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.

No one wants to follow a pessimist... You can be skeptical, you can be realistic, but you can't be cynical. If your boss is Eeyore, do you want to work with someone like that? Oh, bother.

Quotes by Bob Iger

Working hard to fulfill a dream or instinct and learning over time it doesn't work, doesn't mean a career is over and a reputation killed. When a reputation is killed, it's when failure comes as a result of loss of...

Quotes by Bob Iger

I can stand here today, look you in the face, and say I'm proud of the efforts of 'ABC News.' I respect 'ABC News.' And I believe they work very hard to present news in an extremely fair way.

Quotes by Bob Iger

Play is the work of children. It's very serious stuff.

Quotes by Bob Keeshan

I think the philosophy that we don't know as much as we think we know resonates throughout my work.

Quotes by Bob Mayer

My wife and daughters work. My campaign manager in 2005 was a working mother. I appointed 5 women to my senior staff as Attorney General.

Quotes by Bob McDonnell

If you know you're supported, you're going to work harder, you're going to be more focused on your mission.

Quotes by Bob McDonnell

When you're under stress, your immune system doesn't work as well.

Quotes by Bob McNair

There are many domestic issues that give us a lot of common ground to work on. Health, education and immigration are among the areas where we share mutual goals and aspirations. There are also many values that we share as...

Quotes by Bob Menendez

Take your work seriously and yourself lightly.

Quotes by Bob Nelson

I'm not a Gingrich fan. He's just difficult to work with. It's either Newt's way or the highway.

Quotes by Bob Dole

I paint mostly from real life. It has to start with that. Real people, real street scenes, behind the curtain scenes, live models, paintings, photographs, staged setups, architecture, grids, graphic design. Whatever it takes to make it work.

Quotes by Bob Dylan

Every Maryland family wants financial security, schools that work, quality healthcare, safer neighborhoods, and ever-expanding economic opportunity. These are the building blocks of a superior quality of life.

Quotes by Bob Ehrlich

We discussed politics, but we also talked about the importance of hard work, personal responsibility, living within your means, keeping your word. Those lessons stay with you throughout your life.

Quotes by Bob Ehrlich

I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse.

Quotes by Bob Etheridge

Live like you'll die tomorrow, work like you don't need the money, and dance like nobody's watching.

Quotes by Bob Fosse

I drink too much, I smoke too much, I take pills too much, I work too much, I girl around too much, I everything too much.

Quotes by Bob Fosse

The meat-and-potatoes work of world journalism is performed by the wire service reporters.

Quotes by Bob Greene

I was very good at my work and I wasn't real good at my life.

Quotes by Bob Greene

If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf.

Quotes by Bob Hope

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.