The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it — every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.
—John D. Rockefeller III (1906–78) American Philanthropist
Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.
—Wayne Dyer (b.1940) American Motivational Writer, Author, Motivational Speaker
To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.
—John Dewey (1859–1952) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Educator
Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
There are two ways of making yourself stand out from the crowd. One is by having a job so big you can go home before the bell rings if you want to. The other is by finding so much to do that you must stay after the others have gone. The one who enjoys the former once took advantage of the latter.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Give me love and work — these two only.
—William Morris (1834–96) British Designer, Craftsman, Poet, Writer
Occupation was one of the pleasures of paradise, and we cannot be happy without it.
—Anna Brownell Jameson (1794–1860) Irish-born Literary, Art Critic
This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Do today’s duty, fight today’s temptation; do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them.
—Charles Kingsley (1819–75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
If you keep working you’ll last longer. I’d hate to spend the rest of my life trying to outwit an 18-inch fish.
—Harold S. Geneen (1910–1997) British-American Businessman
You can employ men and hire hands to work for you, but you will have to win their hearts to have them work with you.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
In all cases where doubt crops up, ask yourself, “If I had a gun to my head and had to do it, how would I do it?” It’s not as hard as you think.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
What I still ask for daily-for life as long as I have work to do, and work as long as I have life.
—Reynolds Price (b.1933) American Novelist, Poet, Dramatist, Essayist
Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment of which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has done his best.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
No man can make good during working hours who does the wrong thing outside of working hours.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life? Can’t I use my wit as a pitchfork and drive the brute off?
—Philip Larkin (1922–85) English Poet, Librarian, Novelist
Any startling piece of work has a subversive element in it, a delicious element often. Subversion is only disagreeable when it manifests in political or social activity. In what we call art, it’s one of the most desirable characteristics of a piece of work.
—Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian Singer, Songwriter, Poet, Novelist
If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.
—John Cleese (b.1939) British Actor, Writer, Comic Innovator
A human being is only interesting if he’s in contact with himself. I learned you have to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should do it. You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it.
—Barbra Streisand (b.1942) American Musician, Actor, Songwriter
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
—Unknown
A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work. Worry upsets our whole system, work keeps it in health and order.
—John Lubbock (1834–1913) English Politician, Biologist
Luck is always waiting for something to turn up. Labor, with keen eyes and strong will, always turns up something. Luck lies in bed and wishes the postman will bring news of a legacy. Labor turns out at six o’clock and with busy pen or ringing hammer, lays the foundation of a competence. Luck whines. Labor whistles. Luck relies on chance, labor on character.
—Richard Cobden
The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
There are only two ways of getting on in the world; by one’s own industry, or by the stupidity of others.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
It is not the employer who pays the wages. He only handles the money. It is the product that pays the wages.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them–in effect, they approach their life as an artist would approach a work of art. The do that by becoming committed to their own lifelong learning.
—Peter Senge (b.1947) American Management Consultant, Author, Scientist
Work has a greater effect than any other technique of living in the direction of binding the individual more closely to reality; in his work, at least, he is securely attached to a part of reality, the human community.
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychoanalytic
The work will stand, no matter what.
—Meryl Streep (b.1949) American Actor
He that labors and thrives spins gold.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.
—Karl Marx (1818–1883) German Philosopher, Economist
I suppose I have a really loose interpretation of “work,” because I think that just being alive is so much work at something you don’t always want to do. The machinery is always going. Even when you sleep.
—Andy Warhol (1928–87) American Painter, Printmaker, Film Personality
All our work, our whole life is a matter of semantics, because words are the tools with which we work, the material out of which laws are made, out of which the Constitution was written. Everything depends on our understanding of them.
—Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) American Judge
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
—Newt Gingrich (b.1943) American Politician
You know that it is only through work that you can achieve anything, either in college or in the world.
—Charles William Eliot (1834–1926) American Educator, Academic
A man willing to work, and unable to find work, is perhaps the saddest sight that fortune’s inequality exhibits under this sun.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
No great work has ever been produced except after a long interval of still and musing meditation.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
—Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) Scottish-born American Inventor, Engineer, Academic
Work eight hours and sleep eight hours and make sure that they are not the same hours.
—T. Boone Pickens (1928–2019) American Businessman, Financier
Folks who never do any more than they get paid for, never get paid for anymore than they do.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him. There is always work, and tools to work with, for those who will, and blessed are the horny hands of toil. The busy world shoves angrily aside the man who stands with arms akimbo until occasion tells him what to do; and he who waits to have his task marked out shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. General recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase “It is the busiest man who has time to spare.”
—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–93) British Historian, Scholar, Novelist, Satirist
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.
—P. T. Barnum (1810–91) American Businessperson, Entertainer
If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
—Emily Bronte (1818–48) English Novelist, Poet
A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won’t work—if you won’t.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
You see me in my most virile moment when you see me doing what I do. When I am directing, a special energy comes upon me … It is only when I am doing my work that I feel truly alive. It is like having sex.
—Federico Fellini (1920–93) Italian Filmmaker
Work is the greatest thing in the world, so we should always save some of it for tomorrow.
—Don Herold (1889–1966) American Humorist, Writer, Illustrator, Cartoonist
A person who has not done one half his day’s work by ten o clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.
—Emily Bronte (1818–48) English Novelist, Poet
I am a friend of the working man, and I would rather be his friend, than be one.
—Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American Civil Liberties Lawyer
The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic –in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea –known to medical science is work.
—Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian-American Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
—Vidal Sassoon (1928–2012) Anglo-American Hairstylist, Businessman
We were not taught financial literacy in school. It takes a lot of work and time to change your thinking and to become financially literate.
—Robert Kiyosaki (b.1947) American Businessperson, Author, Motivational Speaker
The only liberty an inferior man really cherishes is the liberty to quit work, stretch out in the sun, and scratch himself.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
The man who works need never be a problem to anyone. Opportunities multiply as they are seized; they die when neglected. Life is a long line of opportunities. Wealth is not in making money, but in making the man while he is making money. Production, not destruction, leads to success.
—John Wicker
Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
If you intend to go to work, there is no better place than right where you are; if you do not intend to go to work, you cannot get along anywhere. Squirming and crawling about from place to place can do no good.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
A man at work, making something which he feels will exist because he is working at it and wills it, is exercising the energies of his mind and soul as well as of his body. Memory and imagination help him as he works. Not only his own thoughts, but the thoughts of the men of past ages guide his hands; and, as part of the human race, he creates. If we work thus we shall be men, and our days will be happy and eventful.
—William Morris (1834–96) British Designer, Craftsman, Poet, Writer
Nowhere so busy a man as he than he, and yet he seemed busier than he was.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it. I call this the freedom multiplier.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Are you doing the kind of work you were built for, so that you can expect to be able to do very large amounts of that kind and thrive under it? Or are you doing a kind of which you can do comparatively little?
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Work alone will efface the footsteps of work
—James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) American Painter, Etcher
The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun. Yet, is it any more unusual to find grace in the texture and softly curved silhouette of a bun than to reflect lovingly on … the arrangement of textures and colors in a butterfly’s wing?
—Ray Kroc (1902–84) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Nature arms each man with some faculty which enables him to do easily some feat impossible to any other, and thus makes him necessary to society.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The honest work of yesterday has lost its social status, its social esteem.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
Big shots are little shots who kept shooting.
—Christopher Morley (1890–1957) American Novelist, Essayist
The chief duty I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
—Samuel Goldwyn (1879–1974) Polish-born American Film Producer, Businessperson
Without work, all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
Employment, which Galen calls “nature’s physician,” is so essential to human happiness that indolence is justly considered as the mother of misery.
—Richard Burton (1925–84) Welsh Actor
The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
I feel sorry for the person who can’t get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile.
—Walter Chrysler (1875–1940) American Engineer, Industrialist
The best mirror is an old friend.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Don’t suffer fools or you’ll become one.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
—Arthur Brisbane (1864–1936) American Journalist, Editor
Doing more of what doesn’t work won’t make it work any better.
—Charles J. Givens (1941–98) American Self-Help Writer
All I was doing was trying to get home from work.
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader
I write lustily and humorously. It isn’t calculated; it’s the way I think. I’ve invented a writing style that expresses who I am.
—Erica Jong (b.1942) American Novelist, Feminist
I believe that good things come to those who work.
—Wilt Chamberlain (1936–99) American Basketball Player
I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to earth.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
—J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist
The only thing to do is to hug one’s friends tight and do one’s job.
—Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
The Three Rules of Work: 1. Out of clutter, find simplicity. 2. From discord, find harmony. 3. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
—Stephen King (b.1947) American Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Screenwriter, Columnist, Film Director
Wanting to work is so rare a merit that it should be encouraged.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Light is the task where many share the toil.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
Material science now has the clear possibility and promise of the systematic utilization of all the natural resources of the earth for the good of the whole human race…. Maintaining and improving the standard of living of all the peoples of the earth through increasing use of mechanical horsepower and the scientific approach is now one of the keys to peace in the world.
—Charles E. Wilson (1886–1972) American Businessperson
Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace.
—Hesiod (f.700 BCE) Greek Poet
The great difference between those who succeed and those who fail does not consist in the amount of work done by each but in the amount of intelligent work. Many of those who fail most ignominiously do enough to achieve grand success but they labor haphazardly at whatever they are assigned, building up with one hand to tear down with the other. They do not grasp circumstances and change them into opportunities. They have no faculty for turning honest defeats into telling victories. With ability enough and ample time, the major ingredients of success, they are forever throwing back and forth an empty shuttle and the real web of their life is never woven.
—Og Mandino (1923–96) American Self-help Author
When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
Cessation of work is not accompanied by cessation of expenses.
—Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato) (234–149 BCE) Roman Statesman
The workers are the saviors of society, the redeemers of the race.
—Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) American Socialist, Union Leader
My only concern was to get home after a hard day’s work.
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader
Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.
—Rita Mae Brown (b.1944) American Writer, Feminist
Our jobs determine to a large extent what our lives are like. Is what you do for a living making you ill? Does it keep you from becoming a more fully realized person? Do you feel ashamed of what you have to do at work? All too often, the answer to such questions is yes. Yet it does not have to be like that. Work can be one of the most joyful, most fulfilling aspects of life. Whether it will be or not depends on the actions we collectively take.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b.1934) Hungarian-American Psychologist
You’ll never succeed in idealizing hard work. Before you can dig mother earth you’ve got to take off your ideal jacket. The harder a man works, at brute labor, the thinner becomes his idealism, the darker his mind.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
You’ve got to be in top physical condition. Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
—Vince Lombardi (1913–70) American Football Coach
I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or anything else, is always a portrait of himself, and the more he tries to conceal himself the more clearly will his character appear in spite of him.
—Samuel Butler
A human being must have occupation, of he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world.
—Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) British Novelist, Playwright, Essayist, Translator, Poet
We are coming to see that there should be no stifling of labor by capital, or of capital by labor; and also that there should be no stifling of labor by labor, or of capital by capital.
—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) American Philanthropist, Businessperson
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
The rewards are profound. Shadow-work enables us to alter our self-sabotaging behavior so that we can achieve a more self-directed life.
—Connie Zweig (b.1949) American Minister, Columnist, Psychotherapist
It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is—here’s the clincher—boredom.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
Whatever you do, if you do it hard enough you’ll enjoy it. The important thing is to work and work hard.
—David Rockefeller (1915–2017) American Businessman, Philanthropist
Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
Work is life, you know, and without it, there’s nothing but fear and insecurity.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
Certainly work is not always required of a man. There is such a thing as a sacred idleness — the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work. Work is not a curse; it is the prerogative of intelligence, the only means to manhood, and the measure of civilization.
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American Head of State, Lawyer
The higher men climb,
the longer their working day.
There are no office hours for leaders.
—James Gibbons (1834–1921) American Catholic Religious Leader, Clergyman
The better work men do is always done under stress and at great personal cost.
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American Poet, Novelist, Cultural Historian
If the career you have chosen has some unexpected inconvenience, console yourself by reflecting that no career is without them.
—Jane Fonda (b.1937) American Actress, Political Activist
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.
—Vince Lombardi (1913–70) American Football Coach
When work goes out of style, we may expect to see civilization totter and fall.
—John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) American Oil Magnate, Philanthropist
Perhaps the most distinguishing trait of visionary leaders is that they believe in a goal that benefits not only themselves, but others as well. It is such vision that attracts the psychic energy of other people, and makes them willing to work beyond the call of duty for the organization.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b.1934) Hungarian-American Psychologist
If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.
—Michelangelo (1475–1564) Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Poet, Engineer
I’ve had smarter people around me all my life, but I haven’t run into one yet that can outwork me. And if they can’t outwork you, then smarts aren’t going to do them much good. That’s just the way it is. And if you believe that and live by it, you’d be surprised at how much fun you can have.
—Woody Hayes (1913–87) American Sportsperson
The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
Men, whose trade is rat-catching, love to catch rats; the bug destroyer seizes on his bug with delight; and the suppressor is gratified by finding his vice.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
Work, every hour, paid or unpaid; see only that thou work and thou canst not escape thy reward. Whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn, or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses, as well as to the thought. The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
My God these fellows have done more work in one night than I could make my army do in three months.
—David McCullough (b.1933) American Historian
The quality of your work, in the long run, is the deciding factor on how much your services are valued by the world.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Most people are good at a handful of things and utterly miserable at most.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
I didn’t want to work. It was as simple as that. I distrusted work, disliked it. I thought it was a very bad thing that the human race had unfortunately invented for itself.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Work spares us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work.
—David Sarnoff (1891–1972) American Broadcaster, Businessman
Keep quiet. Do your work in the world, but inwardly keep quiet. Then all will come to you.
—Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) Indian Hindu Religious Leader, Philosopher
I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.
—Michael Jordan (b.1963) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
Work is as much a necessity to man as eating and sleeping. — Even those who do nothing that can be called work still imagine they are doing something. — The world has not a man who is an idler in his own eyes.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well.
—William Osler (1849–1919) Canadian Physician
We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) French Historian, Political Scientist
Work is a great blessing; after evil came into the world, it was given as an antidote, not as a punishment.
—Arthur Sherburne Hardy (1847–1930) American Engineer, Educator, Editor, Diplomat, Novelist, Poet
Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around wondering about yourself.
—Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) American Actor, TV Personality
Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
It’s not the increasing competition; it’s going back to real work that most of us complain about.
—William Feather (1889–1981) American Publisher, Author
Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–93) British Historian, Scholar, Novelist, Satirist
The devil finds work for idle hands to do.
—Common Proverb
It marks a big step in a man’s development when he comes to realize that other men can be called in to help him do a better job than he can do alone.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night.
—Marian Wright Edelman (b.1939) American Civil Regrets Advocate, Humanitarian, Lawyer
Incentives are spurs that goad a man to do what he doesn’t particularly like, to get something he does particularly want. They are rewards he voluntarily strives for.
—Paul G. Hoffman (1891–1974) American Businessperson, Government Official
A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
A great man left a watchword that we can well repeat: There is no indispensable man.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
I’ve always believed in magic. When I wasn’t doing anything in this town, I’d go up every night, sit on Mulholland Drive, look out at the city, stretch out my arms, and say, “Everybody wants to work with me. I’m a really good actor. I have all kinds of great movie offers”. I’d just repeat these things over and over, literally convincing myself that I had a couple movies lined up. I’d drive down that hill, ready to take the world on, going, “Movie offers are out there for me, I just don’t hear them yet”. It was like total affirmations, antidotes to the stuff that stems from my family background.
—Jim Carrey (b.1962) Canadian Actor, Comedian
My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there.
—Indira Gandhi (1917–84) Indian Head of State
It is not a dreamlike state, but the somehow insulated state, that a great musician achieves in a great performance. He’s aware of where he is and what he’s doing, but his mind is on the playing of his instrument with an internal sense of rightness — it is not merely mechanical, it is not only spiritual; it is something of both, on a different plane and a more remote one.
—Arnold Palmer (b.1929) American Sportsperson
Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
He who binds to himself a joy
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
A champion of the working man has never yet been known to die of overwork.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Vineyards and shining harvests, pastures, arbors,
And all this our very utmost toil
Can hardly care for, we wear down our strength
Whether in oxen or in men, we dull
The edges of our ploughshares, and in return
Our fields turn mean and stingy, underfed,
And so today the farmer shakes his head,
More and more often sighing that his work,
The labour of his hands, has come to naught.
—Lucretius (c.99–55 BCE) Roman Epicurean Poet, Philosopher
J.P. Morgan, then past 70, was asked by the son of an eminent father why he (Morgan) didn’t retire. “When did your father retire?” asked Mr. Morgan, without looking up from his desk. “In 1902.” “When did he die? Oh, at the end of 1904.” “Huh!” snapped Mr. Morgan, “If he had kept on working he would have been alive still. Work is God’s best medicine. It is God’s medicine for man.”
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Inspiration comes of working every day.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Don’t accept that others know you better than yourself. Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you’re just sitting still?
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) American Business Person, Art Collector, Philanthropist
A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
This work somehow awakened my dormant powers of will and I began to practice self-control. At first my resolutions faded like snow in April, but in a little while I conquered my weakness and felt a pleasure I never knew before — that of doing as I willed.
—Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian-American Electrical Engineer, Inventor
I don’t want to work. I want to smoke.
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) Italian-born French Poet, Playwright
Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.
—Charles Kingsley (1819–75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
I am credited with being one of the hardest workers and perhaps I am, if thought is the equivalent of labor, for I have devoted to it almost all of my waking hours. But if work is interpreted to be a definite performance in a specified time according to a rigid rule, then I may be the worst of idlers.
—Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian-American Electrical Engineer, Inventor
Men who have attained things worth having in this world have worked while others idled, have persevered when others gave up in despair, have practiced early in life the valuable habits of self-denial, industry, and singleness of purpose. As a result, they enjoy in later life the success so often erroneously attributed to good luck.
—Grenville Kleiser (1868–1935) Canadian Author
Never tire yourself more than necessary, even if you have to found a culture on the fatigue of your bones.
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) French Actor, Drama Theorist
Labor disgraces no man, but occasionally men disgrace labor.
—Ulysses S. Grant (1822–85) American Civil War General, Head of State
The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor to find much fun in life.
—Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) American Businessperson
More men are killed by overwork than the importance of the world justifies.
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Children’s Books Writer, Short story, Novelist, Poet, Journalist
To get the whole world out of bed
And washed, and dressed, and warmed, and fed,
To work, and back to bed again,
Believe me, Saul, costs worlds of pain.
—John Masefield (1878–1967) English Poet, Novelist, Playwright
But the virtues we acquire by first exercising them,
as is the case with all the arts,
for it is by doing what we ought to do when we have
learnt the arts that we learn the arts themselves;
we become builders by building and harpists
by playing the harp. Similarly it is by doing just
acts that we become just, by doing temperate acts
that we become temperate, by doing courageous acts
that we become courageous.
—William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) English Liberal Statesman, Prime Minister
Most footprints on the sands of time were made with work shoes.
—Caroline Schoeder American Aphorist
Shadow-making happens in families and makes us who we are. It leads to shadow-work, which makes us who we can become.
—Connie Zweig (b.1949) American Minister, Columnist, Psychotherapist
When the joy of the job’s gone, when it’s no fun trying anymore, quit before you’re fired.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
There is honor in labor. Work is the medicine of the soul. It is more: it is your very life, without which you would amount to little.
—Grenville Kleiser (1868–1935) Canadian Author
No one can arrive from being talented alone. God gives talent; work transforms talent into genius.
—Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) Russian Dancer
Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
Let us realize that:
the privilege to work is a gift,
the power to work is a blessing,
the love of work is success!
—David O. McKay (1873–1970) American Mormon Religious Leader
The simple heart that freely asks in love, obtains.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) American Quaker Poet, Abolitionist
Something made greater by ourselves and in turn that makes us greater.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
There is no boon in nature. All the blessings we enjoy are the fruits of labor, toil, self-denial, and study.
—William Graham Sumner (1840–1910) American Polymath, Academic, Historian, Sociologist, Anthropologist
No man needs sympathy because he has to work. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open.
—Shakti Gawain (b.1948) American Author, Environmentalist
A beautiful young lady is an act of nature. A beautiful old lady is a work of art.
—Louis Nizer (1902–1994) American Lawyer, Author
He had kept his head, kept his health and his strength, bearing up under a weight of work and worry that only a few could have carried.
—David McCullough (b.1933) American Historian
The only way to eliminate unemployment is to eliminate unemployment benefits.
—Philip Larkin (1922–85) English Poet, Librarian, Novelist
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
We have too many people who live without working, and we have altogether too many who work without living.
—Charles Reynolds Brown (1862–1950) American Clergyman
Work! labor the asparagus me of life; the one great sacrament of humanity from which all other things flow — security, leisure, joy, art, literature, even divinity itself.
—Sean O’Casey (1880–1964) Irish Dramatist, Memoirist
When you work in the inner mind, you invoke and receive the help of the impersonal, unlimited resources of the universe.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
Work with some men is as besetting a sin as idleness with others.
—Samuel Butler
It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is movement that destroys the machinery, but friction.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Whimpering never kept a leaking vessel from foundering. Vigorously manning the pumps has. Get busy with your head and hands, not your chin.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
Work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons.
—Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) Polish Catholic Religious Leader
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
There is no truer and more abiding happiness than the knowledge that one is free to go on doing, day by day, the best work one can do, in the kind one likes best, and that this work is absorbed by a steady market and thus supports one’s own life. Perfect freedom is reserved for the man who lives by his own work and in that work does what he wants to do.
—R. G. Collingwood (1889–1943) English Philosopher, Historian, Archaeologist
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
He was in love with his work, and he felt the enthusiasm for it which nothing but the work we can do well inspires in us.
—William Dean Howells (1837–1920) American Novelist, Short story Author, Editor
Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
It is by work that man carves his way to that measure of power which will fit him for his destiny.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Editor, Novelist
He works and blows the coals, and has plenty of other irons in the fire.
—Aristophanes (447–386 BCE) Greek Comic Playwright
The object of living is work, experience, and happiness. There is joy in work. All that money can do is buy us someone else’s work in exchange for our own. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
It is necessary to work, if not from inclination, at least from despair. Everything considered, work is less boring than amusing oneself.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined! As you simplify your life, the laws of the Universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Work will win when wishy washy wishing won’t.
—Thomas S. Monson (b.1927) American Mormon Religious Leader
One must work and dare if one really wants to live.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
If a man loves the labor of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
My destiny is solitude, and my life is work.
—Richard Wagner (1813–83) German Composer
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle — face it; ’tis God’s gift.
—Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858–1901) American Presbyterian Clergyman, Writer
He who would really benefit mankind must reach them through their work.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that …
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-up Comedian