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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.

That is, an artist who creates lots of work probably experiences prolific days and slower days.

Quotes by Buffy Sainte-Marie

I work closely with the printer to get the final print the way I want it.

Quotes by Buffy Sainte-Marie

Another time factor is output: proofing and printing. That is, getting your work out of the computer and onto paper and having it satisfy you. It can be time consuming and expensive.

Quotes by Buffy Sainte-Marie

I'm not like a professional writer with professional skills. Songs kind of come into my head the same way they did when I was a kid. I say I'm an overgrown kindergarten kid. I work on songs.

Quotes by Buffy Sainte-Marie

The art of the three-minute song is more like journalism than writing a big 400-page book. You want to be brief, you want to make sense right yen and there. And sometimes that takes a bit of work.

Quotes by Buffy Sainte-Marie

But if we leave them alone, just satisfying ourselves with social work, economic work and the building up of a national army, it can make progress, hopefully within a short time.

Quotes by Bulent Ecevit

In 1965, I went to what was called the worst Bihar famine in India, and I saw starvation, death, people dying of hunger, for the first time. It changed my life. I came back home, told my mother, 'I'd like...

Quotes by Bunker Roy

You have to be a cop-out or a wash-out or a dropout to come to our college. You have to work with your hands. You have to have a dignity of labor. You have to show that you have a...

Quotes by Bunker Roy

You come for the money, you don't come to Barefoot College. You come for the work and the challenge, you'll come to the Barefoot College. That is where we want you to try crazy ideas. Whatever idea you have, come...

Quotes by Bunker Roy

You learn after losing quite a bit, year after year, that you have to continue to work hard, stay tough, and endure to the end before it's going to work out.

Quotes by Burgess Owens

I think that place is a huge part of pretty much any musician's work, in how one responds to an environment, whether it be your actual surroundings or the more figurative place we're all living in.

Quotes by Bryce Dessner

My dad, he worked rebar, an ironworker. Watching my pops get up every single morning, going into work, working hard - I think that really made me want to work that hard, wanted to make me get up early and...

Quotes by Bryce Harper

Baseball players have such a bad rap of, like, 'We don't work out or we're not strong or this or that.' Guys work so hard in baseball, it's incredible. But people don't know that.

Quotes by Bryce Harper

I can't just go to McDonald's after I'm done working out. I'm going to treat my body like it's the only body I'm ever going to have. I'm going to make sure it's strong and it's good. I'm really going...

Quotes by Bryce Harper

I work on my voice through what I have to sing.

Quotes by Bryn Terfel

Welsh is my mother tongue, and my children speak it. If you come and live in this community you'll work out pretty quickly that it's beneficial to learn the language, because if you're going to the pub or a cafe...

Quotes by Bryn Terfel

Work hard, because it's obviously not always going to be easy. It's a really hard industry. Put yourself out there and put videos online, because that, honestly, is what changed my life.

Quotes by Brynn Cartelli

One of my strengths is my explosive power. Especially at the start line, where you have to accelerate faster than your competitor. I train for that by lifting barbells. It helps your hips thrust and your muscles twitch faster, and...

Quotes by Bryony Shaw

It was right after I dropped the song 'Don't,' and it started to go viral a little bit. That's when I was like, 'Alright, I might have something here.' Actually, I wasn't even going to quit my job, but Timbaland...

Quotes by Bryson Tiller

'Been That Way' is a song that Timbaland gave me. Actually, the beat is. And then he called me to come out there to Miami. I went out there to work with him, and he gave me two beats for...

Quotes by Bryson Tiller

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.