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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 work from the inside out.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

Some people may say my curved panels look like sails. Well, I am a sailor, so I guess I probably do use that metaphor in my work - though not consciously.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

I can't just decide myself what's being built. Someone decides what they want, then I work for them.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

I refuse to work unless I get paid, so I don't get a lot of work sometimes.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

Bilbao opened in 1997. It was only ten years later that I was asked to do another museum. A lot of other people got work because of Bilbao.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around me, materials on my table, and work with them as I'm searching for an idea that works.

Quotes by Frank Gehry

You can be talented, but having great talent isn't enough. You have to work every day or someone will pass you up.

Quotes by Frank Gore

I have a good work ethic.

Quotes by Frank Grillo

Coming from immigrant Italian people, the one thing you do is work hard.

Quotes by Frank Grillo

I know of no greater work for humanity than in the cause of peace, which can only be achieved by the earnest efforts of nations and peoples.

Quotes by Frank B. Kellogg

If we will maintain our hope and confidence in the genius of our people, they will work out this problem, and their ability and industry will bring us back to normal conditions.

Quotes by Frank B. Kellogg

It's sour grapes, I admit, I want to be more famous so people are examining my work couplet by couplet, you know what I mean? That's the level where I want to go.

Quotes by Frank Black

It's a vast, lonely, forbidding expanse of nothing rather like clouds and clouds of pumice stone. And it certainly does not appear to be a very inviting place to live or work.

Quotes by Frank Borman

So, I think even in Saudi Arabia there is movement. And we have to remember that over the years they've stabilized the oil price and that is tremendously important for the economies of the world. I think we have no...

Quotes by Frank Carlucci

The thirties were troublesome in Belfast, and then of course there was no work for people, and it was terribly religiously divided.

Quotes by Frank Carson

Was I a businessman to start with? I'm not sure. I mean, that comes slowly, when you start having the products out. But at the same time, I was very determined. I knew that I had to make it work....

Quotes by Francois Nars

I prefer to be busy all day long, and when you work for someone else, you're not busy enough.

Quotes by Francois Truffaut

To put down an ideogram of a table so that people will recognize it as a table is not the work of a painter, but to sense it for a moment as a magic carpet with a leg hanging down...

Quotes by Frank Auerbach

The unity in any painter's work arises from the fact that a person, brought to a desperate situation, will behave in a certain way... style.

Quotes by Frank Auerbach

I have now established myself in a most enviable manner. Those who require something of me must seek me out - I remain apart. I work for no one unless he is a high-ranking personality or a friend.

Quotes by Francisco Goya

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.