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.

Most of my work is done when everyone else is asleep.

Quotes by James McBride

I go through periods listening to specific types of music. Because I'm a musician, listening to music is... it's a bit like work for me. A little bit.

Quotes by James McBride

I don't live for my work. My life is my life. That's more important, and I think that helps my work.

Quotes by James McBride

The starting point of all great jazz has got to be format, a language that you can work within that, in some ways, is much tighter than the blues or even gospel. It's all working towards the same destination -...

Quotes by James McBride

I do not believe that God tortures any person simply for its own sake. I believe that God enables all things to work for the greater good.

Quotes by James McGreevey

The studio is meant to be always a place where, first of all, they can be out of spotlight, and second, where they could work with a peer group on parts that they might not have played otherwise.

Quotes by James Lipton

I therefore set to work, and after two and a half years of not inconsiderable labour I now have the privilege and the satisfaction of accompanying the early volumes of the series with this preface.

Quotes by James Loeb

Breaking a cardinal rule of spy craft, I actually let it be known that I wanted to work for the CIA.

Quotes by James Luceno

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.

Quotes by James M. Barrie

It is not real work unless you would rather be doing something else.

Quotes by James M. Barrie

Set pieces are something I work hard at after training, and I hit quite a lot every day.

Quotes by James Maddison

Media reporting denied privacy to anybody doing what I do for a living. It was no longer possible to work on your picture in privacy.

Quotes by James L. Brooks

When you work alongside somebody day in and day out, the relationships tend to be wonderful: they're lifelong.

Quotes by James L. Brooks

That's the great thing about a series: you're driving to work, and you have an idea for a story for your characters, and you can go into work, and it's gonna be a television show. I mean that's what's great...

Quotes by James L. Brooks

The fact is that television, even before the movies, offered the chance to control our work and to get to do it again when we did something right. So television has always been better to writers than any other medium...

Quotes by James L. Brooks

My advice to an aspiring actor would be to never stop learning or working for what you want. Nothing comes easy, ever, if you want something, you have to work for it. By working for it I mean work on...

Quotes by James Lafferty

The cast gets along pretty well, it's a good work environment. I hang out a lot with Brett Claywell, he plays Tim Smith on the show. We play plenty of basketball.

Quotes by James Lafferty

Tom Hanks has been a huge idol of mine. I'd love to work with someone like him someday. You could learn a lot working with someone like that.

Quotes by James Lafferty

Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.

Quotes by James Lane Allen

My work in government has flowed from the fundamental idea of personal empowerment. It's about giving people the tools they need to pave their own way.

Quotes by James Langevin

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.