Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
—Anonymous
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 (1934–2021) Hungarian-American Psychologist
My job is never work—the only time it seems like work is when I’d rather be doing something else.
—Unknown
A life spent in constant labor is a life wasted, save a man be such a fool as to regard a fulsome obituary notice as ample reward.
—George Jean Nathan (1882–1958) American Drama Critic, Editor
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
The man with the best job in the country is the vice-president. All he has to do is get up every morning and say, “How is the president?”
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist
Two can live as cheaply as one – if they both have good jobs.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.
—Indian Proverb
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.
—Unknown
If you don’t get a kick out of the job you’re doing you’d better hunt for another one.
—Samuel M. Vauclain (1856–1940) American Engineer, Industrialist
The job of the poet is to render the world—to see it and report it without loss, without perversion. No poet ever talks about feelings. Only sentimental people do.
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1972) American Poet, Writer, Critic
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Monday is a lame way to spend 1/7 of your life.
—Unknown
Find a job you like and you add five days to every week.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
I received a letter from a lad asking me for an easy berth. To this I replied: You cannot be an editor; do not try the law; do not think of the ministry; let alone all ships and merchandise; abhor politics; don’t practice medicine; be not a farmer or a soldier or a sailor; don’t study, don’t think. None of these are easy. O, my son, you have come into a hard world. I know of only one easy place in it, and that is the grave.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
I want everyone to tell me the truth, even if it costs him his job.
—Samuel Goldwyn (1879–1974) Polish-born American Film Producer, Businessperson
There is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job.
—George W. Crane (1901–95) American Psychologist, Physician
Diamonds are only lumps of coal that stuck to their jobs.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
If you have a job without aggravations, you don’t have a job.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.
—William Bennett (b.1943) American Politician, Political Theorist, Government Official
If your children look up to you, you’ve made a success of life’s biggest job.
—Unknown
The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.
—Fred Astaire (1899–1987) American Actor, Dancer, Singer
It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose your own.
—Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) American Head of State
I have discovered that I cannot enhance anybody’s performance without getting them not only to live with the butterflies that come with high-pressure jobs but to embrace that kind of physical response, enjoy it, get into it. That’s the first real ticket to being a performer who thinks exceptionally.
—John Eliot (b.1971) American Psychologist, Academic
Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
—J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist
Whatever the job you are asked to do at whatever level, do a good job because your reputation is your resume.
—Madeleine Albright (1937–2022) Czech-born American Diplomat