If you're feeling discouraged at your job, as many of us often do, it may be worthwhile to read positive and motivational quotes about work to help you feel encouraged and empowered.
You don’t necessarily have to love your job every day, but you do need to feel inspired to do your best so you can feel accomplished and fulfilled.
You may have the drive and ambition that you need in the long term, but it can be hard to ignite the spark you need to get started.
We often feel great when we're planning for the future and dreaming about how thingscouldbe, but keeping this sense of motivation and feeling uplifted when it's time to get to work can be a different story.
Doing high-quality work isn’t just about finding a quick boost of inspiration.
It also requires that you define your goals and set yourself up to have a productive working environment.
Sometimes, it's just about pushing through the hard work, even if you’re not feeling up to it.
Here's a list of some inspirational workplace quotes that are both positive and motivating for your life.
Keep these success quotes for work near your desk so you can read them during a particularly tough day to give yourself the boost you need to persevere.
What's In This Article?
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- How These Positive Work Quotes Can Inspire Success
- 70 Inspirational Quotes For Work
- Hard Work Quotes
- Motivational Quotes for Work
- Positive Quotes for Work
- 4 Motivational Ways To Use These Quotes Related to Work
How These Positive Work Quotes Can Inspire Success
Our minds direct our moods. We're more active, hopeful, and successful when we think about positive, affirming, productive things.
Moreover, there's a psychophysiological link: feel-good hormones and mindset go hand-in-hand. They feed one another. How does it work?
- When “the darkness” descends and occupies the mind, it keeps us scattered, unfocused, lethargic, and resigned.
- Descending into this low vibrational state triggers various “survival” hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol. While effective for giving you a boost in genuinely dangerous situations, “overdosing” on the stuff wreaks havoc on the endocrine system and clouds your thinking, resulting in sub-par work.
- However, when we believe in ourselves and focus on the “sunny side of the street” (but not to a disengaged degree), our bodies treat us to endorphins — the happy hormones.
- When we're hopped up on serotonin and other natural (healthy) “uppers,” we operate at our highest levels — and may sometimes even “wow” ourselves upon realizing our own power, talent, and capacity to overcome hardships.
Practically, what does all this mean for people focused on professional goals?
In short, motivated minds unfettered by self-doubt perform better.
Reading inspirational quotes for work can help you get through those tough times and help you relate to others who have learned how to keep moving ahead, despite any hardships they were facing.
70 Inspirational Quotes For Work
Hard Work Quotes
1. “You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer
2. “There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time.” – Coco Chanel
3. “My grandfather once told me that there were 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 much less competition.” – Indira Gandhi
4. “Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.” – Hamilton Holt
5. “Plenty of men can do good work for a spurt and with immediate promotion in mind, but for promotion you want a man in whom good work has become a habit.” – Henry L. Doherty
6. “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt
7. “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” – Vince Lombardi
8. “I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.” – Harry S. Truman
9. “Dreams can come true, but there is a secret. They're realized through the magic of persistence, determination, commitment, passion, practice, focus and hard work. They happen a step at a time, manifested over years, not weeks.” – Elbert Hubbard
10. “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.” – Booker T. Washington
11. “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” – Calvin Coolidge
12. “…talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.” ― Patrick Süskind
13. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.“ —Confucius
14. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” – Amelia Earhart
15. “There is no substitute for hard work.” — Thomas Edison
16. “If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.” –James A. Garfield
17. “There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.” –Cesar Chavez
18. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” –Tim Notke
19. “The road to success come through hard work, determination, and sacrifice.” –Dolzinski
20. “Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose.” –G.K. Nielson
21. “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” –Frank Lloyd Wright
22. “I think that my biggest attribute to any success that I have had is hard work. There really is no substitute for working hard.” – Maria Bartiromo
Motivational Quotes for Work
23. “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon
24. “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.” – Mahatma Gandhi
25. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
26. “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”- Dale Carnegie
27. “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is hard work.” – Stephen King
28. “Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.” – Gary Ryan Blair
29. “Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.” – William Patten
30. “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H.L. Hunt
31. “If your work is becoming uninteresting, so are you. Work is an inanimate thing and can be made lively and interesting only by injecting yourself into it. Your job is only as big as you are.” – George C. Hubbs
32. “Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” – Mary K. Ash
33. “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 as now.” – Margaret Fuller
34. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
35. “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” – Barrack Obama
36. “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” – Colin Powell
37. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.“ —Pablo Picasso
38. “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” — Muhammad Ali
39. “When someone tells me “no,” it doesn't mean I can't do it, it simply means I can't do it with them.” Karen E. Quinones Miller
40. “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
41. “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” – M. Scott Peck
42. “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” – Napoleon Hill
43. “Do or do not, there is no try.” – Yoda
Positive Quotes for Work
44. “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” – Ariana Huffington
45. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
46. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison
47. “Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda
48. “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.” – Napoleon Hill
49. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” – Denis Waitley
50. “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” – Henry Ford
51. “A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it.” – Alistair Cook
52. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
53.“Your ability to discipline yourself to set clear goals, and then to work toward them every day, will do more to guarantee your success than any other single factor.” – Brian Tracy
54.”This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” – Alan Wilson Watts
55. “Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.” – James Allen
56. “Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating.” – Denis Waitley
57. “Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.” – Dale Carnegie
58. “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII
59. “Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi
60. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
61. “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” – Roy T. Bennett
62. “The future depends on what you do today.” – Mahatma Gandhi
63. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” — Paulo Coelho
64. “Someone, at some point, came up with this very bad idea that an ordinary individual couldn’t make a difference in the world. I think that’s just a horrible thing.” — John Skoll
65. “I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” —Benjamin Franklin
66. Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” — Benjamin Desraeli
67. “When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next.” — Dolly Parton
68. “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” – Roy T. Bennett
69. “Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” ~ Ray Kroc
70. “Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you're a janitor or taking your first summer job because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.” – Tyler Perry
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Quotes aren’t just for reading. Let’s explore four ways to use motivational quotes related to work.
- Share on Social Media: It’s important to be mindful of social media consumption. Too much can be a problem. But sharing motivational quotes is a win-win. It gives you a boost and may inspire others.
- Use as a Mindfulness Mantra: Have you ever tried using a pithy quote as a mindfulness mantra for meditation? It helps a lot of people.
- Use as a Journaling Prompt: Writing and thinking about profound quotes is an excellent way to internalize the message. Do a journaling deep dive. Why does the quote resonate with you?
- Make Art: Even if you’re not artistic, it can be cathartic to incorporate ideas and thoughts into paintings, sculptures, crafts, writing, sound, and movement. Using quotes as inspiration for pieces can be a great starting point.
Did any of these quotes inspire you?
Hopefully, after reading these positive quotes about work, you have a new sense of inspiration to try your best to do a great job for your company or clients.
Sometimes, just having one unproductive day can lead to a rut of multiple days of feeling tired, lethargic, and bored – even if you have 100 important things on your growing to-do list.
Try using these inspirational quotes for work to not only get you startedbut to keep you motivated throughout the day and as the week goes on. With this momentum, you are sure to feel good about your work and get out of your rut.
If you see a co-worker who could use a boost, please share these work quotes on your preferred social media platform to help spread the positivity around the office.
