be in my home or take my kids to school. But I realized it really wasn't that. It...

Quotes by Michael J. Massimino

And I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead.

Quotes by Michael Jackson

Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.

Quotes by Michael Johnson

I work hard to improve myself as a person - as a father, as a husband, as a manager. I'm always on that mission.

Quotes by Michael Johnson

As an athlete, I'd average four hours a day. It doesn't sound like a lot when some people say they're training for 10 hours, but theirs includes lunch, massage and breaks. My four hours was packed with work.

Quotes by Michael Johnson

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Quotes by Michael Jordan

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb...

Quotes by Michael Jordan

I am not sure that I am that smart. I think we work harder. When I was at university, there were a lot of smarter people than me, and they seem not to have done quite so well.

Quotes by Michael Hintze

If I wait for the great definitive story of my people to come around, I'm never going to work.

Quotes by Michael Horse

As a native actor, you don't get that much chance to work in art, especially television.

Quotes by Michael Horse

In such a therapeutic, pragmatic, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps society as ours, the message of God having to do all the work in saving us comes as an offensive shot at our egos.

Quotes by Michael Horton

All the work that I do, whether or not it ends up being commercially successful or not, feels like the most important thing to me while I'm doing it. I try to take something away from every project, and so...

Quotes by Michael Ian Black

The core of human rights work is naming and shaming those who commit abuses, and pressuring governments to put the screws to abusing states. As a result, human rights conventions are unique among international law instruments in depending for their...

Quotes by Michael Ignatieff

Politics is intensely physical: your hands touch, clasp and hold, and your eyes are always reaching for contact. None of this came naturally to me. I'd always put my trust in words and let the words do the work, but...

Quotes by Michael Ignatieff

But James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, they did such great work, especially in the last show.

Quotes by Michael Imperioli

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.