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.

If you really want it, you need to really work for it.

Quotes by Jesse McCartney

I get insecure about a lot of things. In my line of work, unfortunately, your appearance is important, and I'm always like, 'Am I going to the gym enough this month? Have I been taking care of myself?' I get...

Quotes by Jesse McCartney

We always describe a piece as 'really lively' where it seems the work dances off the paper or the silk. Art has to hit you on an emotional level rather than just the analytical.

Quotes by Jerry Yang

Mapplethorpe presented the body as a sexual object, separating it from the humanity of the person. He added nothing to photography as a medium. I hold his work in low regard.

Quotes by Jerzy Kosinski

I'm always happy for work and feel absolutely lucky to be on something that has continued for a couple of seasons.

Quotes by Jes Macallan

The way that I work as an actress, I always prefer to read the whole story and tell the whole story and feel what the whole story's going to be, the journey for the audience and how it ebbs and...

Quotes by Jes Macallan

It infuriates me that the work of white American writers can be universal and lay claim to classic texts, while black and female authors are ghetto-ized as 'other.'

Quotes by Jesmyn Ward

While I admire writers who are able to write with a vitality based on order and action, I work in a different vein. I often feel that if I can get the language just right, the language hypnotizes the reader.

Quotes by Jesmyn Ward

I keep my head straight by having the right people around me, from my friends and family to my management and my team. They all keep me in my place. If I didn't have them supporting all the work that...

Quotes by Jess Glynne

I wasn't that academic, but I always made sure I was earning money. I never wanted to put all my eggs in one basket. Even when I started doing music, my parents were like, 'You need to work; you can't...

Quotes by Jess Glynne

I would do whatever I could to make Jeremy Corbyn more electable, but you've got to give me something to work with, mate.

Quotes by Jess Phillips

My desk is an antique with bookshelves built into the side. I've turned the drawer over to hold a keyboard. We live in a 100-year-old house, and I work in an apartment above the carriage house.

Quotes by Jess Walter

Why would you have a work day that does not respond to shorter or longer day length? There's something that we lose, taking our schedules away from that locally relevant rhythm.

Quotes by Jessa Gamble

What people who are doing shift work or managing shift workers or deciding to put people on shift schedules to begin with should realize that we're not robots.

Quotes by Jessa Gamble

For myself, anyway, I think that recurring has been such a gift, because I've been able to work on a lot of shows that I've really had a lot of respect for before I went in, shows like 'Friday Night...

Quotes by Jessalyn Gilsig

The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.

Quotes by Jessamyn West

You can't make a manager have a coach he doesn't want. I can't make the head of the accounting department work with someone he doesn't want.

Quotes by Jerry Reinsdorf

I think the thing about that was I was always willing to work; I was not the fastest or biggest player but I was determined to be the best football player I could be on the football field and I...

Quotes by Jerry Rice

My work ethic came from my parents and my fear of failure. I came from a small, predominantly black school and I didn't want to let them down.

Quotes by Jerry Rice

Like I said, repetition in practice and hard work.

Quotes by Jerry Rice

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.