By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder and chief editor of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm, powerful, and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
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Here are 100 of the best “hard work quotes” I could find. The goal? Simply to motivate you and help you achieve more today. You’ll discover quotes by Emerson, Steve Jobs, Seneca, and more. Enjoy!
Without labor nothing prospers. Sophocles
The ones who say you can’t are too afraid you will. Nike
The world belongs to the energetic. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do not whine… Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone. Joan Didion
Take up one idea, make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. Swami Vivekananda
It’s not about money or connections – it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone. Mark Cuban
Hard work betrays none. Hachiman Hikigaya
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
What comes easy won’t last. What lasts won’t come easy. Unknown
Nothing in life that’s worth anything is easy. Barack Obama
Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far. Gary Vaynerchuk
Success at anything will always come down to this: Focus and effort, and we control both. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
The wiser you get, the less you take yourself seriously, the more work looks like play. Maxime Lagacé
There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life. Alain de Botton
Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen. Conan O’Brien
Related
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A few thoughts on hard work…
When I was young, I thought success was solely attributed to talent.
Then, I discovered that by working hard I could in fact become “talented.”
I was observing the bests of the bests and they were all obsessed with one thing: working harder than yesterday.
I then decided to follow their paths and always give 100% to what I was doing.
However, as I was growing up, I discovered another important thing.
What was it?
It’s the fact that what you work on is way more important than how hard you work.
Indeed, you can be the hardest working person in a room, but if you work on something useless you’re wasting your time.
Thus, I use today what we call the Pareto principle. It states that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts.
In other words, I try to focus almost exclusively on the tasks that will have the greatest impact.
Most other things are distractions.
The Best Hard Work Quotes
Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it. Buddha
Make each day your masterpiece. John Wooden
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney
Life without endeavor is like entering a jewel mine and coming out with empty hands. Japanese proverb
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. Colin Powell
Destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for things to happen instead of making them happen. Blair Waldorf
Men die of boredom, psychological conflict and disease. They do not die of hard work. David Ogilvy
No matter how hard you work, someone else is working harder. Elon Musk
Talent means nothing. 50% of my success comes from luck. 50% comes from never giving up. Maxime Lagacé
To achieve what 1% of the world’s population has, you must be willing to do what only 1% dares to do. Manoj Arora
Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you live for a strong purpose, then hard work isn’t an option. It’s a necessity. Steve Pavlina
To learn you must be willing to change. To change you must be willing to suffer. To suffer you must be willing to work. Maxime Lagacé
It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. Vince Lombardi
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 Watts
Inspiration is the windfall from hard work and focus. Helen Hanson
The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. Muhammad Ali
A sign of a hard worker is one who works without complaint. Sarah Price
Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. Kevin Durant
The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight but, they while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Hard work never killed a man. Scottish proverb
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination. Tommy Lasorda
Everything you want is on the far side of hard work. Tim Kennedy
Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you. Arnold Palmer
Hard work always pays off. Christiano Ronaldo (Source)
Part 2. Hard Work Quotes That Are…
The Most Famous Hard Work Quotes
Searching for a famous hard work quote? Check out those ones by Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, etc.
I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson
It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. Babe Ruth
No one ever drowned in sweat. U.S. Marine Corps
I really try to work as much as possible, to the edge of sanity basically. Elon Musk
One must work and dare if one really wants to live. Vincent van Gogh
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. Theodore Roosevelt
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. Stephen King
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. Steve Jobs (Apple)
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When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really played. Dr. Seuss
My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it. Abraham Lincoln
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln
It’s only a crazy dream until you do it. Serena Williams
I never viewed myself as particularly talented. Where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping, I’m working. Will Smith
Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius
There is no substitute for hard work. Thomas Edison
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing. Thomas Edison
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm? Marcus Aurelius
I would rather risk wearing out than rusting out. Theodore Roosevelt
There’s no talent here, this is hard work. This is an obsession. Conor McGregor (MMA Champion)
If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all. Michelangelo
I’m a designer, and I work very hard at that. People sometimes want to put down fashion by saying it’s frivolous or superficial, but it’s not that way at all. It’s actually very hard work. Donatella Versace
To succeed, work hard, never give up and above all, cherish a magnificent obsession. Walt Disney
Short Hard Work Quotes
One-liners, short hard work quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
No struggle, no progress, no success. Maxime Lagacé
Wake up determined. Go to bed satisfied. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
Go and get your things. Dreams mean work. Paulo Coelho
God sells us all things at the price of labor. Leonardo da Vinci
Work without love is slavery. Mother Teresa
Never slow down for the world, one day it will catch-up with you. Nike
Earned. Not given. Nike
Amateurs are busy and tense. Professionals are calm and focused. Maxime Lagacé
Hard work buys experience, smart work buys time. Jack Butcher
Work hard in silence; let success make the noise. Frank Ocean
Work incessantly, but be not attached to it. Swami Vivekananda
Be thankful for what you have. Work hard for what you don’t have. Unknown
Hard work does pay off. Michael Phelps
Hard work teaches us that it takes more than hard work. Jack Butcher
Look in the mirror – that’s your competition. Unknown
Sometimes there’s not a better way. Sometimes there’s only the hard way. Mary E. Pearson
You can outwork 95% of people by just showing up every day. Jack Butcher (Source)
If you can’t outplay them, outwork them. Ben Hogan
Start with a cry, end with a smile. Michael Bassey Johnson
Work hard now, suffer and keep it up. Rewards are at the edge. Maxime Lagacé
Inspirational Hard Work Quotes
The question isn’t who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand
Hard work and full heart. The foundational elements of a life well lived. Andrew Huberman (Source)
Amateurs have hard work and speed. Professionals have hard work, speed and direction. Maxime Lagacé
Hard work compounds like interest, and the earlier you do it, the more time you have for the benefits to pay off. Sam Altman
A good idea is about ten percent and implementation and hard work, and luck is 90 percent. Guy Kawasaki
Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly. Plutarch
Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing. William A. Ward
Do your job —whatever it is — well, because how you do anything is how you do everything. Ryan Holiday (Source)
In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious. Robert Greene
Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day. George Allen Sr
When you find the right thing to do, and people to work with, invest deeply into that, and stick with it for decades. Naval Ravikant
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. Seneca
Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference. Lou Holtz
You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself. Alan Alda
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win. Roger Bannister (Ran the first sub-4-minute mile)
Baby steps are better than no steps at all. Keep going. You’ll get there. Unknown
When you feel like stopping think about why you started. Unknown
My success was due to good luck, hard work, and support and advice from friends and mentors. But most importantly, it depended on me to keep trying after I had failed. Mark Warner
Have a healthy disregard for the impossible and actually build new solutions. Larry Page
Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you. Henri-Frederic Amiel
Going all-in on something will make you feel alive and ultimately, satisfied. Maxime Lagacé
Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it’ll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay off. Kevin Hart
Inspiration usually comes during work rather than before it. Madeleine L’Engle
Related: 3 Motivational Stories That Prove Hard Work Pays Off (tinypulse.com)
Hard Work Quotes: The Conclusion
We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. Barack Obama
Let’s recap:
- The world belongs to hard-working people. Be one of them.
- Don’t lose energy complaining. Keep it for what’s truly worth it.
- It’s not about “talent”. It’s about your willingness to work harder than others.
- What gives meaning and purpose to your life?
- Love
- Friendship
- Working hard on something important to you
- You don’t control your results, but you control your focus, your attitude, and your effort.
Further Readings
- Topic: Motivation
- 100 Motivational Quotes That Will Make You Thrive
- 81 Motivational Quotes For Students To Study Hard
- 100 Adversity Quotes To Improve Your Willpower
- 7 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Hard When You’re Really Not in the Mood (themuse.com)
- 100 Business Quotes To Inspire Success In Your Workplace
- 67 Productivity Quotes To Be More Effective
- How To Be Successful In Life – 7 Simple Tips
Hope you enjoyed these inspiring hard work quotes. If you did, please share them with a friend today!
Do you work hard or smart? What’s your favorite hard work quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Quotes
Part 2
Hard Work Quotes That ARE
Famous
Short
Inspirational
Part 3
Conclusion